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Good morning. We’re covering a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan, Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and Palestine’s vaccination push.
After a bombing at the Kabul airport killed about 170 civilians and 13 American service members, the U.S. struck back.
A drone strike on Sunday blew up a vehicle laden with explosives, a Defense Department official said, hours after President Biden had warned that another terrorist attack at the airport was “highly likely.” Here are live updates.
On Friday, the Pentagon said that two senior Islamic State militants were killed and one was wounded in a reprisal drone strike. Many Afghans fear that revenge from the Taliban will follow soon after the last American soldiers leave.
When Taliban fighters seized control of Kabul two weeks ago, the invading units made a beeline for the headquarters of the National Security Directorate and the Ministry of Communications. Their aim was to secure the files of intelligence officers and their informers, and to obtain the means of tracking the telephone numbers of Afghan citizens, a potential disaster for hundreds of thousands of people who once worked against them.
For months, the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and in the blockaded Gaza Strip struggled to get Covid-19 vaccine doses. Now they have the shots, but disinformation and conspiracy theories have led to widespread hesitancy.
Only 37 percent of eligible West Bank residents and 18 percent in Gaza have received at least one dose, according to health officials.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas — the militant group that rules Gaza — have imposed vaccine mandates on public employees, despite reservations from human rights advocates.
In Gaza, private-sector employees whose work brings them into direct contact with the public must be vaccinated as well. In the West Bank, where the government is the largest employer, officials said that the number of vaccinations increased after the government order.
Cases: The number of new infections jumped significantly over the past week, reaching 868 in the West Bank on Thursday and 1,021 in Gaza on Friday, the highest single-day figures in months. The number of hospitalizations in both territories has roughly tripled in the past two weeks.
Who are the Taliban? The Taliban arose in 1994 amid the turmoil that came after the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including floggings, amputations and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here’s more on their origin story and their record as rulers.
Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
In other developments:
From Asia
For years, China’s online censors have relentlessly silenced political dissidents. Now, they’re turning their attention to celebrity fan clubs, as officials fear that a quest for online attention is poisoning the minds of the country’s youth.
The U.S. Open begins in New York on Monday, and Novak Djokovic is going to try to break some records.
If he wins this tournament, he will break his tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and take the record for Grand Slam men’s singles titles with 21. He would also complete a Grand Slam by winning all four major tournaments in the same calendar year. No man has done so in singles since 1969, although Steffi Graf did it in 1988. And, perhaps, he will even gain a share of the adoration that has followed Federer and Nadal.
Here’s what Djokovic’s path to victory might look like. His success may be made easier by Federer’s and Nadal’s absence from the U.S. Open because of injuries. His biggest challenge is likely to come from the generation that is following the great trio: Alexander Zverev (who defeated Djokovic in Tokyo), Matteo Berrettini, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsisipas.
What to Cook
Use juice from macerated berries, instead of store-bought flavored gelatin, for the richest, silkiest and most flavorful strawberry icebox pie imaginable.
What to Watch
Our latest picks for the best international films to stream include an Indian boxing film, a French romantic comedy and a horror film about refugees in London.
What to Read
Jo Hamya’s debut novel “Three Rooms” follows a young, well-educated woman of color fighting for economic stability in contemporary London.
Now Time to Play
Here is today’s Mini Crossword.
And here is today’s Spelling Bee.
You can find all our puzzles here.
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Amelia
P.S. During Fashion Week, our journalists will speak with designers, editors, chief executives and influencers. Join us for the first virtual event on Sept. 7.
The latest episode of “The Daily” is about the deadly bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan.
You can reach Amelia and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
Original story from https://www.nytimes.com
Tropical Storm Nora was downgraded from a hurricane on Sunday, a day after it formed, as it battered the western coast of Mexico and unleashed a torrent of life-threatening rain and flash floods, forecasters said.At noon local time, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was moving northwest and was about 85 miles northwest of Mazatlán in Sinaloa State, with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. The storm made […]
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