On Tuesday, a Russian Su-27 fighter forced down a US MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea.

Top US officials quickly put the finger of blame on Russia: Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said “unsafe and unprofessional” flying by the Russian aircraft nearly caused the Su-27 and the Reaper to crash.

US European Command released footage Thursday that showed a Russian jet making two passes by the drone and dumping fuel on it. On the second approach shown in the video, the fighter collides with the MQ-9, damaging the propeller.

The US State Department summoned Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov over the incident. And in comments the following day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that relations between Russia and the US had hit their “lowest point.”

But the lowest point since when? Since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea? Since the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 US presidential election? Or perhaps since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year? With the US and Russia routinely scraping bottom when it comes to bilateral relations, perhaps we need new superlatives to describe how bad things are.

There’s little denying that the midair collision – which Russia denies – has exacerbated tensions between Moscow and Washington. But a bit of historical perspective serves as a reminder that confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations can be much sharper.

Take, for instance, an often-overlooked chapter of the war in Syria. Back in February 2018, a US contingent on the ground in eastern Syria clashed with a force advancing on their base that included members of the Russian private military company Wagner. US troops called in air strikes and artillery on the opposing force, inflicting dozens of casualties on the Wagner mercenaries and their Syrian allies.

The battle was the deadliest encounter between US forces and Russian fighters since the end of the Cold War, but it did not lead to escalation: The Russian government at the time denied the existence of the mercenary group (Wagner today quite publicly bears the brunt of fighting for Russia around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut). But back in 2018, reporting about the battle also highlighted the existence of a longstanding “deconfliction line” between the US and Russian militaries meant to minimize the risk of inadvertent escalation by keeping channels of communication open about military movements and operations.

Such channels remained open even after Russia’s full-invasion of Ukraine last year. Last March, the Pentagon acknowledged it had a deconfliction line open to avoid military miscalculations near Ukraine.

It’s not clear whether routine US drone flights over the Black Sea region rise to the level of deconfliction: National Security Council Communications Coordinator John Kirby said American assets “have been flying consistently over that airspace for a year,” he said, arguing there was no reason to activate deconfliction lines before flying over the Black Sea. And according to Kremlin spokesman Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the downing of the drone, but there were no highest level contacts between Moscow and Washington over the matter.

While lines of communication may be open, the US-Russia confrontation is certainly at levels not seen since the most dangerous moments of the Cold War.

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” President Joe Biden told a group of Democrats last year in response to nuclear saber rattling by Putin. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”

But though the Cold War saw the Cuban missile crisis and several nuclear close calls, it’s less remembered today that the Cold War escalated into a hot one between US and Soviet forces at several points during the decades-long confrontation.

During the Korean War, for instance, US fighter pilots engaged in aerial combat against Soviet MiGs. Those dogfights, however, remained shrouded in secrecy, with records quickly classified and participants sworn to secrecy. One of the reasons? Fears that making such incidents public might increase tensions between the two superpowers.

The same was also true for manned surveillance flights that the US carried out around — and sometimes over — Soviet territory. The downing of the U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers in 1960 is the most famous case, creating major embarrassment for the United States and stirring worldwide media attention. But most of those programs remained classified, and out of the news, for decades.

One of the incidents that was only declassified decades later was the downing of Flight 60528, a US C-130 on a spy mission that was shot down over Soviet Armenia, killing its crew of 17. The US government has acknowledged that between 1945 and 1977, over 40 US reconnaissance aircraft were shot down on such missions.

Andrew Weiss, a Russia expert and Vice President for Studies & James Family Chair at the Carnegie Endowment, suggested in a thread on Twitter that the downing of the drone had another use for the Russians, allowing Moscow to maintain a credible bluff about their willingness to escalate in a confrontation with the West.

“Russian irritation about US and NATO activities in/around the Black Sea is nothing new,” he wrote. “Surely, people in the Kremlin are smart enough to know that US won’t back away from conducting surveillance missions like the drone flight that a Russian jet crashed into today.”

Added Weiss: “For more than a year, the Kremlin has routinely threatened to interfere with shipments of Western weapons to Ukraine yet has done nothing to back that up. For all the endless talk about possible escalation risks from a Russian attack, the reality is that deterrence has held. … Messing [with] a drone flight was a way for Moscow to try to rebuild its lost credibility – without threatening any US/NATO lives.”

But that’s the double edged sword of deterrence. Messing with a drone flight is one thing, but if Moscow acts in a way that does (publicly) threaten lives, then we may end up talking about a different scenario.

Only the first round has concluded, and already March Madness has delivered some major upsets.

So far, No.1 seed Purdue University, No.2 seed Arizona Wildcats and No.4 seed Virginia Cavaliers have been unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament, succumbing to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson, No.15 seed Princeton Tigers and 13th-seeded Furman Paladins respectively.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s 63-58 victory over Purdue was just the second time in NCAA men’s tournament history that a No.16 seed defeated a No.1 seed, and its players flooded the court afterwards in celebration.

“We just have faith in what we do and our guys are so tough and competitive,” FDU’s head coach Tobin Anderson told the TNT broadcast.

“I love our guys. They’re tough. They’re great. They played their tails off. That’s an unbelievable win. It’s unbelievable. We shocked the world.”

Only 2.36% of completed Men’s Bracket Challenge Game entries predicted an FDU win over Purdue, the second-lowest percentage out of every team in the field, according to the NCAA.

