The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest earlier this month over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, particularly his alleged involvement in the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine. But the ICC doesn’t have the power to enforce its warrants, and since Russia doesn’t recognize the court’s jurisdiction, much of its enforcement will depend on other countries’ willingness to step in if Putin travels.
“If Putin comes to Armenia, he should be arrested… It is better for Putin to stay in his country,” Gagik Melkonyan, deputy of the Armenian National Assembly, said this week, according to a Moscow Timestranslation of an interview with Factor.am. “If we enter into these agreements, then we must fulfill our obligations. Let Russia solve its problems with Ukraine.”
The decision from the ruling party of Armenia, which is part of a Russian-led collective defense organization, stands in stark contrast to other Kremlin allies that are not deviating from loyalty to Moscow. Hungary, which has close ties with Russia, announced it will not enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin last week.
Even though Armenia is technically a Russian ally—as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)—Armenia’s decision is just the latest indication that the country is willing to take matters into its own hands and hold Putin accountable. Just last week, Armenia took steps that will pave the way for it to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
“If we enter into these agreements, then we must fulfill our obligations,” Melkonyan said.
The Kremlin rebuked Armenia for entertaining the idea of joining the Rome Statute, according to a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Moscow considers absolutely unacceptable the plans of official Yerevan to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court against the backdrop of the recent illegal and legally void ‘warrants’ of the ICC against the Russian leadership,” the source said early this week, according to TASS.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned there would be “extremely negative” consequences for Armenia moving forward.
But Armenia is not alone, and other countries are banding together with plans to arrest Putin. Ireland, Croatia, Austria, and Germany have each said they will enforce the warrant.
The decision in Armenia suggests that Russia’s allies are growing more willing by the day to question Moscow’s judgment in the war in Ukraine over one year into the conflict.
Video shows guards walking away during fire that killed 38 migrants near US-Mexico border
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Christine Fernando and Jeanine SantucciUSA TODAY March 29, 2023
Surveillance footage from inside the immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border where 38 migrants died in a dormitory fire appears to show guards walking away from the blaze and making no apparent attempt to release detainees.
The fire broke out when migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze late Monday at the National Immigration Institute, a facility in Ciudad Juarez south of El Paso, Texas, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said.
Authorities originally reported 40 dead, but later said some may have been counted twice in the confusion. Twenty-eight people were injured and were in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute.
The security footage, which was broadcast and later authenticated by a Mexican official to a local reporter, shows at least two people dressed as guards rush into the frame, then run off as a cloud of smoke quickly filled the area. They did not appear to attempt to open cell doors so migrants could escape the fire.
Authorities were investigating the fire, the institute said. The country’s prosecutor general has launched an investigation, Andrea Chávez, federal deputy of Ciudad Juarez, said in a statement. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission also was alerted.
What caused the fire?
López Obrador said the fire was started by migrants inside the facility after they learned they would be deported.
“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.
The immigration institute said it “energetically rejects the actions that led to this tragedy,” without further explaining what those actions may have been.
Video shows guards leaving as fire starts
The video footage shows the area in the facility filled with smoke within seconds, obscuring the view of the camera. In the video, two people dressed as guards are seen rushing into the frame, then walking quickly off as migrants remain behind bars. At least one migrant is seen kicking at a cell door while flames grow.
Mexico’s interior secretary, Adán Augusto López, told local journalist Joaquín López Doriga he was familiar with the video.
Katiuska Márquez, a 23-year-old woman from Venezuela and her two children, ages 2 and 4, were looking for her half-brother in the aftermath of the fire.
“We want to know if he is alive or if he’s dead,” she told The Associated Press. She wondered how all the guards who were inside made it out alive and only the migrants died. “How could they not get them out?”
Migrants from Central, South America caught in blaze
The institute said 68 men from Central and South America were staying at the immigration facility at the time of the fire. Authorities were working with other countries to identify the dead.
Victims were identified as being from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Guatemalans made up the largest contingent, according to the Mexican attorney general’s office.
Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Búcaro said 28 of the dead were Guatemalan citizens.
“We are going to look to find those responsible for this,” Búcaro said.
