Month: September 2021

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Entertainment

‘The Doorways Didn’t Open Simply’ on Her Path to ‘Cinderella’

‘The Doors Didn’t Open Easily’ on Her Path to ‘Cinderella’

This was followed by ensemble roles in Broadway shows (“Miss Saigon,” “Guys and Dolls,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”) and soon Hunter began working as the dance captain, the ensemble member who did the choreography for each character. When she appeared in Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, director Rob Ashford asked her to be his choreographer.

“JoAnn was always the smartest person in the room, as well as the best dancer, and I knew she would be invaluable,” Ashford said in a telephone interview. Hunter, who had just been divorced, wasn’t so sure. (She said her first answer was “aaarghhhh”.) But she had to take the risk.

“She’s a real problem solver and a great contributor,” said Ashford. “In a musical, a choreographer has to penetrate a director’s head and translate that vision into his own creation. It was always about the goals of the show. “

Director Michael Mayer, who hired Hunter in 2006 to direct Bill T. Jones’ choreography for Spring Awakening, said in a telephone interview that one of her great gifts is “understanding why the steps are there and what the characters try ”. through the movement and how the movement is in conversation with the rest of the elements of the show, even though she hadn’t invented the movements at the time. “

Hunter’s first independent musical choreography was in 2008 for a US touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “I remember thinking that if I don’t try, I’ll never know,” said Hunter. “And if I’m bad, not too many people will have seen it!”

When asked if she thought this type of insecurity was particularly widespread among women, Hunter looked thoughtful. Maybe, she said. “Men tend to try things out without worrying when they have the experience.” She added that the lack of female choreographers on Broadway doesn’t boost their confidence.

Although there are still relatively few female choreographers working on Broadway, this has gradually changed: Camille A. Brown, Michelle Dorrance, Ellenore Scott and Ayodele Casel will choreograph the upcoming Broadway shows. Hunter agreed that women are now a little more visible in musical theater. “It’s amazing to think that as a dancer I’ve only ever worked with two directors, Susan Stroman and Tina Landau,” she said. “At the moment these issues are just as important as racial diversity. I hope it’s something permanent, not a fad. “

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Politics

Biden urges Congress to cross financial payments

Biden urges Congress to pass economic bills

President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass his more than $4 trillion economic agenda in order to boost sluggish job growth.

The president made his case for spending on infrastructure, climate policy and the social safety net after the Labor Department said the country added 235,000 jobs in August. The figure fell well short of the 720,000 jobs economists had expected.

Biden pinned the poor report on the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus and the reluctance of many eligible Americans to get a Covid-19 vaccine. He said the U.S. could boost its economy by reining in the virus and passing his two economic plans, which he said would help the middle class and make the country more resilient to the kind of extreme weather that knocked out power in New Orleans and crippled transit in New York City in recent days.

“Our country needs these investments,” Biden said. “I’m not asking for anything other than some fairness being injected into the system.”

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Biden stressed he does not see the investments as a “short-term stimulus” while the country emerges from the pandemic’s shadow. He said the proposals are designed to create “long-term prosperity.”

The president’s push for his economic agenda comes a day after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., complicated his party’s plans to pass it in Congress. Manchin, whose vote Democrats will need to approve an up to $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill in the Senate, urged congressional leaders to “pause” consideration of the measure.

The senator, who helped to negotiate the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, cited inflation and long-term debt as reasons for a delay. He did not rule out voting for a proposal that costs less than $3.5 trillion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said she will not hold a vote on the infrastructure legislation until the Senate passes the Democrats’ spending plan. After centrists in her caucus threatened to hold up the budget bill, Pelosi made a nonbinding commitment to consider the bipartisan bill by Sept. 27.

In a Thursday Twitter post after Manchin announced his stance, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the fates of the two economic plans are tied.

“No infrastructure bill without the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill,” the Senate Budget Committee chairman said.

Pelosi and the White House hope to fully offset the spending through tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, among other measures. Democrats could also consider taxes on companies with runaway CEO pay and businesses that repurchase a substantial amount of stock, according to a discussion list circulated among Democratic lawmakers and obtained by CNBC.

Republicans have cited proposed tax hikes, and the overall $3.5 trillion price tag, in opposing the package.

Biden on Friday framed tax increases on the wealthy and corporations as a way to create a fairer economy. He repeated his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.

“To those big corporations that don’t want things to change, my message is this: It’s time for working families, the folks who built this country, to have their taxes cut,” Biden said.

“And those corporate interests doing everything they can to find allies in Congress to keep that from happening, let me be, as the old expression goes, perfectly clear: I’m going to take them on.”

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World News

Waste From Mine in Angola Kills 12 Downstream in Congo, Minister Says

Waste From Mine in Angola Kills 12 Downstream in Congo, Minister Says

LUANDA, Angola – First the river turned red. Then tons of dead fish swam to the surface. Then thousands of people got sick.