The shocking win also means that the last hopes of anyone completing the practically impossible task of predicting a perfect bracket has been eliminated altogether, the NCAA noted.

Any hopes of completing a perfect bracket had already been dented on Thursday following Princeton’s 59-55 improbable win over Arizona and the Paladins’ stunning 68-67 victory against Virginia.

Princeton’s victory alone left only 0.065% of men’s brackets remaining intact, out of the millions of brackets completed, according to NCAA March Madness Twitter.

“One year after all brackets busted on Game No. 28, no one remained perfect after the 25th game of the tournament,” said the NCAA.

For much of the first half, the result had wavered on a knife’s edge before a quick start to the second half put Arizona in control.

But, trailing by 10 points with eight minutes remaining, the Tigers clawed their way back into the game and completed a famous victory.

The Paladins also snatched their unlikely win after completing a comeback, overcoming a 12-point deficit at one stage, to topple Virginia.

“You know, this game is – interesting might be the word I’d use,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said afterwards, reflecting on his team’s defeat.

“You feel like, we got it, we got it, and then all of a sudden in a moment’s notice, it changes at the end.”

UFC flyweight fighter Jeff Molina has announced that he is bisexual after an intimate video of him with another man leaked on social media.

“Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken away from me. I’ve tried to keep my dating life private from social media,” the 25-year-old Molina posted on Twitter on Friday.

“The thought of my buddies, teammates, and (people) I look up to looking at me different let alone treating me different for something I can’t control was something I couldn’t fathom.”

He added: “I wanted to be known for my skills and what I’ve dedicated the last 11 years of my life to not and not the ‘bi ufc fighter’ that I’m sure would just be translated to ‘gay UFC fighter.’”

Molina criticized the individual who posted the video.

“To the awful disturbed person that decided to post this … I hope it was worth it,” Molina wrote.

In January, the Nevada Athletic Commission suspended Molina for his possible betting involvement on a UFC fight, according to the MMA Fighting and Mixed Martial Arts websites.

The UFC is not scheduling any fights for him, pending the investigation.

Molina’s pro MMA record is 11-2, according to the UFC website.

Brown University Bears freshman utility player Olivia Pichardo became the first woman to play in a Division I baseball game on Friday.

Pichardo pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, grounding out to first base as the Bears went on to lose to the Bryant University Bulldogs 10-1 at Murray Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island.

After the game, Pichardo said she wants more girls to know it is possible for them to play baseball.

“I just hope that young girls can watch and see that this is possible; that it’s not just a dream but it is a tangible goal they can have,” she said after the game, according to the team website.

“I really hope that there is a whole new wave and generation of girls that come around and try to make it as far as I have, and further in baseball.”

Brown’s head baseball coach Grant Achilles said players should be judged only on skills, nothing else.

“I hope Olivia’s accomplishments show people that if someone is talented enough to be given an opportunity, they should be judged solely on their baseball abilities. No other factors should play into that,” Achilles said, according to the team website.

“Olivia is an example of that. It is not just her putting all the work and effort in, but an entire network of people who have supported her along the way.”

Pichardo, who is from Queens, New York, played for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team in 2022.

“Kelsie Whitmore has been an inspiration for me for a long time,” Pichardo told the team website, referring to the 24-year-old pitcher and outfielder who signed with the Atlantic League’s Staten Island FerryHawks in April 2022.

Whitmore is the first woman to join a league affiliated with Major League Baseball.

“She was the first female baseball player I had ever heard of and ever since, I have been following her journey,” added Pichardo. I had the chance to play on the same team as her on the USA Baseball Women’s National Team.”

Brown and Bryant will play a doubleheader Saturday.

It was shaping up to be a golden year for tourism in Turkey. With favorable exchange rates sweetening the deal for visitors, the country’s beautiful beaches, historic cities and geological wonders were poised for a post-pandemic tourism revival.

Then disaster struck. On February 6, a massive earthquake close to Turkey’s border with Syria caused major loss of life and leveled entire neighborhoods. The seismic shock and the emotional convulsions that followed were both felt across the country.

Even as they were processing the catastrophe and doing their best to support their compatriots caught up in it, many working in Turkey’s tourism industry realized they had a potential problem on their own hands: Would the disaster scare away visitors?

Of course, while this paled in comparison with the suffering of those in the quake zone, it was no less real. Tourism is hugely important for Turkey’s economy and the livelihoods of many depend on it. After Covid, visitors were needed more than ever.

Tourist reticence in the wake of a disaster is understandable. Vacationers tend to see news footage of any disaster zone and equate that with the country as a whole – even when that country is as geographically extensive as Turkey.

They will inevitably have questions. Is there any ongoing danger? Will they be a burden on their hosts at a time when the country is trying to recover? Will they be welcome? Understandably, they also want to know if they’ll still have a good time.

In the coming weeks, Turkey – also known as Türkiye – will be entering the start of its peak tourism season. With some reporting cancellations in the initial days and weeks after the earthquake, the country’s travel industry will be holding its breath.

Signs are good, says Kaan Kavaloğlu, chair of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers Association. With flights operating as normal to most major destinations, and resorts and businesses all open, he’s confident the country is still in for a better year.

Istanbul

Istanbul is the epitome of Turkish culture and is the gateway to the country for many.

It’s among the world’s leading travel destinations, where international visitors in 2022 spent more than $13 billion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Like most of Turkey’s prime tourist spots, Istanbul felt the shockwaves of the February 6 earthquake but sustained no damage. The city, home to 15 million residents, lies more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the quake’s epicenter.

