Planning a major vacation can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task, so it’s perhaps no surprise that travelers often call in reinforcements for help.

Some consult friends and family for recommendations and advice, some scroll through social media platforms for inspiration, some rely on information gathered from online searches and some do all of the above.

However, it seems more and more people are turning to travel coaches to help them organize their upcoming trips.

This was certainly the case for Uloma Ubogagu from the UK, who sought out a travel coach a few years ago because she didn’t have a companion for a trip to Amsterdam and was nervous about the prospect of traveling alone.

Professional guidance

“It was something new,” explains Ubogagu. “I hadn’t done it before. And if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t think I would enjoy going by myself.”

Feeling very much out of her depth, Ubogagu says she wanted someone with the right knowledge to step in and plan the trip for her so that she could “just turn up and enjoy it,” and felt that a travel coach would be the best possible option.

But what exactly is a travel coach?

Sahara Rose De Vore, founder of The Travel Coach Network, a database of certified travel coaches, defines a travel coach as a “travel expert who helps people bring awareness to why they want to travel and what type of experience they need in order to obtain the transformation, feelings, or outcomes that their urge to travel is calling for.”

The types of services provided tend to vary depending on each coach’s “personal interest, background, and passion for travel,” adds De Vore.

Experienced solo traveler Shakeemah Smith, who has visited nearly 70 countries, left her job as a social worker to become a full-time travel coach in 2020, after realizing that there was a market for her expertise.

Smith explains that the global Covid-19 pandemic actually had a positive impact on her travel consulting business, as many of her clients were determined to travel once restrictions had lifted.

“She wants to solo travel. She’s tired of waiting on her friends.”

Smith’s nine-week travel course “Travel Like a Bawse,” which she initially uploaded onto online platform Teachable to accommodate a client based in London, has since helped thousands of travelers from 14 countries around the world.

“It’s basically an A to Z playbook on everything that took me five years and 63 countries to learn,” she explains, adding that the course also includes one-on-one calls, so that the traveler has the opportunity to ask any questions they might have to her directly.

Aside from single women, Smith has also coached mothers looking for advice on ways to make their family trips run more smoothly, as well as retirees who would like to move abroad, but want to become more comfortable with solo travel before doing so.

Once her client has booked their desired trip, provided that it’s a country she’s been to herself, Smith supplies them with an in-depth itinerary.

Confidence boosting

This includes details on potential drivers, places to eat, hotel recommendations, entry requirements for visitors, and even a photographer and dress rental recommendation.

“Together, we develop a plan that aligns with their vision, values and preferences, and I provide ongoing coaching and support to make sure they deliver on that plan – before, during and after the trip,” adds Smith.

Knowing that their trip has been pretty much planned out to the letter can make a huge difference to those who are nervous about traveling, or simply don’t have the time or inclination to organize it themselves.

This was certainly the case for Ubogagu, who says her visit to Amsterdam far exceeded her expectations thanks to the detailed itinerary provided to her by wellness travel coach Dr. Noreen Nguru.

“She narrowed things down for me, so I just had to click what I wanted,” says Ubogagu, adding that the personalized plan included some activities that she wouldn’t have necessarily chosen to do herself, but she enjoyed being pushed out of her comfort zone. “She prepared everything and I just had to attend.”

While some travelers may be looking to travel coaches for guidance and support to help build their confidence, others appear to be searching for something much deeper.

De Vore explains that, in her experience, there’s often a common theme. Most possess “an internal desire to travel or get away,” but there’s usually something significant, whether it be finances, capabilities or a lack of confidence, holding them back.

Dr. Nguru, founder of What The Doctor Recommends, described as the “world’s first doctor-led” wellness travel consultancy, views travel coaching as a form of life coaching, with travel serving as a “catalyst to force introspection across many other areas of life.”

Prescribing travel

“It’s really helping the traveler have meaningful, really restorative and deeply informing trips that go beyond that surface-level visiting of a destination,” she says, before explaining that she tries to help her clients use travel as a “preventive medicine.”

Before she begins working with a client, Dr. Nguru asks them to fill out an in-depth consultation form, covering everything from their current mental and physical health, to the type of destination that they are interested in traveling to and the dates they have in mind.

Once she’s assessed their information and requirements, Dr. Nguru curates a trip specifically for them, as she did for Ubogagu.

Certified travel coach and organizational psychologist, Sonia Cruz Oro, founder of travel and personal development service Travel Awakens, has been coaching travelers since 2021.

She explains that her clients tend to be successful women in their mid-30s to mid-50s who are seeking “answers, pathways or new directions” and look to travel as a type of catalyst to allow them to reexamine their lives.

