Thursday Briefing: Taliban interim government agrees to let foreigners leave Afghanistan

The Reuters Daily Briefing Thursday, September 9, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Britain threatens to send migrant boats back to France, Ford pulls out of India, and can Trump block the Capitol attack probe? Today's biggest stories Afghan refugees are processed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, September 8, 2021 WORLD Two hundred Americans and other foreigners who remain in Afghanistan are set to depart the country on charter flights from Kabul today after the new Taliban government agreed to their evacuation, a U.S. official said. We interviewed Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States, who blames the former U.S.-backed government for the Taliban takeover. Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with a surge of people risking their lives by trying to cross the Channel in small dinghies. Japan has extended emergency COVID-19 restrictions in Tokyo and other regions until the end of this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals being overwhelmed, while Singapore is ramping up testing and warned it will not rule out reimposing tighter curbs as infections rise. Scientists remain focused on Delta, now the dominant variant around the world, but are tracking others to see what may one day take its place. The leader of Canada's main opposition Conservative Party squares off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a televised debate today that could go a long way in deciding who wins a September 20 election. The daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said she would not run for higher office in next year's general election, a remark that did little to dampen speculation that she has her eye on the presidency. A man walks by the home of a supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Long Beach, New York, September 8, 2021 U.S. Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania will kick off an "election integrity" investigation with a public hearing today, joining partisan efforts in other battleground states to cast doubts on former President Donald Trump's November election loss. Michigan officials demanded that lawyers who unsuccessfully sued to overturn Trump's election defeat in the state pay about $200,000 to reimburse for legal fees and related costs. A lawyer for a man linked by prosecutors to the anti-government Oath Keepers group asked a judge to consider moving his possible trial on charges of involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot away from Washington because he believes jurors in the city are politically biased. We look at whether Trump can use executive privilege to block the congressional committee probe into the attack. The White House said it asked 18 Trump administration appointees to resign from military academy boards, saying President Joe Biden would require such officials to be "aligned with the values of this administration." Those asked to step down include Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned for embattled California Governor Gavin Newsom, part of a ramped-up effort to save his job from a Republican-led recall by bringing in some of the Democratic Party's biggest names. BUSINESS Ford will stop manufacturing cars in India and shut down its plants in the country, becoming the latest automaker to quit a market still dominated by Asian rivals. General Motors and Harley Davidson have already left a market that had once promised exponential growth. EasyJet has rejected a takeover approach from Wizz Air that would have created a low-cost airline to rival Ryanair, opting instead to raise $1.7 billion from shareholders and go it alone in an industry battling to recover from the pandemic. German prosecutors say they have seized documents at the finance and justice ministries as part of an investigation into possible obstruction of justice by a government agency that is responsible for investigating money laundering. Video game retailer GameStop tumbled 8% in early trading as the company's silence on its turnaround plan left its army of small-time investors questioning the meteoric rise in its share price this year. There's no free lunch in finance - except when banks are wooing workers back to the office. London's financial sector, keen to return to a semblance of normality after the worst of the pandemic, is leading the charge to encourage employees back to their old lives, with some companies even offering free food and social events. Quote of the day "Xi wants to address a very contemporary issue, the way in which neoliberal reforms have made China much less equal, and bring back the sense of mission that shaped early Maoist China" Rana Mitter Professor of Chinese history and politics at Oxford University Unleashing reforms, Xi returns to China's socialist roots Video of the day Two arborists emerged as unsung heroes of 9/11 When a hijacked airliner slammed down in a fiery explosion, turning a grove of hemlocks into a gruesome crime scene, the two were called in for a task that transformed their lives. And finally… North Korea puts hazmat suits on parade for national day North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its foundation with a night-time military parade in the capital, publishing photographs of marching rows of personnel in orange hazmat suits but no ballistic missiles. More from Reuters COVID-19 Reuters Investigates Legal news The Great Reboot Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036