At Çukurcuma Hamamı, a luxury bath house that has been welcoming visitors and locals into its steamy embrace since 1831, manager Büke Yurdadoğ is among many working in the travel industry concerned that the quake will scare away tourists.

While she, like others, is still reeling from the scale of the tragedy and shares concerns for its victims, there’s worry that tourists will strike Istanbul from their itineraries because of recent events.

“We’re currently entering the high tourist season in Istanbul and compared to last year, there is a decrease in business, even if it’s a small one,” says Yurdadoğ.

“The earthquake has, of course, affected us all, both personally and as a business. We’re trying to help the affected provinces as much as we can while also striving to welcome guests to our hamam in the best way possible.

“Natural disasters are an inevitable fact of our world and Istanbul is a city that has existed for centuries and has hosted dozens of cultures and civilizations in the midst of this reality.”

Tourists, says Yurdadoğ, will still be beguiled by the variety of what Istanbul has to offer.

“It is a city that may appear chaotic from afar, but when visitors come here and begin to explore, they discover new mysteries at every corner. From the historic peninsula to Balat to Galata and to Moda, I think every neighborhood has something that attracts the interests of every traveler.”

She recommends the antique shops of Çukurcuma, the Sveti Stefan Church in Balat, the alleys around the Galata Tower, the Bosphorus Strait, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum overlooking the Bosphorus view, the Yeşilköy waterfront and its fishermen, and the Moda and Kuzguncuk neighborhoods.

Antalya

Antalya, on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, may be synonymous with resort vacations by its beach, but the city and province are destinations for history buffs and the nearby Taurus Mountains draw hikers. There are also quiet beach towns.

At the Olympos Mountain Lodge, a boutique hotel in the Antalya village of Beycik, owner and chef Mehmet Ali Börtücene presides over a refined eatery that focuses on seasonal produce.

Börtücene says the quake has had a significant impact on Antalya, which lies more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the epicenter, with tourist bookings down. Yet, he adds, visitors will help quake survivors.

“After the disaster, Antalya welcomed many earthquake victims who were left homeless and unemployed,” he says. “Tourists who come to this region will indirectly contribute to the healing process.

“Tourism is one of Turkey’s most important sources of income and so every tourist who comes here actually helps in the alleviation of this trauma. After the earthquake, tourism decreased in the Antalya region, the sadness that people felt naturally reduced our work considerably,” says Börtücene.

He says visitors to Beycik and Antalya will enjoy not only its coast but also pine, juniper and cedar forests and the ancient ruins of Çıralı, Olympos and Phaselis.

“There’s the Lycian Way, a marked long-distance hiking trail all along the coast with stunning views, the historic Gelidonya Lighthouse and pristine natural beauties such as the Beş Adalar Island and the Üçoluk highland village.”

Bodrum

Bodrum is synonymous with Turkey’s “Turquoise Coast,” a summer hotspot of luxury resorts and nightclubs but also of quieter seaside villages with humble seafood restaurants where evenings can be spent watching the moon reflect on calm waters.

Inside Bodrum’s bazaar, Gallery Mustafa owner Mustafa Açıkel and his son Murat sell hand-embroidered rugs, kilims and cushion covers. Açıkel says the quake has prompted concerned calls from regular clients but hopes tourism won’t take a hit.

“The earthquake affected us all emotionally,” he says. “Here in Bodrum people sent as much aid as possible to the affected areas and hotels opened their doors for the victims.

“The Aegean region may be on the earthquake fault line but we can’t say that it has adversely affected tourism. Our customers abroad called us to ask about the situation in the country but all plan to come in the summer.

“Economically speaking, tourism is one of Turkey’s biggest sources of income and so we need tourists to visit each year. We have a lot of workers who make a living from tourism, in every region in Turkey,” he adds.

Açıkel says visitors to Bodrum this year can find luxury and entertainment as well as a quiet and calm getaway. His highlights include a visit to Bodrum Castle, and the Theater and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

“I recommend a blue cruise for those who have time; visiting the food market on Fridays for the best organic produce; walking among the tangerine orchards in Bitez village; eating lunch at Köfteci Bilal’in Yeri and Sakallı Restaurant in the bazaar.

Also on his list, seafood at the Körfez and Gemibaşı restaurants, enjoying homemade dishes at Kısmet restaurant in Konacık and visiting the Dibeklihan Culture and Art Village and the beautiful garden and library at Zai Bodrum.

Izmir

Turkey’s third most populous city, Izmir is also one of its most liberal, attracting summer crowds who like to hang out in the fashionable town of Alaçatı, go dancing at the beach clubs in Çeşme or wine tasting in Urla.

Inside six historic, renovated stone houses, Alavya is one of Izmir’s most exclusive boutique hotels. Zeynep Çiftçioğlu İpekçi, who works as its media and communications director, says bookings wavered after the disaster but not significantly.

“Even though Izmir is far away from the provinces affected by the earthquake, we were overcome with deep sadness,” she says. “However, we are making an effort to continue our work and to foster the peace, calmness and love that is the essence of Alavya.

“Of course, we have had some cancellations, but the majority of our guests have continued to come,” says Çiftçioğlu İpekçi.

She says visitors to Alaçatı will appreciate its historic cobblestoned streets, windmills, turquoise waters and summer wind breezes, as well as local produce.