“In other cases, there can be clients who are just committed to becoming the best they can be, continually investing in their personal development and travel coaching offers them a new means to do that.”

The extra mile

Like Dr. Nguru and Smith, the clients of Cruz Oro, who offers both transformational group trips and bespoke travel coaching services, tend to be women.

She believes this is partly because women “may feel more comfortable seeking advice and support when it comes to travel,” particularly if they are heading off to destinations they are unfamiliar with and have concerns about safety or cultural considerations.

“By working with a travel coach who understands their unique needs and preferences, women can gain the confidence and support they need to explore new destinations and create enjoyable travel experiences,” she adds.

“At the same time, this can also help women remember who they truly are and create a more aligned and fulfilling life as a result.”

However, travel coaching doesn’t necessarily have to be centered around personal development, some travelers just want to know how to get more bang for their buck.

Julia Menez, a points strategy coach and podcast presenter, mainly works with people who are keen to learn more about what kind of travel is possible with points and miles, but don’t necessarily know where to find the information.

“My clientele often includes business owners, high spenders, or busy parents who are willing to trade money for time back, as they often don’t have the time or interest to consume hours of blog posts or videos,” says Menez.

Her coaching is focused around showing clients what type of travel is available to them through points and miles, such as some of the “more complicated” award redemptions.

Menez explains that this can involve anything from recommendations on flight routes and hotels, to assisting with credit card strategies, or setting out tutorials designed to help clients identify the award availability for the flights they want, “since not every seat is available to purchase on points.”

“It’s very different than the travel agent space, where you are physically booking the travel for your clients,” she adds.

“I don’t book any travel, but rather provide guidance on how to book the travel you are looking to do on points.”

While Menez notes that there is a lot of free content on these particular subjects available, and she offers a number of free tutorials on her Instagram and YouTube accounts, her paying clients tend to be those who are “more interested on maximizing return on investment rather than minimizing overall out-of-pocket cost.”

Although the idea of paying for someone to help you get extra miles, or organize your holiday might seem extravagant, travelers like Ubogagu are more than happy to shell out for this type of service.

“Sometimes I find that it’s so much effort to go on holiday,” she explains. “Getting the time off work, packing and everything. It’s so painful for me.

“So it’s nice to know that you’re doing all of that for something that’s been well thought out and well planned.”

“You can just tell them what you like and what you need. They find it all for you, and you can just really enjoy your holiday.”

Ubogagu points out that working with the right travel coach can actually save you money in the long run, as they will likely have the expertise to find you the best deals to suit your budget.

Increasing interest

“Someone can find the deals for me and I just walk in,” she adds, explaining that she’s previously been on vacations organized by either herself or her husband that weren’t particularly well planned, and ended up wasting time visiting sites or going on excursions that didn’t really live up to expectations.

“I was just thinking, if I’d paid someone to do the research, they would have told me not to go there,” adds Ubogagu, who says she’d recommend travel coaching to others who find vacation planning particularly stressful or time-consuming.

“I don’t want to make mistakes. A travel coach, they do the research, they know what’s what.”

Cruz Oro has noticed a stronger increase in interest in travel coaching over the past few years and believes this is due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As we progressed out of Covid restrictions in 2022, there was a marked difference in how people wanted to travel and how people wanted to make their travel count,” she adds.

“That means traveling with more meaning and purpose, be it reuniting with family, embracing nature, learning new skills, achieving life goals, having more opportunities for reflection, immersing ourselves in local culture and communities, or ensuring that our travels leave places better than we found them.”

But while interest in this type of coaching may have increased, De Vore feels that it isn’t necessarily a completely new trend, pointing out that many of the topics and areas that travel coaches focus on are based around questions “that people naturally have been asking for years.”

“I truly believe that travelers have always sought out travel coaches over the years but they didn’t have a term for it yet,” she says.

The video looks like a gun advertisement – on steroids. Shot in the style of a music video, with quick edits and a pulsating beat, three athletic looking men test fire a variety of machine guns, rocket launchers, assault rifles and handguns.

Surrounded by bearded soldiers in military gear, the three men are shown smiling and laughing, seemingly having a good time. Except, this is not your run-of-the-mill gun range outing.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo are the trio in a video posted online by the notorious Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in November last year, celebrating their visit to his compound in Russia to see “how real men and defenders of the Fatherland learn to fight.”

Kadyrov is a former warlord known for his brutality and for his allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He has routinely been criticized for alleged human rights violations including killings, torture and disappearances, his treatment of the LGBTQ community and has also expressed his support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“All the fights that happen in the United Arab Emirates are often attended by Kadyrov himself with his criminal gang. We have been saying for some time that these sports organizations need to prohibit Kadyrov’s fighters to perform,” he said.