Now 12 people have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in what researchers have called “an unprecedented environmental and human disaster” along the Kasai River, a southern tributary of the mighty Congo River.

Researchers and officials from the Congolese government say the cause was a toxic leak upstream of Angola’s largest diamond mine, operated by Catoca, a joint venture between Endiama, the Angolan state-owned mining company and Russian mining giant Alrosa.

The company admitted in a statement last month that there was a leak from its facility, but said it was just water and sand – nothing toxic.

In addition to the 12 fatalities, around 4,500 people became ill with diarrhea as a result of pollution, affecting nearly a million in total, Eve Bazaiba, the Congolese minister for the environment and sustainable development, said in a press conference Thursday.

“It is a total destruction of ecosystems, especially aquatic biodiversity,” said Ms. Bazaiba, who had traveled to the region.

She said that around July 26th, the people who lived near the water noticed that something strange was happening on the Tshikapa River, which flows north from Angola, where it spells Chicapa, then flows into the Congo and flows into the Kasai.

At first they thought small diamond miners were causing the problem, she said. But then, on July 31, the situation worsened.

“They noticed that there were dead fish. Lots of dead fish – tons and tons of them are floating on the river, ”said Ms. Bazaiba.

A team dispatched to the area reported that two hippos had also died. “Everyone panicked,” she said.

The government warned people not to eat the fish and took water samples to be tested in laboratories in Kinshasa, capital of the Congo. The results came back a week later. The water sample contained heavy metals – nickel and iron – and the pH was incorrect, according to the minister.

“It’s practically sour,” she said. “It sucks the oxygen out of the water. There is no more life. “

Researchers at Kinshasa University’s Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center described the pollution of the Kasai River basin as “an unprecedented environmental and human disaster.” In a report released in mid-August, they said they had tracked the spill from its source since July 15 in Angola’s Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul provinces, and it took 15 days to see the city of Tshikapa at the confluence of the Tshikapa and Kasai rivers . Two million people are at risk, it said.

The immediate aftermath of the disaster, the report says, has included water pollution, poisoning and loss of aquatic fauna and flora, water-borne diseases for local communities, disruption of fishing and shipping activities and lack of access to domestic water services.

It warned that pollution could spread downstream to the stretch of river that runs through the vast metropolis of Kinshasa, one of the most populous in Africa.

Ms. Bazaiba said she hoped the voluminous waters of the Congo – second largest after that of the Amazon – would dilute pollution when it reached the capital, adding that the water is gradually becoming clearer.

The government is now trying to determine the source of the pollution, she said, but must act because it came from a foreign country.

“We don’t know exactly whether it was an accident,” she said, “or whether it was known.”

Ms. Bazaiba said the Angolan government and the company recognized that the pollution was from the Catoca mine. She added that the Congo will seek compensation on the “polluter pays” principle.

But the Angolan government has not commented publicly on this issue. An official from the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Culture, who was not allowed to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ministry had not received any official information from the government of the Congo. The official said that the only information the ministry had through the media and the investigation was still ongoing.

An employee of the company, who was not authorized to comment on the matter and who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied that Catoca had confirmed the Congolese government’s allegation that a poison leak had occurred.

The Catoca mine produces three quarters of Angola’s diamonds. One of its owners, the Russian company Alrosa, has tried in recent years to increase sales in the USA.

In a statement last month, the company admitted that there had been a “break in the pipeline that functions as an overflow”. But it was said that only a mixture of sand and water had entered the river. A survey was carried out and “the recorded situation does not pose a threat to the life of the population”.

Catoca did not use the heavy metals described by the Congolese minister, said the company employee.

“No toxic materials may come from the Catoca mine because the mine does not use such materials,” said the employee. “It was a build-up of sand and water, or to be clear, it was mud.”

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Entertainment

How Camila Cabello’s Cinderella Compares to the Disney Film

How Camila Cabello's Cinderella Compares to the Disney Movie

Disney’s Cinderella has been retold many times before, and now Amazon Prime Video is putting its own spin on the narrative. Starring Camila Cabello and Nicholas Galitzine, the new film modernizes the classic fairy tale through a few key differences. Though the story still takes place in an antiquated village, the characters’ motivations are slightly different, which helps move the story along in interesting ways. The film is also jukebox musical, so it includes some of your favorite pop songs throughout.

While the film manages to set itself apart from the original Disney cartoon, there are still certain areas where it falls flat, including the lack of screen time for Billy Porter’s Fab G and Cinderella’s “girlboss” narrative. As a fan of Disney and musicals, a big part of me was left wanting more by the final musical number. The concept of the movie is so interesting, though it never really lives up to its potential. I was expecting more Brandy’s Cinderella meets Disney Channel’s Descendants, and instead I got Another Cinderella Story meets Mirror, Mirror. I wanted flashy musical numbers and over-the-top characters that smartly juxtaposed the classic Disney story, but this felt more like a rom-com Cinderella set in medieval times. Maybe it would’ve been better as a Broadway musical? Read ahead as I break down all the ways this iteration compares to the Disney movie.