A migrant cries leaning on an ambulance as a person she knows is attended by medics after a fire broke out at the Mexican Immigration Detention center in Juarez on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Photos show mass law enforcement response in Ciudad Juarez
Photos showed ambulances, firefighters, Mexican soldiers and vans from the morgue swarm the scene. Rows of bodies were laid out under silver sheets in a parking lot outside the facility. Survivors were carried on stretchers into ambulances. A woman wept while leaning her head against an ambulance.
Mexico border fire sheds light on systemic issues, advocates say
Global human rights organizations called for stronger protections for asylum seekers and expressed outrage over the fire, which they said sheds light on systemic issues related to the detention and treatment of migrants.
The immigration institute has struggled recently with overcrowding in its facilities. About 20 migrants, officials and human rights workers described a southern Mexico immigration detention center run by the institute as crowded and filthy, according to an investigation by The Associated Press in 2019.
The “extensive use of immigration detention leads to tragedies like this,” Felipe González Morales, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights of migrants, said in a Twitter statement. He said immigration detention “should be an exceptional measure” and not generalized.
Human rights organizations have warned for years about the risks people from Central and South America face when trying to apply for asylum in the United States, Rafael Velásquez, Mexico director for the International Rescue Committee, a global human rights organization, said in a statement. The dangers have increased, and humanitarian infrastructures in the country have been “increasingly strained” amid “historic numbers of new asylum claims” and stricter border policies.
“The news of the fire at the migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez is devastating,” Velásquez said. “This is proof of the extremely urgent need to ensure that there are systems in place to provide safety for people in need of international protection.”
Mounting tensions in Ciudad Juarez
Tensions between authorities and migrants had apparently been running high in recent weeks in Ciudad Juarez, a major crossing point across the border from El Paso for migrants entering the United States. Shelters in the city are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the U.S. and are waiting out the process.
On March 9, more than 30 advocacy organizations and migrant shelters wrote an open letter denouncing the criminalization of migrants and asylum seekers in Ciudad Juarez and accusing authorities of excessive force in detaining migrants.
Mexico’s migrant facilities have seen protests from time to time as the American government has pressured the country to ramp up efforts to reduce the number of migrants coming to United States.
Frustrations reached a fever pitch this month when hundreds of migrants, most of them Venezuelan, heard false rumors that the U.S. would allow them to enter and tried to cross an international bridge to El Paso. In October, migrants rioted at a Tijuana immigration center, and in November, dozens rioted at the country’s largest detention center in the southern city of Tapachula.
A girl lights candle during a vigil for the victims of a fire at an immigration detention center that killed dozens in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at the center, starting the fire. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez) ORG XMIT: XMC156
Woman diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 42 shares symptoms: ‘I waited way too long’
Andria Devlin and A. Pawlowski – March 29, 2023
Andria Devlin, 48, was shocked to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer six years ago. The early childhood educator had no risk factors and no family history of the disease. Like many people, she put off getting her symptoms checked out when they appeared. Devlin, who lives in Lawrence, Kansas, shared her story with TODAY.com and an update on how she is doing one year later.
This is not an easy topic to talk about, but it’s so important. People should not die from embarrassment, and I think people are dying because they don’t want to go to their doctor and talk about the symptoms. It took me a long time to go in and say something is not right.
I have always been a human who has lived more on the constipated side, so irregular bowel movements have been kind of my jam for forever. In 2016, I noticed mucuosy substances in my stool. It was different, but not concerning.
Then I started having intermittent bleeding with my bowel movements. That, in conjunction with my constipation, equaled hemorrhoids in my brain. I had no stomach issues, no weight loss, no fatigue and all of my labs looked fine. There was nothing that would indicate that I had a tumor growing in my rectum, other than the constipation and the bright red blood in my stool.
I hadn’t given much thought to colorectal cancer. Why would I? I was in my early 40s, I’m active, I exercise, I eat well, I don’t smoke. There were absolutely no risk factors and no family history that would make me think, “Oh, you probably have cancer.”
That’s why it took me way too long to go to the doctor. It took getting to the point where I was bleeding every time I had a bowel movement for me to just be tired of it. I remember mentioning it to my OB, who said to get it checked out.
Devlin is trying to raise awareness of the disease.