Kadyrov last in-person attendance at a UFC event was for UFC 242 in 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The UFC denies that it has any commercial dealings with Kadyrov or his associates, or with any sanctioned entities.

Yet the appearance of the three stars – all former UFC title belt holders – alongside Kadyrov last year isn’t the only question being raised about the UFC’s oversight of the sport. There’s also its decision to allow Russian fighters in general to compete in the world’s premium mixed martial arts organization.

Some critics have suggested Russian fighters in general should be suspended, like has happened in some other sports, for the country’s involvement in the invasion of Ukraine.

But against the backdrop of $21 billion merger between the UFC and the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), Russian fighters appear to remain an integral part of the UFC’s business model.

Despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the restrictions put on Russian athletes and teams in some other sports, fighters from the country remain free to compete in UFC.

The sport, which has a global fan base of over 700 million, with events broadcast in 50 different languages to more than 170 countries, has relied on the popularity of its Russian fighters to provide appeal to certain areas of the world, according to MMA and boxing financial analyst for Bloody Elbow, John S. Nash.

“The Southern Caucasus have such great wrestlers and it’s a predominantly Muslim area,” Nash said. “And so those Muslim fighters appeal to the Middle East, the Gulf states. And that’s the UFC’s primary focus … for the monetary reasons.

“Because a guy like [Khamzat] Chimaev, who lives in Sweden, but he’s from Chechnya and he does videos with Ramzan Kadyrov, he’s one of the best welterweights, very popular in the world. And because of him, he has a lot of support in the Gulf states. He gets a lot of sponsorship.”

UFC’s primary focus

There are 20 active Russian fighters currently competing in their organized events, according to the UFC website. The UFC has more than 600 athletes from over 70 countries on its roster, according to the organization.

Khamzat Chimaev, who is No. 3 in UFC’s world welterweight rankings, was born in Russia, before emigrating to Sweden at the age of 18 and he now has Swedish citizenship.

Chimaev has long had ties to Kadyrov. In an Instagram post from December last year, Chimaev is posing with Kadryov calling him a “big brother.” He regularly posts photos alongside Kadyrov’s sons.

Some of Russia’s most important fighters include Islam Makhachev, who is ranked third in the top pound-for-pound fighters and is the lightweight world champion while Magomed Ankalaev recently competed for the light heavyweight title – the fight ended in a controversial split draw.

Before them and now retired, Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time; Nurmagomedov was a key figure in the UFC’s recent marketing deals, according to Nash.

“Part of the reason they probably got [the UFC’s five-year deal to host fights] in the United Arab Emirates was because of Khabib [Nurmagomedov] being the champion. He’s extremely popular in that part of the region.”

At UFC 242 in 2019, Kadyrov was seen embracing both Nurmagomedov and Makhachev after their respective victories. Ankalaev started his MMA career at Kadyrov’s Fight Club Akhmat in Chechnya and Kadyrov voiced his displeasure after Ankalaev’s draw at UFC 282.

The UFC has recently blocked fighters from wearing flags before or after fights to avoid “politically charged” incidents during events, says Nash.

But despite reiterating a non-political stance, that seemingly hasn’t always been the case in the sport. In April’s UFC 287 event, UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal praised former US President Donald Trump who was sat at the event sat next to UFC president Dana White.

“Greatest president in the history of the world, I love that guy,” Masvidal said pointing at Trump.

Despite the “obvious” politicization of the UFC, Nash doesn’t believe that should result in fighters being suspended if they have not voiced their own opinions themselves.

“I don’t think they should ban individual fighters because individual fighters aren’t responsible for the decisions of a basically non-democratic country with Putin,” he said.

“But there is a difference being from Russia and playing in the National Hockey League, which they let Russian players play … and in being a Russian fighter and going overseas and fighting; there’s different in that and then appearing side-by-side in the promotional material of a Chechnyan warlord that’s on the State Department list of possible war crimes and human rights violations.”

Criticism

Kadyrov is a prominent figure in MMA circles. It’s widely known he has a passion for combat sports and owns his own gym, Fight Club Akhmat.

The club, based in the Chechen capital of Grozny, sees prospective fighters train in a room adorned with a giant mural of Kadyrov’s face on the walls.

He has also been regularly photographed alongside UFC stars, including Chechen-born Chimaev. Kadyrov even attended Chimaev’s wedding last year.

Yet Kadyrov has been criticized for alleged human rights violations resulting in various sanctions from the US government. He’s also been outspoken in his support for Russian President Putin and the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kadyrov said recently that Chechen fighters in Ukraine will help Moscow “fight to the victorious end” and has publicly described himself as Putin’s “foot soldier.”

