The first cargo ship to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor more than five months ago has run into bad weather in the Black Sea and is set to arrive later than scheduled in Istanbul, a Turkish official said Tuesday. The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, which set sail from the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Monday, is now expected to reach Istanbul early Wednesday, according to Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak, a coordinator at the joint center established to oversee the grain shipments. Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials are to inspect the ship after it anchors in Istanbul. The inspections are part of a U.N.- and Turkish-brokered deal to shift Ukrainian grain stockpiles to foreign markets and alleviate a mounting global food crisis. Altunbulak said “preparations and planning” are continuing for other ships expected to leave Ukraine’s ports, but he did not provide details. As part of the July 22 agreement on shipments, which include Russian grain and fertilizer, safe corridors through the mined waters outside Ukraine’s ports were established. The situation in the Black Sea remains tense, however, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged international partners to keep a close eye on Moscow’s compliance with the deal. Read:1st ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves the port of Odesa More ships are expected to leave from Ukraine’s ports through the safe corridors. At Odesa, 16 more vessels, all blocked since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, were waiting their turn, with others to follow, Ukrainian authorities say. The more than 26,000 tons of corn on board the Razoni, destined for Lebanon, will make barely a dent in what the World Bank last week called “rising food insecurity” across the world. “Record high food prices have triggered a global crisis that will drive millions more into extreme poverty,” its latest food security update said, blaming the war in Ukraine, global supply chain problems and the COVID-19 pandemic. But the restart of shipments from Ukraine and Russia, which are major world suppliers of wheat, barley, corn and sunflower oil, raised hopes that the situation could improve. The fertile Black Sea region has long been known as the breadbasket of Europe. The shipping developments came against a backdrop of continued fighting, especially in southern and eastern Ukraine. Moscow's forces stuck to their familiar pattern of bombarding areas they don't hold, with Ukrainian officials reporting that the Russian shelling killed at least three civilians in eastern areas overnight. In the Donetsk region at the forefront of the Russian offensive, the bombardments targeted towns and villages, especially Bakhmut which has taken the brunt of recent shelling. Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenlo said that “the Russians are leveling Bakhmut with a massive barrage from the ground and from the air.” “The shelling of Bakhmut is continuing around the clock, leaving civilians little chance to survive,” Kyrylenko said in televised remarks. The United States said it was sending an additional $550 million worth of military aid to Kyiv. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a tweet late Monday that the package included 75,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and more ammunition for the American-built HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, which have given Ukrainian forces an advantage on the battlefield.

Gopalganj is only 150 kms from the capital, yet, it was a hassle for locals to cross the mighty Padma River to reach Dhaka as a two-hour ferry journey was inevitable  and even it turned into days amid bad weather and ahead of long holidays. “I witnessed the tragic death of critical patients on the way to Dhaka. Those lives could have been saved if the ferry crossing did not take two hours or sometime five to six hours and more due to huge traffic at the ferry terminal,” said  Shafayat Hossain Molla, an ambulance driver of Gopalganj. Daulatdia and Mawa, the two routes used by Gopalganj dwellers, brought a similar amount of agony for them, he said. Locals are hopeful that now the the long-anticipated Padma Bridge will bring an end to their tragic stories of patients dying in the ambulance or traders facing huge losses as their perishable goods rot during long wait to cross the river. Now it will take not more than two and a half hours in total to reach Gulistan in Dhaka from Gopalganj through Bhatiapara-Bhanga-Mawa route using the bridge. Gopalganj is hugely dependent on Dhaka for trade, health services and employment. The bridge might come as a great boon for the local traders as they have to bring many goods from Dhaka and Chattogram regularly as well as supply freshwater fish, vegetables and other perishable goods and a big portion of which used to get damaged on the way.  “The bridge will be a great relief for the construction material traders of Gopalganj,” said Farid Ahmed, president of the district cement, rod, and iron sheet traders’ association. READ: Padma Bridge completely ring-fenced from foreign funding: MoFA He said, “The construction material traders used to wait for days at the ferry terminals during unfavorable weather, Eid, Puja, and other celebrations as the pressure of passenger buses, private vehicles increased and they got priority while crossing. It used to create a shortage in the local market and also increased the prices, hampering different development works.”   “Opening  of the Padma bridge rail link project will boost trader through two south-western sea ports- Mongla in Bagerhat and Payra in Noakhali- and with the two land port- Benapole in Jashore and Bhomra in Satkhira- respectively,”said Kazi Jinnat Ali, president of Gopalganj district Chamber of Commerce & Industries. “The bridge will boost businesses in the district as Gopalganj connects capital Dhaka, port city Chattogram , seaport Mongla and two land ports- Benapole and Bhomra,” he added. Md. Ilias Hossain, President of Gopalganj District Bus Owners Association, said,” The inauguration will open a new horizon in connecting the southwestern part of the country including Gopalganj district with Dhaka.” “The bus owners here are preparing to launch modern passenger bus services soon targeting different tourism locations across the country,” he said. The inauguration of the Padma Bridge will be celebrated in 64 districts of the country simultaneously on June 25.

Launch services on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route have been suspended for an indefinite period from Saturday evening due to stormy weather. However, the ferries on the route were operating as usual, said Shafiqul Islam, assistant director-general of Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC). Read: Over 500 vehicles stranded at Narsinghpur ferry ghat Besides, passengers stranded at the launch ghats have been instructed to cross the ferry. The authorities suspended the launch services from 7 pm on Saturday due to the upcoming nor'wester, locally known as Kal-Baisakhi. BIWTA Assistant Director and Mawa Port Officer, Shahadat Hossain said the launch services on this route will remain suspended until further notice. 85 launches were operating on these routes from 6 am to 8 pm but it was running till 10 pm due to Eid.  