“The Aegean kitchen, with its appetizers, herbs, desserts as well as the Çeşme melon, the Izmir fig and the Alaçatı artichoke are some of the most beautiful flavors in the world,” says Çiftçioğlu.

“Apart from UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Ephesus and Bergama, Izmir has Seferihisar, Turkey’s first slow city (Cittaslow), the natural beauties of Karaburun, the seaside village of Ildır, the historic Birgi village and the beautiful bays, vineyards and fish restaurants on the road between Izmir city and Alaçatı.”

Canakkle

Çanakkale, on the southern shores of the Dardanelles Strait dividing Europe and Asia, is steeped in history. It’s known for the ancient city of Troy and the Martyrs’ Memorial to Turkish soldiers who died at nearby Gallipoli in World War I.

Completed by Yalın Architectural Design in 2018, the Museum of Troy appears like an extraterrestrial cube out in the vast countryside, covered in a rusted metal facade.

“There is a deep sadness in Çanakkale and all over Turkey because of this great disaster,” says Rıdvan Gölcük, the museum’s director. “After the earthquake, an important example of solidarity and mobilization was shown to collect aid for the affected regions.”

Gölcük says his museum has launched workshops to help rehabilitate families, including children who have moved to Çanakkale from quake-hit areas.

“We believe museums play an essential role in helping children face the future with confidence,” he says.

In addition to his museum, Gölcük says visitors should explore the nearby ruins of ancient Troy, the Martyrs’ Memorial and watch the sunset at the Sanctuary of Athena at Assos.

Also on his list is the island of Bozcaada, a short ferry ride away, Mount Ida (Kaz Dağları). Visitors can also sample wine from Bozcaada and cheese from Ezine.

“Tourism is important for Turkey, but not just because of economic factors,” Gölcük adds. “It is also a way for us to share our story, a form of communication that also allows us to write the story of our future together.”

Cappadocia

A mystical landscape of wind-carved “fairy chimneys,” rock-cut churches and underground cities, Cappadocia is like nowhere else on Earth.

Inside a restored former monastery complex consisting of underground tunnels and houses, is Argos in Cappadocia, an award-winning hotel overlooking the popular trekking site of Pigeon Valley.

Situated just 300 kilometers (close to 190 miles) from the quake zone, Cappadocia is perfectly safe, the hotel’s manager, Deniz Karkın, insists.

“When considering the scientific data, Cappadocia is one of the regions in Turkey with the lowest earthquake risk,” he says. “Guests who are planning to visit Turkey can choose Cappadocia for their travels with peace of mind.”

The region’s landscape is the main draw for visitors, but the history of those who have carved their homes in the soft flanks of its cliffs are just as fascinating.

“Cappadocia is like something out of a fairy tale, a settlement where underground cities were carved out thousands of years ago,” says Karkın. It’s also known for its wines and as a cradle of Christianity.

“Guests who come here experience the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Göreme Open Air Museum, the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, the Paşabağ Valley with its fairy chimneys, and the Love and Kızılçukur Valleys, which have the most stunning sunsets.

“Every morning the sky is colored with hundreds of hot-air balloons, offering guests a chance to see and photograph Cappadocia from above.”

Fethiye

Another tourist hotspot along the Turkish Riviera, Fethiye is known for its beaches, but historic sites such as the abandoned Greek village of Kayaköy give it a mysterious flair.

The small town of Göcek is a hub for yacht tourism. In one of its many marinas, Irmak Yüksel and her family offer bareboat and skippered charters.

Yüksel says she’s optimistic of good times ahead. Visitors, she adds, should have no fears for safety.

“Turkey is an earthquake-prone country so what’s important is that structures are sturdy and built according to code,” she says. “In light of this, I don’t think there is any heightened risk here in the Fethiye region.

“Like every sector, we were also deeply saddened and affected by the earthquake. Despite the fact that our excitement and enthusiasm was a bit broken, we are looking forward to hosting guests for the upcoming summer season.”

“Göcek is, of course, my favorite place in Fethiye because of the work we do. It has these beautiful bays that seem to have been made by hand like lacework. It is a unique town with lush nature, sailing tourism and an elite atmosphere” says Yüksel.

“Apart from taking a boat tour and going paragliding, tourists coming to Fethiye should visit the historic Kayaköy village, the ancient Greek Amyntas Rock Tombs, the Saklıkent National Park with its famous canyon, the Ölüdeniz Beach and hike part of the Lycian Way.”

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have launched two emergency appeals with a total value of 200 million Swiss francs (around $214 million) to help relief efforts in both countries.

There are many other organizations who are also on the ground responding. You can help by clicking here.

Tonight, UFC fighters Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will face off in London for the third time in a much-anticipated bout.

Here are the details for how you can catch the big fight.

The athletes will compete in London’s 02 Arena

Edwards and Usman will go head to head at London’s 02 Arena on Saturday, which has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom.

The early prelims were slated to start at 12:30 pm EDT, followed by the prelims at 3:00 pm and the main card at 5:00 pm.

A star-studded lineup

The primary draw for the tournament is the main card battle between Edwards, the current UFC Welterweight Champion, and Usman, the former champion. Usman won a 2015 match against Edwards in his official debut as a UFC athlete, but lost to Edwards during a 2022 rematch.

But there are other exciting matches on the main card, including Rafael Fiziev vs. Justin Gaethje, Bryan Barberena vs. Gunnar Nelson, Casey O’Neill vs. Jennifer Maia, and Roman Dolidze vs. Marvin Vettori.