That was in May 2016, but I didn’t go to the doctor until January 2017. She did a rectal exam and didn’t feel any hemorrhoids, but gave me a suppository substance see if that would help. It slowed the bleeding down, but it did not stop it.
I was then scheduled for a colonoscopy. I remember waking up from that and hearing the doctors say, “We found something very low in your rectum. It’s pretty ugly tissue.” My dad died of esophageal cancer, so when someone says ugly tissue, I know what that looks like. There were photos along with the colonoscopy report and it was certainly not the bright pink, healthy, happy tissue that you imagine that your insides look like.
The doctor called the next day, which happened to be my child’s 15th birthday, and told me the tissue was cancerous. The tumor was significant, blocking 80 to 85% of my rectum. I was immediately sent to oncology at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Scans revealed it was stage 4 colorectal cancer — it had spread beyond my rectum to both my lungs. I was in chemo treatments within two weeks of learning my diagnosis. Ultimately, the chemo took care of almost all of the cancer in my lungs and it shrunk the tumor. I had a rectal resection in August 2017.
But there was a spot in my right lung that didn’t get smaller, it just stayed. A subsequent scan showed that it grew just a tiny bit. I had stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) on that spot in February of 2018 — five sessions over five days. You don’t move during this therapy — they make a mold of your body so you lay in a very specific position every single time. I have two boys so I liked to think about “Star Wars” while the machine was doing its thing — like “pew pew” lasers zapping my cancer spot.
In January of 2020, I had a scan that revealed another spot in that right lung, so I went through another round of SBRT.
Devlin shares a happy moment with her sons Sean and Conor, her husband, Brandon, and Lulu the dog. (Courtesy Andria Devlin)
Today, I am just celebrating the fact that I am still alive. It’s pretty miraculous that someone with stage 4 colorectal cancer can say that at six years. I am still having clear scans and lab results in 2023.
Cancer had already impacted our family and when that happens, there is a shift because life is precious and you don’t really recognize that until you have a life-altering diagnosis.
When I was first diagnosed, I thought, “You have to see your oldest kid graduate from high school.” So I’ve been just checking these boxes. I got to see my youngest son graduate from high school and celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary.
My next checkboxes are our oldest son’s college graduation, U.S. Army graduation ceremonies for our youngest and navigating an empty nest. I’ll keep adding checkboxes to my list.
I’m just making lots of memories, raising awareness and living my life to the fullest.
The response I received since this article was published in 2022 was life-changing and a little overwhelming at times. People reached out from around the world with notes of encouragement, stories of losing loved ones and gratitude for inspiring them to call the doctor after experiencing symptoms.
People don’t want to go to the doctor and say, “I’ve got mucus in my poop. What’s that about?” But people should not die from embarrassment.
If I can talk about my experience and that gets one person to the doctor before I went to the doctor, I have done my job.
For all those readers who are newly diagnosed or in the thick of treatment, let my story be your shoulder to lean on. My story is your hope.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
View from above: Aerial video shows Fort Myers Beach scars six months after Ian
Mark H. Bickel and Ricardo Rolón, F. M. News-Press March 29, 2023
The News-Press has provided special coverage for the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Ian. The Category 4 storm hit Southwest Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, leaving behind catostrophic damage and killing more than 160 people.
For a different perspective, Ric Rolon, a visuals journalist for The News-Press, piloted a drone that flew high above the beach recently and captured what things are lookings. While ongoing recovery efforts continue, the view remains one of a location that was pounded unmercifully by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge and winds.
This perspective is a unique layer to the coverage we have been providing and will continue to provide as Southwest Florida makes strides for a full recovery.
You can check out our coverage of the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Ian HERE.
House Democrat calls Republicans ‘cowards’ in tense exchange over gun violence
Tim Stelloh, Alexandra Bacallao and Kyle Stewart – March 29, 2023
A heated debate erupted on Capitol Hill when Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal, yelled at his GOP colleagues Wednesday and repeatedly called them “cowards” for not supporting stricter gun measures in the wake of the Nashville school shooting.
The exchange between Bowman, D-N.Y., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., occurred just outside the House chamber and was widely circulated on social media after several journalists posted video of it.
Bowman, a former principal at Cornerstone Academy for Social Action in the Bronx, can be heard yelling: “They’re all cowards! They won’t do anything to save the lives of our children at all!”