His actions as leader in Chechnya has led to his sanctioning dating back to 2017. He rose to power in 2006 after his father had formed an unlikely partnership with Putin following over a century of conflict between Russia and Chechnya.

Kadyrov leads sizeable paramilitary forces that – while formally a part of Russian security structures – have personal loyalty to him.

Those troops, known as Kadyrovtsy, or Kadyrov’s men, have a fearsome reputation. During the Second Chechen War, which began in 1999 and coincided with the rise of Putin, Kadyrov’s men helped Moscow wrest control of the Chechen Republic from separatist rebels.

They also earned a reputation for brutality, with investigative journalists and human rights researchers documenting a pattern of disappearances and extrajudicial killings by his forces.

In 2017, the US Treasury prohibited any American businesses working with Kadyrov after he was found to be “responsible for extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

Three years later, the US State Department sanctioned Kadyrov for his involvement in numerous “gross violations of human rights dating back more than a decade, including torture and extrajudicial killings.”

In 2021, the US State Department said it found “continued reports of abductions and torture in the North Caucasus, including of political activists, LGBTQI+ persons, and others critical of Chechnya head Kadyrov.”

Last year, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the first links between Kadyrov’s martial arts clubs and the war against Ukraine.

“Kadyrov has recruited for Russia’s war efforts through mixed martial arts clubs, which enables him and his units to continue their activity in Ukraine,” OFAC said in a news release.

Kadyrov’s appeal and influence on some of UFC’s top athletes is clear, but the UFC as a company strongly denies it has any connection to the Chechen leader.

“UFC enters into fight contracts directly with athletes, not with any intermediaries, including gyms and fight teams,” a UFC spokesperson said. “As independent contractors, UFC athletes have control over many aspects of their careers, including where to train.

“While a small number of UFC athletes have chosen to train independently at Akhmat MMA, UFC itself has no affiliation with Akhmat MMA. UFC conducts due diligence to remain in compliance with all appropriate laws and regulations of the countries in which it operates.”

‘Sportswashing’

Kadyrov isn’t the first authoritarian leader to engage in what’s known as “sportswashing,” attempting to burnish one’s reputation through sport.

Since founding the Fight Club Akhmat, Kadyrov has been pictured with some of the biggest names in combat sport; from Nurmagomedov to boxing legends Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

He’s also been pictured with greats from other sports, such as football stars Diego Maradona and Mohamed Salah.

The arrival of Usman, Gaethje and Cejudo last year was yet another opportunity for Kadyrov to display his sway in the sport.

During their trip to Chechnya, Gaethje confirmed that he attended a birthday party for one of Kadyrov’s sons. Neither Usman and Cejudo said if they attended.

“Kadyrov is … co-opting the images. This is Kadyrov’s way of ‘sportswashing’ and managing his constituency inside Chechnya,” he said.

“And it also resonates with his image as a tough guy and a fixer and an enforcer. And so it’s not a surprise that he would be involved with UFC and would want to be seen as associated with the UFC.

“And the people who constitute his shock troops, his forces, and even the people who are just ordinary man on the street in Chechnya, that’s the kind of sport they’re interested in him.”

Despite the sanctions and criticism leveled at Kadyrov, the Chechen-born fighters he is connected with – including Chimaev and Zubaira Tukhugov – continue to compete in the UFC.

Chimaev fought in UFC 279 in September in Las Vegas. At UFC 280, Chimaev posted a photo of him and Kadyrov’s son at the event together.

Chimaev has posted numerous pictures of himself with Kadyrov’s three sons, including ones of the three of them sparring and training in a gym. Kadyrov referred to Chimaev as his “dear brother” in a post about his wedding.

Yangulbaev explained that in Chechen society, they call Chimaev a “nanny of Kadyrov’s kids.”

Yangulbaev says that Kadyrov has placed a specific focus on promoting athletes he has trained in order to “spread his politics throughout the world.”

Despite criticism aimed at the UFC for not taking steps to dissociate itself from Kadyrov and his associates, it has taken no action to do so.

Former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy replied to a video of Chimaev sparring with Kadyrov, saying: “Let me get this right… It’s totally fine that the UFC controls what a fighter wears on his shorts, whether or not they train with James Kraus, or what they do on their social media, but it’s totally fine for them to train with a terrorist.”

And while the UFC has not distanced itself from Russian fighters, including those with ties to Kadyrov, the organization has taken strong stances to dissuade or stop affiliations in the past.

Just days after a betting scandal came to light that rocked the sport, the UFC came out strongly and proactively to ward off fighters from training with the coach accused in the alleged scheme.