This summer is already shaping up to be a difficult one for air travelers. Southwest Airlines customers have struggled with thousands of delays and hundreds of canceled flights this month because of computer problems, staffing shortages and bad weather. American Airlines is also grappling with a surge in delays, and it has trimmed its schedule through mid-July at least in part because it doesn’t have enough pilots, according to the pilots’ union. Travelers are posting photos of long airport lines and describing painful flights. Read:Hundreds believed dead in heat wave despite efforts to help in Northwest “It was ridiculously crowded,” Tracey Milligan said of airports after a round trip from her New Jersey home to Miami this week. Milligan and her 6-year-old daughter endured hours-long delays on both legs of the trip. Before the flight to Florida, she said, JetBlue agents first told passengers there was a discrepancy with the plane’s weight, then they were missing three crew members because the airline was short-staffed, then there was a weather delay. “I really wanted to start screaming and cursing everybody out, but that doesn’t get you anywhere, and security will come and remove you from the plane,” she said. At least the passengers on Milligan’s flights kept their cool. Airlines have seen a surge in unruly passengers, and some experts predict it will get worse this summer as planes become even more crowded. There have been 10 days in June when more than 2 million travelers went through U.S. airports, according to figures from the Transportation Security Administration. Airlines say that domestic leisure travel is nearly back to 2019 levels, although the lack of business travelers means that overall, the number of passengers over the past week is still down about 20% compared with the same days in 2019. The airlines were expecting a blockbuster July Fourth weekend, scheduling more than 100,000 U.S. flights between July 1 and July 5. That was nearly twice the 58,000 that they offered over the same days last year, according to data from aviation researcher Cirium. July 1 was first time the TSA screened more people than on the same day in 2019. The weekend highlights the rapid turnaround boosting an industry that was fighting for survival last year. The recovery has been faster than many expected — including, apparently, the airlines themselves. Since the start of the pandemic, U.S. airlines have received $54 billion in federal aid to help cover payroll expenses. In return, they were prohibited from furloughing or laying off workers. However, they were allowed to persuade tens of thousands of employees to take buyouts, early retirement or leaves of absence. Read:Hundreds of deaths could be linked to Northwest heat wave Now some are finding they don’t have enough people in key roles, including pilots. This week, as Southwest officials braced for crowded flights over the holiday weekend they offered to double pay for flight attendants and other employees who agree to extra work through Wednesday. “The staffing shortage is across the board. On the pilot side, it’s a training backlog,” said Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. “Southwest came into the summer with very little margin.” Murray said many pilots coming back from leave are still getting federally required training to refresh their skills and aren’t yet eligible to fly. When storms cause long delays, pilots can reach their FAA limit on the number of hours they are allowed to work, and there aren’t enough backups to step in, he said. On top of that, he said, Southwest pushed for an “aggressive” summer schedule to capitalize on rising travel demand. Since June 14, Southwest has averaged more than 1,300 daily flights delays — a staggering 40% of its schedule — according to figures from tracking service Flightaware.com. Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said most delays were caused by weather, and that with fewer flights than before the pandemic, it’s harder for Southwest to recover from long thunderstorms. At American Airlines, unions say labor shortages are contributing to delays and the scrubbing of up to 80 flights a day from the schedule through mid-July. In echoes of Southwest, the pilots’ union at American said management did not act quickly enough to retrain 1,600 pilots who were temporarily furloughed then rehired last year or replace the 1,000 who retired. American has also suffered high delay numbers in June. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have appeared to fare better, although staffing shortages caused Delta to cancel dozens of flights over Thanksgiving last year and again around Easter this year. Read:Blackouts in US Northwest due to heat wave, deaths reported Airlines that pushed people to quit a year ago and now beginning to hire again, which could help fix staffing shortages. Delta, for example, plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots by next summer, starting with about 75 by this August. Passengers whose flights aren’t canceled or delayed still risk being on board with troublesome plane mates. Airlines have reported more than 3,200 incidents of unruly passengers since Jan. 1, most of them involving compliance with the federal requirement to wear face masks on flights, and some face large fines. Andrew Thomas, a frequent flyer who teaches international business at The University of Akron and has tracked air rage for more than 20 years, believes conditions are ripe for even more incidents on planes this summer because travelers are more stressed than ever. “The problem was there before COVID, and now you are putting more people in the sky and you exacerbate this with the masks,” Thomas said. “Service levels are atrocious. Planes are packed, they are not feeding you, it’s hard to get food in an airport. The only thing that’s easy to get is alcohol, which is not a good thing.”

Inclement weather has forced the postponement of certain Bangabandhu Premier Division T20 Cricket League matches in Dhaka. Ali Hossain, the secretary member of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), said that the second round of the games was scheduled for Tuesday. But heavy morning showers in the capital led to the postponement of the same. Read:Dhaka Premier Division T20 Cricket League 2021: Confirmed Fixtures "The matches will now take place on June 3, which was originally set for the third round of games. From now on, every round will be delayed," he said. This year’s Dhaka League started on May 31. A total of six matches took place on the opening day. Two of those ended up with no result due to rains. Read:Dhaka Premier League T20 begins Monday A total of 12 clubs are contending in this year’s league. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the league was cancelled last year. To ensure the safety of the players and officials, the board decided to accommodate them in the bio-secure bubble facilities at four different hotels in the capital.   

Around 400 tourists are stranded on Saint Martin's Island, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangladesh, due to inclement weather.

Launch services on Barishal’s internal routes were suspended on Friday morning due to inclement weather.

A women's World Cup downhill at the 2014 Olympic resort was canceled Saturday after days of heavy snowfall affected the slope.