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., speaks about gun violence off House floor at the U.S. Capitol, on March 29, 2023. (NBC News)
He continued: “Pressure them, force them to respond to the question: Why the hell won’t you do anything to save America’s children? Let them explain that all the way up to Election Day on 2024.”
Several lawmakers walk by Bowman without engaging, before Massie stops in front of him and says there has never been a shooting at a school where teachers were allowed to carry guns.
“More guns leads to more death,” Bowman responds. “Look at the data. You’re not looking at any data.”
Police said the suspect shot through the locked doors of The Covenant School and was later killed in a confrontation with officers.
Congress has not advanced any new gun bills since the shooting, and Republicans have largely opposed any Democratic-backed measures to address gun violence.
A spokesperson said in an email that Massie had “accepted the challenge” from Bowman and explained the data he has used to argue for a repeal of gun-free school zones.
“When confronted with the facts, Mr. Bowman tried to shout Rep. Massie down,” the spokesperson said.
Nikki Haley wants to ban TikTok, not guns: Takeaways from her 2024 campaign stop in N.H.
Ken Tran, USA TODAY – March 28, 2023
DOVER, N.H. – At her second stop in this early voting state, hours after a mass shooting at a Nashville, Tennessee, elementary school, Nikki Haley let Granite State Republicans know she wants to ban TikTok, not guns.
The presidential hopeful and former South Carolina governor is in the middle of two town halls – one in Dover Monday night and another in Salem on Tuesday night – as she tries to court voters. She has competition here, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hosting a town hall of his own Monday night and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slated to visit the state in a few weeks.
Republican presidential candidate, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses guests during a campaign stop Monday, March 27, 2023, in Dover, N.H.
After Nashville school shooting, Haley opposes more gun laws
Haley’s town hall opened against the backdrop of a deadly school shooting in Nashville.
The Republican presidential hopeful started her pitch by addressing the shooting and telling voters she wants more metal detectors, not more gun control legislation. She called for schools to have one entrance and to use the metal detectors there.
“It’s OK if there are metal detectors. There are those guests coming in out, the kids see them in an airport, they see them wherever they go. Why don’t we do that to protect those kids?” Haley said.
“Everybody wants to talk about gun control. My thing is, I don’t want to take away your ability to protect yourself until they do those things that protect those kids,” Haley added.
Haley calls for a TikTok ban
Republican presidential candidate, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses guests during a campaign stop Monday, March 27, 2023, in Dover, N.H.
With lawmakers on Capitol Hill clamoring for a TikTok ban after CEO Shou Zi Chew testified to Congress, Haley told voters she’s all for an outright ban.
“We’re going to ban TikTok. Ban TikTok everywhere,” Haley said, also taking a jab at President Joe Biden for not banning the app.
The White House has recently threatened the app’s Chinese owners to sell its stakes in the company or face a nationwide ban.
“What are we waiting on? Joe Biden’s worried he’s going to lose younger voters? Is that why you hold off on (banning) it?” Haley said.
Haley leans into GOP culture wars, still campaigning on her identity
Republican presidential candidate, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses guests during a campaign stop Monday, March 27, 2023, in Dover, N.H.
“I was born and raised in rural South Carolina. We were the only Indian family in that small southern town.” Haley said. “We weren’t white enough to be white. We weren’t Black enough to be Black.”
But even then, Haley embraced the GOP’s culture wars against public education, alleging nearly all American students are learning critical race theory.
“Teachers need to teach. Parents need to parent. And we need to separate that once and for all,” Haley said to raucous applause.
Haley was the first candidate to jump in the race after former President Donald Trump. Entering the race early, when so many other presumptive candidates are still waiting in the wings, gives Haley a head start on meeting voters face-to-face.
Her accessibility compared to other figures such as DeSantis is something especially appreciated among Granite State voters.
John Burns, 75, a Dover resident, said Haley’s early stops in the state impressed him and that he loves the “small town meetings.” Her town halls are a sign she respects “the New Hampshire public,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley shakes hands with guests during a campaign stop Monday, March 27, 2023, in Dover, N.H.
“I think it’s time we get some young people in there,” said Stonehouse, who is 76.