And yet, the UFC has chosen not to take any actions restricting fighters from coming into contact with Kadyrov or punishing those who fraternize with him.

Two police officers and several firefighters were injured in an explosion at a block of flats in western Germany on Thursday as they attended an emergency call.

The blast happened at a high-rise building in the western town of Ratingen, police said.

A body was discovered in the apartment of a 57-year-old man suspected of causing the explosion, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister Herbert Reul told reporters. The body is yet to be identified.

Emergency personnel had been responding to a call at the apartment when the blast occurred. Security sources have not ruled out a targeted attack.

An security operation was launched with snipers in place on a building opposite, public state broadcaster ZDF reported.

During the operation, smoke was seen coming from an apartment on the top floor of the high rise building and special police forces could be seen on the balcony of the neighboring apartment, according to ZDF. Several loud blasts were heard during the operation.

Mettman district police wrote in a statement on Twitter: “There is an ongoing major incident in Ratingen-West. There has been an explosion, the cause of which is not yet clear. Several people are injured including police officers.”

While the circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated, ZDF reported that emergency personnel were called out to aid a helpless person living in the apartment block.

Firefighters opened the door to the flat where a mother and son were living, according to ZDF. It is understood a fire had broken out in the apartment.

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is expected to comment on the incident later on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic’s straight-sets victory over Cameron Norrie in the Italian Open boiled over when the British tennis star hit the back of the world No. 1’s leg with a smash.

The incident occurred at the start of the second set and despite an instant apology from Norrie, Djokovic did not respond well, proceeding to stare down his opponent.

The stare from Djokovic kept going as he walked towards the net before offering a verbal rebuttal to the British No. 1.

“Maybe you could say he didn’t hit me deliberately,” Djokovic told reporters after his 6-3 6-4 win in the round of 16.

“I don’t know if he saw me. I mean … you can always see where the player is positioned on the court.”

Djokovic added that he wasn’t altogether enamored with Norrie’s behavior in general throughout the match.

“It was not so much maybe about that, but it was maybe a combination of things,” said the 35-year-old Djokovic.

“He was doing all the things that we’re allowed. He’s allowed to take a medical timeout. He’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to say ‘come on’ in the face more or less every single point from basically first game.

“Those are the things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat each other. But, again, it’s allowed.”

However, Djokovic didn’t let his unhappiness with Norrie impact his form on the court as he eased towards a place in the Italian Open quarterfinals.

“He brought the fire, and I responded to that. I’m not going to allow someone behaving like this just bending my head. I’m going to respond to that,” added the 22-time grand slam winner.

“I got along with Cameron really well all these years that he’s been on the tour. Practised with each other. He’s a very nice guy off the court, so I don’t understand this kind of attitude on the court, to be honest.”

The Philadelphia 76ers have parted ways with head coach Doc Rivers following the team’s chastening Eastern Conference Semifinals defeat to the Boston Celtics, the team announced on Tuesday.

“Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely,” Daryl Morey, Sixers President of Basketball Operations, said in a statement.

“We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise.

“After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.”

The 76ers were comfortably swept aside by the Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday, losing 112-88 thanks largely to a horror show from star duo Joel Embiid and James Harden.

While Rivers no doubt deserves his portion of the blame – he now possesses an uninspiring 6-10 record in Game 7s – fans will likely be pointing to the failures of Embiid and Harden as the root cause of their early exit.

Harden, who has a track record of not performing to the best of his abilities in crunch playoff games, scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting to cap off a series in which he also posted 12, 16, 17 and 13 points in games.

Embiid, meanwhile, scored just 15 points on Sunday – the second time in the series he posted that lowly figure – on 5-of-18 shooting, as his threat was largely nullified by the 36-year-old Al Horford.

For those NBA or Denver Nuggets fans feeling aggrieved that Embiid was named MVP over Nikola Jokic, it may be some consolation that the Cameroonian had one of the most disappointing postseason performances of any MVP in league history.

After averaging 33.1 points per game during the regular season, Embiid averaged just 23.7 points per game in the playoffs, the largest drop off in points from any MVP in NBA history, per ESPN, while he also remains the only MVP to have never reached a conference semifinal.

In his three seasons with the Sixers, Rivers guided the team to a 154-82 regular season record and 20-15 postseason record, losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in each season.

Rivers joins a growing number of head coaches to have been dismissed by NBA teams recently, including Monty Williams, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse.

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon has been suspended for two games without pay for violating league and team workplace policies, the WNBA announced Tuesday. Las Vegas will also lose its 2025 first-round draft selection.

Hammon’s suspension follows an WNBA investigation into claims made by former Aces forward Dearica Hamby, who said the team discriminated against her for getting pregnant after she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in January.