How to watch

The prelims will be streamed on ESPN while the main card is available for pay-per-view from ESPN. The early prelims will be available to watch on UFC Fight Pass, which charges a $9.99 monthly subscription fee.

A giant blob of seaweed twice the width of the continental United States is headed for the shores of Florida and other coastlines throughout the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to dump smelly and possibly harmful piles across beaches and dampening tourism season.

Sargassum — the specific variety of seaweed — has long formed large blooms in the Atlantic Ocean, and scientists have been tracking massive accumulations since 2011. But this year’s bloom could be the largest ever, collectively spanning more than 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers) from the shores of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.

Traveling west, the blob will push through the Caribbean and up into the Gulf of Mexico during the summer. The seaweed is expected to show up on beaches in Florida around July, Lapointe said.

“This is an entirely new oceanographic phenomenon that is creating such a problem — really a catastrophic problem — for tourism in the Caribbean region, where it piles up on beaches up to 5 or 6 feet deep,” Lapointe said.

Here’s what you should know about why these masses happen and how they affect both humans and ocean life.

What is sargassum?

Sargassum is a catchall term that can be used to refer to more than 300 species of brown algae, although Sargassum natans and Sargassum fluitans are the two species most commonly found in the Atlantic.

When adrift at sea, the algae can have upsides for ocean life.

“This floating habitat provides food and protection for fishes, mammals, marine birds, crabs, and more,” according to the Sargassum Information Hub, a joint project among various research institutions. “It serves as a critical habitat for threatened loggerhead sea turtles and as a nursery area for a variety of commercially important fishes such as mahi mahi, jacks, and amberjacks.”

Is sargassum safe?

The problems with sargassum arise when it hits the beaches, piling up in mounds that can be difficult to navigate and emitting a gas that can smell like rotten eggs.

Sargassum can also quickly turn from an asset to a threat to ocean life.

It comes in such “large quantities that it basically sucks the oxygen out of the water and creates what we refer to as dead zones,” Lapointe said. “These are normally nursery habitats for fisheries … and once they’re devoid of oxygen, we have lost that habitat.”

Sargassum can be dangerous to humans, too, Lapointe added. The gas emitted from the rotting algae — hydrogen sulfide — is toxic and can cause respiratory problems. The seaweed also contains arsenic in its flesh, making it dangerous if ingested or used for fertilizer.

“You have to be very careful when you clean the beaches,” Lapointe said.

Why is there a sargassum problem?

Just like plants and crops on the ground, the proliferation of seaweed can shift year to year depending on ecological factors, affected by changes in nutrients, rainfall and wind conditions, said Dr. Gustavo Jorge Goni, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Sea currents are also influential on sargassum’s growth and how much it accumulates, Goni added. Phosphorus and nitrogen in the sea can serve as food for the algae.

Those elements can be dumped into the ocean from rivers, which gain concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen from human activities such as agriculture and fossil fuel production, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

For now, researchers are looking into ways to thwart the seaweed’s impact on beaches, possibly by sinking it to the bottom of the ocean or harvesting it for use in commercial products such as soap, Goni said.

Goni cautioned that research into these sargassum accumulations is new, and it’s likely scientists’ understanding of how the algae grows will shift over time.

“Whatever we believe we know today,” he said, “it may change tomorrow.”

How does the buildup affect travel?

Before traveling to coastal areas this spring or summer, research whether sargassum is at your destination or might show up there, Lapointe said. Plan ahead so your vacation won’t disappoint.

There are sargassum Facebook groups, with members posting about what they recently saw on beaches, Lapointe said.

“It’s already affected the travel industry,” he said.

Unfortunately, sargassum can build up overnight so you might not be able to predict its effects on a trip, Lapointe said.

“This is why we’re trying to work on these early warning systems — high resolution in coastal areas, which takes higher-resolution satellite imagery to do a better job showing what’s actually coming into a beach within the next 24 or 48 hours,” he added.

Satellite images from within the last week show sargassum isn’t an amorphous mass moving across the ocean, but rather teardrop-shaped blobs trailed by long, thin strands of seaweed.

Within the last week, sargassum blobs have been spotted about 215 miles (346 kilometers) from Guadeloupe, in between the islands of St. Vincent and Bequia, 1,000 yards (914 meters) off Martinique and off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.

How is sargassum cleaned up?

Mounds of algae accumulated on beaches cost millions of dollars to clean up, and removal efforts can also harm marine life, according to the Sargassum Information Hub.

In Barbados, locals were using “1,600 dump trucks a day to clean the beaches of this seaweed to make it suitable for tourists and recreation on the beaches,” Lapointe said.

In shallow waters, sargassum can be removed using fishing nets towed by light boats or by hand, according to the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance.

In the US, cleanup is often done with Barber beach rakes pulled by a tractor, Lapointe said. But once there’s an accumulation of more than a foot of sargassum, the rakes don’t work as well, he added. That’s when front-end loader dump trucks can be helpful, but they can be harmful to beach health.

Use of dump trucks to remove sargassum can become problematic.

“Oftentimes you have sea turtle nests on beaches that are being run over by tires of this heavy equipment crushing the eggs,” Lapointe said.

What happens if sargassum isn’t removed from beaches?

If sargassum isn’t cleaned from beaches or is used as fertilizer, the arsenic in its flesh could leach out into groundwater, which could be a health hazard for humans, Lapointe said.

An excessive amount of rotting sargassum can also support the growth of fecal bacteria.