Core to that appeal is also how hard Haley has campaigned on her possibly being the only woman in the field, telling voters it is time to “send a badass Republican woman to the White House.”
That unapologetic campaigning is something Stonehouse especially appreciates.
“I kind of thought she had a lot of gumption,” Stonehouse said. That gumption is needed in the White House, she said.
Stonehouse’s grandson, who came with her to see the former South Carolina governor, said he’s eyeing a more moderate Republican candidate who can win the general election.
“I feel like the Republicans have drifted a little more towards the ultra conservative side,” said 20-year-old Alex Leighton, who said he wants a GOP nominee that can attract younger voters like him.
Republican presidential candidate, former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley shakes hands with guests while being introduced during a campaign stop Monday, March 27, 2023, in Dover, N.H.
The unusually frank call between two Russian socialites and what they said about Putin
Nataliya Vasilyeva – March 29, 2023
Farkhad Akhmedov (left), Vladimir Putin and Iosif Prigozhin – Webgrab, AFP and Reuters/Alamy
Vladimir Putin is a “dwarf” and a “wimp” who is ruining Russia, according to a leaked phone conversation between two prominent society figures.
The unusually frank call purportedly involves Iosif Prigozhin, a music producer, and Farkhad Akhmedov, an Azerbaijan-born energy billionaire, and has exposed deep resentment towards the Kremlin among the country’s overtly pro-regime elite.
In the 35-minute conversation, Mr Akhmedov calls Putin “Satan”, a “wimp” and a “dwarf” who “doesn’t give a damn about anything and doesn’t give a f— about the people”. “They f—– us over, f—– over children, their future, do you get it?” he adds.
Mr Prigozhin replies: “They’re criminals, to be honest, criminals of the worst kind. He [Putin] squandered the country away … There won’t be any future for us.”
Mr Akhmedov later says: “He has buried the entire Russian nation… How are we going to wash this off? This is a war between f—— brothers. There will be fascism there, that’s what’s going to happen… a military dictatorship. You will see. It’s going to end like this.”
The call was leaked by an obscure Ukrainian YouTube channel earlier this month but has only been picked up in the last few days.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group – who is not related to the music producer – has suggested that the wiretappers may have been trying to target him but got the wrong Prigozhin.
If the call is real, it suggests a deep sense of frustration and anger among even members of the Russian elite who are ostensibly pro-Kremlin.
Iosif Prigozhin and his wife, the singer Valeria, in 2009 – Reuters/Alamy stock photo
Mr Prigozhin and his wife, the pop star Valeria, have been long-time public supporters of Putin. They campaigned for him in the 2018 elections and have called on the Kremlin to go after anti-war musicians who fled the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Akhmedov, 67, made his money in Siberia’s gas industry in the 1990s and is estimated to be worth about £1.36 billion. He served as a Russian senator between 2004 and 2009 and made headlines in 2021 when he had to pay £450 million to his ex-wife following a legal battle at the High Court in London.
He has never publicly opposed the war and was sanctioned by the UK and the EU after the conflict began, measures he has tried unsuccessfully to overturn.
Farkhad Akhmedov
Mr Prigozhin lives in Moscow while Mr Akhmedov currently lives between Azerbaijan and Moscow.
In another part of the call, Mr Prigozhin refers to Putin’s inner circle as “washed-up low-lifes” who act as if they are “gods” and complains to Mr Akhmedov about different factions within the security services blaming the defence minister for blunders in Ukraine.
“They are the most f—– up people ever. I have nothing good to say about them,” he says. “They are dragging everyone down to the very bottom.”
Mr Akhmedov complains about the sanctions he is facing, including the seizure of his £225 million superyacht MV Luna, which he said was “rotting” in Hamburg.
The EU said last April that the oligarch was “close to the Kremlin”, but Mr Akhmedov said: “They write that I’m a close friend of Putin’s. F— that! The last time I saw Putin was in 2008.”
The leaked audio has given voice to a widespread sentiment among the Russian establishment that “Putin has let his country down”, said Tatyana Stanovaya, a Russian political scientist.
“Some felt deeply satisfied that finally someone – their own kind of people – said it all out loud,” she wrote for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Wednesday. “The leak clearly had a major impact on the mental well-being of the Russian elite.”