“Being traded is a part of the business. Being lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against is not. I have had my character and work ethic attacked,” Hamby wrote in a January Instagram post. “I was promised things to entice me to sign my contract extension that were not followed through on.”

The league’s news release stated: “The team violation involved promises of impermissible benefits in connection with negotiations for an extension of then Aces player Dearica Hamby’s player contract. The Respect in the Workplace violation was related to comments made by Hammon to Hamby in connection with Hamby’s recent pregnancy.”

Hamby signed a two-year contract extension with the Aces in June. She said she was accused of signing the extension while knowing she was pregnant, which she denied in her post.

“This is false,” Hamby wrote. “I was told that I was ‘a question mark’ and that it was said that I said I would ‘get pregnant again’ and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team.”

Hamby, who announced her second pregnancy following the Aces 2022 WNBA Finals victory in September, added that the team believed she would not be ready to play this season.

“I planned to play this season, and I have expressed my desire to play this season,” Hamby said in January.

“I have pushed myself throughout my entire pregnancy and have continued to work out (basketball included) on my own and with team staff – even on days where it was uncomfortable to walk, only to be inaccurately told that ‘I was not taking my workouts seriously.’”

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement that it was “critical that we uphold the values of integrity and fairness, which create a level playing field for our teams.”

“The Aces failed to adhere to league rules and regulations and have been disciplined accordingly,” added Engelbert.

“We are also disheartened by the violation of our Respect in the Workplace policies and remain committed to ensuring that enhanced training is conducted and standards are followed across all WNBA teams.”

‘Penalty is far from appropriate’

Meanwhile, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) said the WNBA penalties had missed “the mark.”

“Where in this decision does this team or any other team across the League learn the lesson that respect in the workplace is the highest standard and a player’s dignity cannot be manipulated?” said the WNBPA in a statement.

“Incidents of misconduct by a team or team staff cannot always be compared, but recent penalties imposed by the League, and an honest view of the facts, demonstrate that this penalty is far from appropriate.

“While taking away a future draft pick is significant and has never been done in the League’s history, it penalizes a future player by removing an opportunity to compete for a job.

“We will continue to support our member as she considers the League’s decision and explores all available remedies.”

The 2023 WNBA regular season begins Friday.

Inter Milan will contest the Champions League final next month after Lautaro Martínez’s second-half goal ended the challenge of fierce city rival AC Milan.

Inter’s 1-0 victory in Tuesday’s second-leg semifinal at a rocking San Siro stadium secured a 3-0 aggregate win and a place in the final on June 10.

Simone Inzaghi’s side will now have the chance to become the fourth Inter side to win European soccer’s elite competition and write a new page in the Nerazzurri history books.

Famed coach Helenio Herrera guided Inter to back-to-back European Cup wins in 1964 and 1965. Inter fans then had to wait 45 years for another European Cup title when José Mourinho’s side stunned the continent in 2010.

The second leg was much more of a contest than last week’s tie but, with AC Milan desperately chasing goals, Inter captain Martínez stepped up with a 74th-minute strike to decide the second leg.

The diminutive striker was slipped in by substitute Romelu Lukaku and blasted a driven effort past Mike Maignan at his near post – sending the San Siro into bedlam.

‘The key was the group’

AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori claimed there “was a bit of anxiety” among the AC ranks during the first leg but Stefano Pioli’s side came out with nothing to lose this time around.

Looking to overturn their deficit, and buoyed by Rafael Leão’s return, the Rossoneri came out all guns blazing.

Brahim Díaz had a glorious opportunity to give his side an early lead but his tame effort was comfortably saved by André Onana.

Shortly after, Leão drove forward with a brilliant solo run, only to see his effort agonizingly roll past the post.

With chances being spurned, Maignan kept his team in the semfinal and made a brilliant save to block Edin Džeko’s first-half header.

Despite their energetic start, AC Milan ran out of gas and Pioli’s side didn’t manage a shot on target following the break and Martínez’s goal ended all hope of a comeback.

“We did a great job in both matches. The key was the group,” goalscorer Martínez told Sky Italia. “I had a similar experience at the World Cup: if you are united, you get to play these very important matches in the best possible way.”

Inter Milan can now prepare for the Champions League final in Istanbul on June 10 where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Inter vice-president and former captain, Javier Zanetti said he has a preference for not meeting 14-time European Cup winners, Real.

“I would like to avoid Real Madrid because the competition seems made for them,” explained Inter’s Champions League winning captain in 2010.

Archaeologists working at Pompeii have found two new victims that they say were killed by an earthquake that accompanied the volcanic eruption of 79 AD.