And in 2018, a massive bloom that ended up on the beaches of South Florida coincided with the biggest red tide ever seen on that coast, Lapointe said. Red tides occur when toxin-producing algae blooms grow so out of control they discolor coastal waters. Red tide organisms can live on sargassum and be transported by it.

The toxins in red tides can harm marine life, and sargassum buildup on beaches can prevent sea turtle hatchlings and adults from getting to sea, Lapointe said.

Will this happen every year?

Experts don’t know whether a sargassum bloom of this size will happen every year, Lapointe said.

“It’s hard to project because we don’t know everything we need to know about the drivers (behind this),” he said. “We know it’s variable from year to year and that the trajectory is generally going upwards. So based on what we’ve seen in the past, we’re thinking we could continue to see this worsen for years to come. What will it be like in 10 years? Will it be double the size it is now?”

More funding to do the research that could answer these questions is needed, he added.

North Korea has claimed that about 800,000 of its citizens have volunteered to join or reenlist in the nation’s military to fight against the United States.

About 800,000 students and workers, on Friday alone, across the country expressed a desire to enlist or reenlist in the military to counter the United States, North Korea’s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Saturday.

The claim came after North Korea on Thursday launched its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in response to ongoing US-South Korea military drills.

North Korea fired the ICBM into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Thursday, hours before South Korea’s president flew to Tokyo for a summit that discussed ways to counter the nuclear-armed North.

The North’s ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions and the launch drew condemnation from governments in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

South Korean and American forces began 11 days of joint drills, dubbed “Freedom Shield 23,” on Monday, held on a scale not seen since 2017 to counter the North’s growing threats.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the United States and South Korea of increasing tensions with the military drills.

North Korea often responds to what it sees as “provocations” by the US by making bellicose threats. Experts say that in addition to the joint military exercises and the meeting this week between South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s leader Fumio Kishida it has taken exception to US President Joe Biden’s plan to host Yoon and his wife at the White House next month.

The state visit will be the second of Biden’s presidency, underscoring close ties between the US and South Korea, and will take place April 26. The conservative Yoon and his administration have made strengthening the US-South Korea alliance a key foreign policy priority. Biden, likewise, has sought to nurture the relationship, including with the symbolic marker of his trip to Seoul in May 2022, his first stop on his inaugural trip to Asia as president.

“All of them were mighty, powerful individuals and yet they found themselves in courtrooms,” he said.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Friday for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia – a practice the Russian government has defended as saving them while denying that the deportations are forced.

The move has already made history by making Putin the first head of state of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to be issued with an arrest warrant, Khan pointed out.

Created to try genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes, the ICC is known as the world’s “court of last resort.” Though 123 countries are parties to the treaty that brought the court into existence, there are significant exceptions including Russia, the United States, Ukraine, and China. Russia withdrew from the ICC treaty under a directive signed by Putin in 2016.

The Kremlin on Friday rejected the arrest warrants as “unacceptable,” arguing that it is not subject to the ICC’s decisions.

“Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the point of view of law,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov tweeted on Friday.

But Khan said it doesn’t matter. “Article 27 of the Rome Statute makes it very clear that the official position of an individual is irrelevant to the jurisdiction of the court. The independent judges of the court have also found it appropriate” to issue the warrant, he added.

The court does not conduct trials in absentia, so Russian officials charged would either have to be handed over by Moscow or arrested outside of Russia. But ICC judges could still allow confirmation hearings – where judges assess the evidence before a trial – to proceed without them, Khan said.

The chief prosecutor also acknowledged the speed with which he has brought charges over Russia’s actions in Ukraine – notable for a court that has been often criticized for its bureaucracy.

“I think the ICC has been pedestrian in some respects and we need to accelerate,” Khan said.

He said that he had been traveling in Bangladesh to investigate crimes against the Rohingya in February when he decided that the Ukrainian case could not wait.

“From the information that was coming to me from multiple sources, we had to move forward. … When I got back to the Hague on February 28, I made it clear that I was applying to open an investigation. And I also invited states to refer the matter to my office because that would accelerate the ability for us to move forward and investigate.”

Referrals came flooding in. “Within 48 hours, 39 state parties referred the Ukraine situation to my office, and it’s now 43 from different parts of the world – from Japan, from Latin America, and from Europe. So that’s one-third of all state parties to the court,” he said.

“The simple reality is that these crimes have not been hidden,” Khan also said.

Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, dismissed the ICC’s arrest warrant against her on Friday, saying it was “great” that the international community recognized her work removing children from war zones, Russian state news agency TASS reported Friday.

“It’s great that the international community has appreciated the work to help the children of our country, that we do not leave them in the war zones, that we take them out, that we create good conditions for them, that we surround them with loving, caring people,” she said to reporters, according to TASS.

Lvova-Belova regularly visits Russian-occupied Ukraine, and the Russian government has boasted of her personally escorting planeloads of children back from the country. Putin has given Lvova-Belova the power to use unspecified “additional measures” to identify children who lack parental care in the four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed.

UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s organization, has said that “adoption should never occur during or immediately after emergencies,” and that during upheaval, children separated from their parents cannot be assumed to be orphans. The UN furthermore considers forcibly transferring another country’s population within or beyond its borders to be a war crime.

Thousands of Ukrainian children have been subjected to forced deportations by Russia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who hailed the ICC’s decision in his nightly address on Friday.

“In the criminal proceedings being investigated by our law enforcement officers, more than 16,000 forced deportations of Ukrainian children by the occupier have already been recorded. But the real, full number of deportees may be much higher,” he said.