The Kremlin and state media, which typically clamours for revenge against “traitors”, have been noticeably quiet about the call, with only a few pro-war bloggers calling for blood.
Mr Prigozhin at first claimd the leak as completely faked before later suggesting parts of it were real.
“Everyone is aware of my political stance, which is evidenced in all of my interviews,” he told the Fontanka website on Monday. “But you know, while I was listening to the audio, I almost believed it was me. There are definitely some real things here.”
However, he did not reiterate his support for Putin. Mr Akhmedov has not yet commented.
Russian opposition figures have urged Mr Prigozhin to flee the country for his own safety, but Kremlin-watchers do not expect the government to go after him because criminal charges would only confirm that the conversation was genuine and public support for Putin was waning.
Russia’s Wagner chief says battle for Bakhmut has damaged his forces
March 29, 2023
A general view shows a building damaged by a Russian military strike in BakhmutYevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, speaks in Paraskoviivka
(Reuters) – The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group acknowledged on Wednesday that fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had inflicted severe damage on his own forces as well as the Ukrainian side.
Bakhmut, a small eastern city that has for months been the target of a Russian offensive, has seen intense fighting and destruction in what has become the longest, bloodiest battle of the war.
“The battle for Bakhmut today has already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, and unfortunately, it has also badly damaged the Wagner Private Military Company,” Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message.
Russian officials say their forces are still capturing ground in street-by-street fighting inside Bakhmut, but have so far failed to encircle it and force the Ukrainians to withdraw, as had seemed likely weeks ago.
British military intelligence said on Wednesday the Ukrainians had successfully pushed the Russians back from one of the city’s main supply routes.
Ask a cycling coach: ‘What’s the ideal heart rate to burn fat while cycling?’
James Spragg – March 29, 2023
Male cyclist riding a bike to burn fat
For a lot of us (myself included) it might be nice to burn off a little bit of excess body fat. How might we best go about that in our training? Is there a certain intensity we should target to burn the most body fat? James Spragg answers whether there’s anything you can optimize when training with heart rate, and separates the myths from the reality…
You may have heard people refer to the ‘fat burning zone’ – the cycling training zone in which your body is using fat as a fuel source – or substrate as coaches and sports scientists would say. You may have also heard of ‘fat-max’ the intensity at which the body is using the most fat per minute or hour of exercise.
Well, both these concepts are real physiological phenomena, but they might not help you lose that excess body fat! Let me explain…
In very simplistic terms, when we exercise at very easy intensities, we almost exclusively use fat as a substrate, and when we exercise at very hard intensities, we almost exclusively use carbohydrates as a substrate. In those middling intensities, we are using a mix of both fat and carbohydrates. Obviously, as we exercise harder, we use more fuel – just like your car uses more fuel when you drive faster. So logically at a specific intensity, there is a peak in fat usage. This is what we call ‘fat-max’. However, it’s not a fixed intensity and can be influenced by what we eat. For example, if we eat a lot of fructose before exercise then our bodies use that as a preferential fuel and our fat max might be a bit lower. Likewise, if we are glycogen depleted, i.e. we have low carbohydrate stores, then we tend to use more fat as there are only limited carbohydrates available.
Additionally, there is quite a lot of person to person variation in the intensity at which fat- max occurs. Typically, however, the better trained an individual is the higher their fat max.
So yes in theory there is an intensity at which we can maximise the amount of fat used during a training session. However, that intensity might differ depending on several factors including what you have eaten and, believe it or not, how much caffeine you have had that day. However, this intensity is quite different from person to person and therefore it doesn’t occur at a fixed heart rate or even a fixed percentage of max heart rate.
Ultimately it’s calories in versus calories out.
However, paradoxically, riding at this ‘fat-max’ intensity might not be the best way to lose a few pounds. We cannot look at weight loss and substrate utilisation simply when we are exercising. We need to look at the bigger picture. Ultimately it comes down to energy in versus energy used.
If you take in more energy than you burn off, then you put on weight. Burn more calories than you eat, and you will lose body mass. Therefore, if we go a little harder in our training sessions, maximising the amount of energy expenditure then we might actually find it easier to shift those extra pounds as we will simply be increasing the energy used side of the equation.