The Italian city may be most closely associated with the destruction wrought by the eruption of Vesuvius, but these two men were in fact killed by walls knocked down by a simultaneous earthquake, according to the official Pompeii archaeological site.

“Part of the south wall of the room collapsed, crushing one of the men whose raised arm offers a tragic image of his vain attempt to protect himself from the falling masonry,” reads a press release on Tuesday.

“The conditions of the west wall demonstrate the tremendous force of the earthquakes that took place at the same time as the eruption: the entire upper section was detached and fell into the room, crushing and burying the other individual,” it continues.

The pair, who were at least 55 years old, were found during excavations of the Insula of the House of the Chaste Lovers during work to improve the safety of the building.

They were found lying in a utility room where they had sought refuge, and were killed by multiple traumas as parts of the building collapse.

Archaeologists found organic matter, which they believe to be a bundle of fabric, as well as glass paste, which is thought to be the beads of a necklace and six coins. The team also found an amphora leaning against a wall and a number of vessels, bowls and jugs.

In an adjoining room, archaeologists found a stone kitchen counter covered in powdered lime, which they say suggests that building work was being undertaken nearby at the time of the eruption.

The discovery “shows how much there is still to discover about the terrible eruption of AD 79 and confirms the necessity of continuing scientific investigation and excavations,” said Italy’s Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano in the release.

“Pompeii is an immense archaeological laboratory that has regained vigour in recent years, astonishing the world with the continuous discoveries brought to light and demonstrating Italian excellence in this sector,” he added.

Details of the excavation were published in the E-Journal of Pompeii.

The Roman city of Pompeii was buried under meters of pumice and ash in the calamitous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Archaeologists have uncovered only around two thirds of the 66-hectare (163 acres) site since excavations began 250 years ago, Reuters reports.

Thai voters delivered a powerful message to the country’s military-backed government on Sunday: you do not have the will of the people to rule.

The progressive Move Forward Party, which gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, won the most seats and the largest share of the popular vote.

Pheu Thai, the main opposition party that has been a populist force in Thailand for 20 years, came second.

Together they delivered a crushing blow to the conservative, military-backed establishment that has ruled on and off for decades, often by turfing out popularly elected governments in coups.

“This is an unmistakable frontal rebuke, a rejection of Thailand’s military authoritarian past. It’s a rejection of military dominance in politics,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University.

Over the last two decades, each time Thais have been allowed to vote, they have done so overwhelmingly in support of the military’s political opponents. Sunday’s vote – which saw a record turnout – was a continuation of that tradition.

But despite winning a landslide, it is far from certain who will be the next leader.

That’s because the military junta that last seized power in 2014 rewrote the constitution to ensure they maintain a huge say in who can lead, whether or not they win the popular vote.

Neither opposition party won an outright majority of 376 seats needed to form a government outright, they will need to strike deals and wrangle support from other parties to form a coalition big enough to ensure victory.

But that won’t necessarily be straightforward.

Dangerous territory

The first thing to know is that any opposition party or coalition hoping to form a government must overcome the powerful voting bloc of the senate.

Under the junta-era constitution, Thailand’s unelected 250-seat senate is chosen entirely by the military and has previously voted for a pro-military candidate.

Because a party needs a majority of the combined houses – 750 seats – to elect a prime minister, it means opposition parties need almost three times as many votes in the lower house to be able to elect the next leader and form a government.

In 2019, coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha won the senate votes which ensured his party’s coalition gained enough seats to elect him as prime minister, despite Pheu Thai being the largest party.

There are also other threats to the progressive movement’s win. Parties that have previously pushed for change have run afoul of the powerful conservative establishment – a nexus of the military, monarchy and influential elites.

Lawmakers have faced bans, parties have been dissolved, and governments have been overthrown. Thailand has witnessed a dozen successful coups since 1932, including two in the past 17 years.

And the purportedly independent election commission, anti-corruption commission and the constitutional court are all dominated in favor of the establishment.

In the progressive camp’s favor, however, is their large margin over the military-backed parties.

“If the results were murky, or if the pro-military parties got more, then we would be looking at manipulation, trying to shave the margins. But the results are so clear and very difficult to overturn now,” said Thitinan, adding that if there were attempts to subvert the vote, there would be public anger and protests.

Move Forward’s predecessor the Future Forward Party won the third most seats in the 2019 election. Shortly afterward, several of the party’s leaders were banned from politics and the party was later dissolved after a court ruled it violated electoral finance rules.

In the short term, that decision ended the threat from the Future Forward Party. But it also, in many ways, laid the foundation for Sunday’s historic vote.