“Such a criminal operation would have been impossible without the order of the highest leader of the terrorist state,” Zelensky added, in reference to Putin.

Despite the abundance of referrals that Khan says led him to open the case, the prosecutor emphasized that the presumption of innocence still applies.

“I would just encourage any individual in any situation before the court who has been accused and who’s a suspect: If you believe you’re innocent, surrender, clear your name.”

Saudi Arabia and Iran have given each other just two months to prove they are serious about Friday’s surprise agreement to normalize ties.

Before ambassadors are reinstated, the two nations are likely to be discussing ways to end almost seven years of hostility, a large task given how far-reaching the implications could be.

The reconciliation happens as Iran finds itself increasingly isolated on the world stage and Saudi Arabia changes the course of its foreign policy in favor of diplomacy instead of confrontation.

With a focus on economic development, Saudi Arabia and its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, have in recent years moved to mend fences with most of their regional adversaries.

Riyadh has walked back from a hawkish foreign policy it had adopted when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman entered the picture after his father King Salman took the throne in 2015. It has reconciled with Turkey, re-engaged with Syria, and supported a ceasefire in Yemen.

But it had left the most difficult of the dossiers, and perhaps the most important of all, till the end. It surprised the world last week when it announced a deal to normalize ties with Iran after years of talks that appeared to have borne no fruit.

The Iran-Saudi cold war has had an impact on almost every conflict in the region. Its resolution therefore could have equally strong repercussions. Here’s what the ripple effects may be:

Yemen

Yemen has been one of the countries most affected by Riyadh and Tehran’s spat. The two nations supported opposing factions in the 2014 Yemen civil war, and in 2015, a Saudi-led coalition intervened to fight the Iran-backed Houthi rebels that had overrun the country.

The Yemen war was likely the priority on the agenda for both countries, said Firas Maksad, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC and adjunct professor at George Washington University.

The country has witnessed relative calm following an April UN-brokered truce. That truce expired in October but appears to be holding anyway and Saudi Arabia has been engaged in direct talks with the Houthis.

In a Saturday statement, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said the reconciliation “would accelerate the ceasefire, help start a national dialogue, and form an inclusive national government in Yemen,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

“It’s very likely that Tehran had to commit to pressuring its allies in Yemen to be more forthcoming on ending the conflict in that country, but we don’t know yet what behind-the-scenes understandings have been reached,” he said.

A member of the Houthis’ political wing, Abdulwahab al-Mahbashi, told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV that a resolution to the Yemen conflict must be achieved through direct negotiations with Riyadh as the Houthis are not “subordinate” to the Iranians, Al Arabiya reported Sunday.

Lebanon

Lebanon has been suffering a crippling financial crisis. Its once-closest Arab ally and benefactor Saudi Arabia largely disengaged from it following a years-long spat prompted by Iran-backed Hezbollah’s clout in the country.

Relations hit their lowest in 2021, when Saudi Arabia and some of its Gulf Arab allies withdrew ambassadors from Beirut following the then-Lebanese information minister’s earlier criticism of the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen.

Envoys later returned, but Saudi-Lebanese ties are still frosty.

Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati praised the Saudi-Iran deal, with Mikati calling it an “opportunity to breathe in the region, and look to the future.”

Analysts, however, say that doesn’t mean that Lebanon’s relations with Riyadh will improve automatically.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Friday said that Lebanon needed “Lebanese rapprochement” for the situation in Lebanon to improve, not “Saudi-Iranian rapprochement,” Al Arabiya reported.

The deflective answer suggests that Saudi Arabia may be separating its grievances with Lebanon from its conflict with Iran.

“Lebanon is not high on the priority of policy-makers in Riyadh,” said Firas Maksad.

Israel

The reconciliation has also made its way to Israel’s domestic political debate.

Hours before the deal was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Italy, extolling one of his major goals: Normalization with Saudi Arabia.

For Israel, peace with Saudi Arabia is seen as the apex of normalization agreements. Even though behind-the-scenes relations have been ongoing for years, full-blown peace would be a major achievement, and one of the key elements in forming a regional alliance to counter Iran.

Then reality hit later on Friday that Israel’s longtime and foremost foe, and Netanyahu’s would-be next best friend, were reconciling. And the blame game began in the Israeli political establishment.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited an unidentified “senior political source in Rome” as blaming the former government, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid for the reconciliation.

In turn, former prime ministers Lapid and Bennett said Netanyahu has been neglecting the situation in the broader Middle East, focusing instead on his government’s efforts to enact a controversial judicial overhaul.

Lapid tweeted that blaming him for the deterioration of the relationship with Saudi Arabia was “delusional,” saying that while he and Bennett were in power, Riyadh signed an aviation agreement with Israel, direct flights for the Hajj were arranged and a security agreement related to islands in the Red Sea was signed with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“All this came to a screeching halt when the most extreme government in the country’s history was established here and it became clear to the Saudis that Netanyahu was weak and the Americans stopped listening to him,” Lapid tweeted.

“The countries of the world and the region are watching Israel in conflict with a dysfunctional government that is engaged in systematic self-destruction,” Bennett tweeted on his own thread.

Netanyahu did not mention the deal in remarks ahead of the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting on Sunday, and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had no comment on the development.

Iraq

Iraq, which hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, was quick to welcome the reconciliation. Analysts say it’s in Baghdad’s interest for the reconciliation to go through as the country had become an arena for Iranian-Saudi rivalry since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.

