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We’re overlaying Gen. Mark Milley’s testimony and Japan’s unpredictable occasion management race.
High U.S. normal faces powerful questions in Congress
Gen. Mark Milley, essentially the most senior U.S. army commander, defended his actions in the final months of the Trump administration and warned of the “very actual chance” that Al Qaeda and ISIS may rebuild in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
In testimony to lawmakers on Tuesday, Milley insisted that calls he made to his Chinese language counterpart final 12 months and a gathering wherein he informed U.S. generals to alert him if the president tried to launch a nuclear weapon had been all a part of his job because the nation’s most senior army officer.
High army officers acknowledged publicly for the primary time that that they had advised President Biden not to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. They stated the collapse of the Afghan military took commanders abruptly.
Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, stated {that a} reconstituted Al Qaeda or ISIS in Afghanistan “with aspirations to assault america is a very real possibility.” He added, “And people circumstances, to incorporate exercise in ungoverned areas, may current themselves within the subsequent 12 to 36 months.”
Drone strike: After a Occasions investigation discovered {that a} U.S. drone strike in Kabul on Aug. 29 killed 10 civilians, senators bought an opportunity to ask high army officers instantly what went wrong.
Who might be Japan’s subsequent prime minister?
Polls present that the Japanese public favors Taro Kono, the cupboard minister who oversees Japan’s coronavirus vaccine rollout, to be the following prime minister. He’s forward of different candidates within the race to guide the governing Liberal Democratic Get together — which, in impact, is the race to grow to be prime minister.
Get together members will vote Wednesday to decide on a successor to Yoshihide Suga, the present prime minister and occasion chief.
However within the again rooms, Kono, 58, doesn’t have almost as a lot assist. His repute as a nonconformist and his left-leaning views on social points put him out of step with the occasion’s conservative elders, who maintain appreciable sway.
Particulars: Kono has courted public opinion, posting playful tweets and even personally responding to vaccine questions on-line. He opposes nuclear energy and helps same-sex marriage, positions that put him on the incorrect aspect of many occasion members.
Opponents: Sanae Takaichi, 60, a hard-line conservative, can be Japan’s first feminine prime minister. She has robust backing from the occasion’s proper wing and from former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Many occasion members suppose Fumio Kishida, 64, a average with tepid assist within the polls, is the most secure selection.
The pandemic: Japan is ending its state-of-emergency measures on Thursday because the variety of new each day coronavirus instances has dropped and the vaccine rollout has reached almost 60 p.c of the inhabitants.
Pfizer says Covid vaccine is protected for teenagers
Pfizer and BioNTech stated on Tuesday that that they had submitted knowledge to U.S. regulators that the businesses stated confirmed that their coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective in children ages 5 to 11.
The businesses stated that they’d submit a proper request to permit a pediatric dose of their vaccine to be administered within the U.S. within the coming weeks. Comparable requests might be filed with European regulators and in different international locations.
A few week in the past, Pfizer and BioNTech introduced favorable outcomes from their scientific trial with greater than 2,200 contributors in that age group.
Context: About 28 million youngsters ages 5 to 11 can be eligible for the vaccine within the U.S., excess of the 17 million of ages 12 to fifteen who turned eligible for the vaccine in Might.
Listed here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
THE LATEST NEWS
Information From Asia
Stephanie Grisham, the previous Trump White Home press secretary, is releasing a tell-all guide that accuses former President Trump of abusing his workers, placating dictators like Vladimir Putin of Russia, and making sexual feedback a few younger aide. Her writer calls the guide “essentially the most frank and intimate portrait of the Trump White Home but.” We have now some highlights from the manuscript.
A grand stage for online game music
At a current live performance within the Royal Albert Corridor in London, almost 6,000 attendees gathered wearing a mix of suits, ties and video game character cosplay. That they had come to see an orchestra and choir carry out music from Ultimate Fantasy VII, launched in 1997.
The music within the first installment of the Ultimate Fantasy collection in 1987 was restricted to a handful of digital sounds. However expertise developed, and by the late Nineties, the video games featured stay orchestral recordings. Nobuo Uematsu, who composed scores for the primary 9 installments of Ultimate Fantasy, has drawn on influences as various as Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Celtic music and classical music.
The soundtracks to the Ultimate Fantasy collection are enormously widespread: Since 2007, there have been greater than 200 official concert events throughout 20 international locations. On the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics this summer time, some athletes marched to Ultimate Fantasy songs. On YouTube, followers publish covers, tutorials and their very own compositions.
“There are some melodies I composed virtually 30 years in the past I’ve virtually forgotten,” Junya Nakano, who labored with Uematsu on the rating for Ultimate Fantasy’s tenth installment, stated. “However followers are nonetheless enjoying them.”
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook dinner
World By way of a Lens
In southern Mexico, the Zapotec folks have lengthy accepted — and celebrated — gender nonconformity. Our journey part has these portraits of the community.
Now Time to Play
Right here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Plump up, as a pillow (5 letters).
And right here is today’s Spelling Bee.
You can find all our puzzles here.
That’s it for at the moment’s briefing. And a correction: Yesterday’s briefing incorrectly described the variety of girls operating to be Japan’s subsequent prime minister. There are two, not 4.
See you subsequent time. — Melina
P.S. The Occasions introduced the Headway team, which can examine vital nationwide and worldwide challenges by the lens of progress.
The most recent episode of “The Daily” features a dialog with an Afghan normal.
Sanam Yar wrote the Arts and Concepts part. You’ll be able to attain Melina and the crew at briefing@nytimes.com.
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