Youth-led protests erupted across Thailand in 2020 after Future Forward was dissolved and a whole new generation of young political leaders were born, some of whom were willing to debate a previously taboo topic – royal reform.

Those calls electrified Thailand, where any frank discussion of the monarchy is fraught with the threat of prison under one of the strictest lese majeste laws in the world.

Many youth leaders were jailed or face ongoing prosecution linked to those protests. But some also went on to create the Move Forward party that swept to victory in the popular vote on Sunday.

That leaves the military establishment now locked in a political battle with a party that has kept the subject of royal reform on its manifesto.

Experts have said another coup would be costly, and dissolving a party with such a mandate would be “drastic.”

“Dissolving a party is a fairly drastic move. If there’s a way of keeping Move Forward out without dissolving them, then conservative politicians would probably prefer to do that. Because it’s not as strong a step in subverting the will that people have expressed,” said Susannah Patton, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute.

“But you can’t rule that out.”

Vote for change cannot be ignored

Move Forward’s allure went beyond the youth vote on which it built its base.

Unofficial results showed the party captured 32 out of 33 seats in Bangkok – traditionally a stronghold for conservative parties.

“What this shows is that people who are living in urban areas are really fed up with the government that the military has provided for almost a decade,” said Patton.

“They are wanting to choose something different, and Move Forward is not just the youth party but actually can attract a wider cross section of support as well.”

Move Forward’s radical agenda includes reforming the military, getting rid of the draft, reducing the military’s budget, making it more transparent and accountable, as well as constitutional change and to bring the military and monarchy within the constitution.

The party’s win over the populist juggernaut Pheu Thai is also significant. This is the first time a party linked with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has lost an election since 2001.

And Pheu Thai’s marginal defeat to Move Forward shows voters’ frustration with the old cycle of politics that pitted populist Thaksin-linked parties against the establishment.

Thailand’s “two party system was already breaking down in 2019, but it’s continuing to break down this election,” said Patton.

In a press conference on Monday, Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat said the party would go forward with plans to amend the country’s strict lese majeste laws – a key campaign pledge despite the taboo surrounding any discussion of the royal family in Thailand.

One of his priorities is to support young people facing jail terms on lese majeste charges, and Pita warned that if the law remains as it is, the relationship between the Thai people and the monarchy will only worsen.

His policies “strike at heart of the establishment,” said Thitinan, and even talking about the monarchy openly “is an affront to the palace.”

The Move Forward leader said Monday that he wants to form an alliance with the four other opposition parties to secure a majority in the lower house.

It could take 60 days before a prime ministerial candidate is endorsed by Thailand’s combined houses of parliament, but Sunday’s vote shows the people are ready for change.

However, if Thailand’s turbulent recent history is anything to go by, that could mean little. The military has shown in the past that it has few qualms about ignoring the popular vote.

Taiwan’s legislature passed a bill Tuesday that granted same-sex couples the right to jointly adopt a child neither of them are related to, clearing one of the final hurdles in achieving full marriage equality.

Taiwan in 2019 became the first jurisdiction in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage but it stopped short of granting fully equal rights of adoption to same-sex couples.

Previously, only heterosexual couples and single people were allowed to adopt children to whom they are not biologically related – creating a situation where if same-sex couples wanted to adopt a child, only one of them could register as the child’s legal parent, even if they both shared the burden of raising them.

“I am very excited that we granted joint adoption rights to same-sex couples today,” said Fan Yun, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party who was among those that initiated the legal change.

“Legally, we have finally returned same-sex couples to their children,” she added. “Parental love is the same, and only through joint adoption can we protect the rights and interests of each other by law.”

The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, an advocate for LGBT rights on the island, also called the decision a big step toward achieving full marriage equality.

“Today’s success shows that the consensus in Taiwan is to protect the human rights of LGBTI peoples and promote gender equality,” the alliance said in a statement.

Before the legal change Tuesday, some same-sex couples had spent years challenging the discrimination in Taiwanese courts.

In a landmark ruling last January, a male couple from Kaohsiung city managed to successfully challenge the ban – when the court ruled that allowing joint adoption was in the best interest of their child.

But the court also dismissed other similar cases and the law that limited their civil liberties remained on the statute books until it was amended Tuesday.

The legal change has come amid growing awareness in Taiwan about what it still takes to achieve full marriage equality – even though same-sex marriage had been legalized four years ago.

In January, the Taiwanese government issued a new directive that allowed a Taiwanese person to marry a foreign spouse of the same sex, even if their partner is from a jurisdiction that does not recognize gay marriage.

That directive, however, does not include same-sex partners from mainland China.

The alliance said some of the remaining hurdles for LGBT couples included equality for cross-strait marriages and access to assisted reproductive technologies.