“Iran has used Iraq to add pressure to Saudi Arabia in all areas, including political, economic and specifically security pressure,” said Ihsan Al-Shammari, a politics professor at Baghdad University and head of the Iraqi Centre for Political Thought.

Iraq, he said, missed out on improving ties with Saudi Arabia and potentially large investments in the country due to Iran’s heavy influence in the country.

Iran-aligned parties have long held influence in Iraqi politics and have at times caused political deadlock that has culminated in violence.

Al-Shammari said Saudi Arabia would want Iran to rein in some of its allies in Iraq, especially armed paramilitary groups that it sees as a security threat. He added however that that may be a pipe dream as Iran sees Iraq as a vassal state and that its allies in parliament will want to preserve their Tehran-aligned interests.

Media wars

Saudi Arabia and Iran have for years been engaged in a bitter media war, where news outlets allegedly backed by each government have been accused of inciting against the other.

Iran’s state-backed Arabic language news channel Al Alam and English language Press TV regularly run programming critical of Saudi Arabia and are blocked in much of the Arab world. Saudi Arabia in turn is accused by Iran of funding Iran International, a Farsi language news channel that regularly interviews Tehran’s adversaries and covers protests against the government. Iran has labeled the channel a “terrorist organization.” Iran International has denied connections to the Saudi government. Saudi Arabia also owns the Farsi franchise of the British newspaper The Independent.

How the media war plays out will demonstrate the viability of the Iran-Saudi agreement to normalize relations. Analysts have said Saudi Arabia has invested in Persian-language media outlets to build leverage over Iran in talks after over a decade of an Iranian media assault against Saudi Arabia. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has agreed to tone down critical coverage of the Islamic Republic by Iran International, citing unidentified officials from both countries. Last month, Iran International said it was relocating its operations to Washington, DC from London due to “the Islamic Republic’s threats.”

The digest

Polls show Erdogan lags opposition by more than 10 points ahead of May vote

Polls show the Turkish opposition’s presidential candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leading President Tayyip Erdogan by more than 10 percentage points ahead of elections on May 14 seen by many as the most consequential vote in Turkey’s recent history, Reuters reported. The polls also show the opposition bloc leading the parliamentary race, at least six points ahead of Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) and its allies.

Iran says it pardoned 22,000 protesters

Iranian judicial authorities have pardoned 22,000 people who took part in anti-government protests, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday, the official IRNA news agency reported. “So far 82,000 people have been pardoned, including 22,000 people who participated in (the) protests,” Ejei said. He did not specify over what period the pardons were granted or if or when the people had been charged.

Saudi crown prince launches new airline

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) announced the launch of Riyadh Air, a new carrier owned by his $600 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi state news agency SPA reported Sunday. The airline is expected to bring up to $20 billion in non-oil revenue and create more than 200,000 jobs, it said.

What to watch

A city that was once reduced to rubble is now reviving its most prized cultural treasures. I spoke to the woman behind that effort, @UNESCO Director-General @AAzoulay who has just returned from Mosul. pic.twitter.com/7Zj6IZCSgF

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) March 10, 2023

“The country in general, but Mosul in particular, was completely destroyed, and especially the Old City, by the occupation, by the consequences of the occupation, by ISIS,” said Azoulay, who is working alongside UAE experts on a reconstruction project in Mosul.

Watch the report here.

Around the region

Think of the UAE and you might not immediately think of hip-hop, but in recent years, Dubai has become home to a small and dedicated group of artists who rap in Arabic about local culture.

Perhaps the biggest star is Mustafa Ismail, better known as “Freek,” a Somali rapper who was born and raised in the UAE. He has toured countries including the UK and performed at shows that featured the likes of Future, Gucci Mane, and Wu-Tang Clan.

“There’s a culture here,” said Ismail. “There’s a story to tell, and people like me that grew up here want to hear a story of a kid that grew up in UAE, or Dubai. This is what hip-hop is all about.”

Almost nine in 10 people in Dubai are not citizens of the UAE, many of whom have been born and raised in the Gulf city. Its burgeoning hip hop scene tells the story of the city’s diversity.

Ismail created a unique sound by performing drill rap in Arabic, a genre for which he is one of the most recognized artists in the region. His lyrics are a mix of accents and cultural references that reflect Dubai’s diverse demographic makeup.

“I didn’t really think it’s going to get that big, to be honest, until my friend told me you’re trending on Twitter,” said Ismail. “It was my first, kind of, viral video. This is what gives you another push. So, it’s amazing.”

Other artists are also making an impact on the local scene.

Christopher Esho is the creator of RAPDXB, a new platform that curates playlists, releases interviews and brings artists together to make music. He says there is a culture and history of rap music in Dubai, but adds that the city lacks a hub for the genre.

“There haven’t been record labels, there haven’t been communities, there haven’t been concerts that are celebrating this talent,” he says. “It’s just been a local buzz that’s been giving the artists exposure.”

RAPDXB recently released its first album, featuring a number of the UAE’s leading rappers. “The goal is uniting the culture and cultivating the community,” says Esho.

Such projects, as well as music festivals and local record labels, have been giving the local hip-hop scene a much-needed platform, and artists say they’re just beginning.

“The hip-hop scene in Dubai is growing. If you see the hip-hop scene in Dubai 10 years ago and now, it’s a huge difference. It is even going to get crazier,” said Ismail.

By Yara Enany

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