Conclusion
While there is an intensity at which we ‘burn’ the most fat per minute/hour it is not at a given percentage of max HR and it can move around based on our diet. Ultimately if we are looking to lose weight cycling then it’s much better to push on a bit more in your training sessions and eat a little less rather than packing your cycling training plan with sessions that target a very specific intensity on the bike.
Ukraine Gets Its First Western Heavy Tanks. Here’s What to Know
Armani Syed – March 28, 2023
Ukrainian recruits and their British Armed Forces trainers pose for a photograph on Driver Tank Trainer (DTT) armored vehicles at a military facility, on Feb. 23, 2023 in Southern England. (Credit – Leon Neal – Getty Images)
The first heavy tanks from Britain and Germany have arrived in Ukraine as the nation’s army prepares for a spring offensive against Russian forces.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Olesksiy Reznikov tweeted a video Tuesday of himself taking a British Challenger 2 for a test drive, confirming the arrival of 14 tanks. “These fantastic machines will soon begin their combat missions,” he wrote, thanking U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Defense Minister Ben Wallace, and the British people.
The tweet comes a day after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks had successfully been delivered to Ukraine.
Reznikov also announced the arrival of American Cougar armored trucks and American Stryker and German Marder fighting vehicles in a Facebook post on Monday. In the image shared by Reznikov, Ukrainian defense leaders and members of the armed forces posed in front of the military hardware while holding U.S., U.K., and German flags.
Ukraine has long called for heavier weapons to bolster its war efforts. But the decision to provide Western-made heavy tanks such as the Leopard 2s and Challenger 2s to Ukraine was not taken lightly by NATO allies, with many fearing it would provoke Russia into further escalating the war.
Below, what to know about Ukraine’s growing supply of Western-made tanks.
What are the British Challenger 2s?
In January, Britain became the first nation to pledge Western battle tanks—in this case 14 Challenger 2 tanks from its supply of 227 to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Sunak “for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.”
The tanks were built in the late 1990s by BAE Systems and Land Armaments and can carry up to four people. The heavy vehicle weighs over 65 tons and are equipped with a 120 mm rifled gun. The tank’s merit lies in its ability to shock enemies with rapid fire.
In addition to tanks, the U.K. is also providing 20 Bulldog armored troop carriers and 30 AS-90 self-propelled artillery guns, offering Ukrainian forces a competitive upgrade.
On Monday, Ukrainian crews returned from several weeks of training in Dorset, England, where they learned how to operate and fight using Challenger 2s.
Wallace, Britain’s defense minister, said the soldiers “return to their homeland better equipped, but to no less danger.”
What are the German Leopard 2 tanks?
First made during the Cold War, there are now 2,000 Leopard 2 tanks scattered across Europe. Germany was initially reluctant to send its own supply of the tanks but said it would not get in the way of other nations wishing to send their stock of the German-made vehicle.
Other nations sending these tanks were required to obtain Germany’s authorization before doing so. Poland became the first nation to deliver German-made tanks to Ukraine on the one-year anniversary of the war on Feb. 24.
But in late January—after intense global pressure—Germany U-turned on its decision and announced that it would send 14 of its own tanks.
On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Berlin had supplied 18 “very modern” Leopard battle tanks, four more than originally planned.
“Our tanks arrived as promised and punctually in the hands of our Ukrainian friends,” Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement.
“I’m sure they can make a difference on the pitch,” he added.
When are the U.S. Abrams 1 tanks arriving?
In January, the Biden administration reversed its call to not send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The vehicle has a powerful engine that makes it mobile while carrying its gun and heavy armor. They can run at speeds up to 42 mph and carry up to four crew members.
The U.S. previously feared that the tanks required too much maintenance for Ukrainian forces to handle. But after mounting pressure both Germany and the U.S. announced on Jan. 25 that they would send heavy tanks, with Biden pledging 31 American battle tanks as part of a $400 million package of military aid.
It was previously expected to take a year or more for the tanks to arrive, but on March 21, the U.S. announced that it will expedite the process by sending M1-A1, an older model of the tank.
The delay in sending more modern M1-A2 versions stemmed from the need to build new tanks or upgrade existing older vehicles, as well as training Ukrainian forces on its systems. Now, the tanks could arrive as early as fall this year.