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Politics

U.S. Wrestles With Taliban Sanctions as Afghan Disaster Looms

U.S. Wrestles With Taliban Sanctions as Afghan Crisis Looms

WASHINGTON – America’s war in Afghanistan is over, but the Taliban’s finances are just beginning.

The fate of billions of dollars in international reserves and foreign aid represents its own politically and legally strained choices as the world grapples with what Afghanistan will look like under Taliban rule. The stake is extraordinarily high as millions of Afghans face the prospect of collateral damage from the stranglehold of the Taliban’s sanctions, which are still in place, an economy the United States has tried for two decades support, threatens to sink.

Faced with an impending humanitarian crisis, the Biden government is examining how this web of sanctions can be tailored so that aid can continue to reach the Afghan people. The challenge is to keep donor money flowing without further enriching the Taliban, who see the US as a terrorist organization. Experts say that such a situation, in which a group believed to be terrorists takes over an entire country, is unprecedented and represents a complex test for the US sanctions program.

“This is a new world,” said Adam M. Smith, a senior sanctions officer in the Obama administration’s Treasury. “I cannot imagine a case in which an already named terrorist group has taken power over an entire country.”

He said that the Treasury Department would soon have to decide what exemptions or licenses it would grant for certain types of transactions. It must also decide whether all of Afghanistan or just the Taliban leadership is under sanctions so that the world knows how to deal with the government.

“We have to find a way to get goods and services into Afghanistan or 30 million Afghans will have side effects here and it will be a disaster,” said Smith.

When the Taliban came to power last month, the United States acted quickly to maintain as much influence as possible. It blocked its access to $ 9.5 billion in international reserve funds and put pressure on the International Monetary Fund to suspend distribution of more than $ 400 million in currency reserves.

A Treasury Department official said the United States would not ease sanctions pressures on Taliban leaders or significant restrictions on their access to the international financial system. The militant group continues to be classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Group, and it is also subject to United Nations sanctions that the United States and other countries must enforce.

But the desire to demonstrate some flexibility is already evident. Last week, the Ministry of Finance signaled to humanitarian organizations that it was taking steps to enable relief work to continue for the benefit of the Afghan people. On August 25, the agency issued a special license, similar to the one it has issued in countries such as Syria and Venezuela, to enable the delivery of food, shelter, medicines and medical services to Afghanistan.

There are also signs that the financial flows into the country, which have been frozen for two weeks, are resuming.

Financial institutions in the United States have been waiting for the Biden administration to clarify whether Afghanistan’s property is considered Taliban property, banking industry officials said. Banks fear they could violate US sanctions if they allow transactions with the country.

Updated

9/2/2021, 5:49 p.m. ET

However, Western Union said Thursday that it would resume money transfer services to Afghanistan so its customers can send money to loved ones and that it would waive fees for transfers into the country for two weeks. A company spokeswoman said she made the decision after the US government said it allowed money transfers to Afghanistan.

An official from the Treasury Department confirmed that the agency had contacted financial institutions to inform them that personal transfers were allowed.

The Treasury Department has experience trying to service people ruled by enemy governments and has issued humanitarian aid licenses to arrive at such locations. In June, it issued licenses to send relief supplies to fight the coronavirus to Iran, Syria and Venezuela.

However, a terrorist group presents its own challenges and it will not be easy to keep aid out of the hands of the Taliban, especially if they control the country. The group is notorious for using exorbitant taxes to steal wealth from Afghan citizens, and an influx of food or medicine from abroad would be an opportunity to confiscate and sell them to raise funds. Harsh sanctions could also force the Taliban to rely even more heavily on illegal finances and drug trafficking, despite their public opposition to such practices.

“Due to the increased risk that the Taliban takeover entails, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing must be stepped up,” said Alex Zerden, from 2018 to 2019 financial attaché of the Treasury Department at the US embassy in Kabul.

Dealing with the situation in Afghanistan is becoming more complex as the Treasury Department carries out a broader review of its sanctions program. Critics have accused the previous administration of arbitrarily imposing sanctions and often undermining their effectiveness. The Biden government has stated that it is not conducting intelligence reviews of certain sanctions, but rather is focusing on ways to modernize the practice so that it is more effective.

Understanding the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

Map 1 of 6

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban emerged in 1994 amid the unrest following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including flogging, amputation and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here is more about their genesis and track record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who for years have been on the run, in hiding, in prison and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to rule, including whether they will be as tolerant as they say they are. A spokesman told the Times that the group wanted to forget their past but had some restrictions.

The Treasury Department did not offer a schedule for this review. It’s taking place while Senate Republicans have blocked two of President Biden’s nominations for top sanctions positions at the Treasury, Brian E. Nelson and Elizabeth Rosenberg. Although the Biden administration has been less vocal than the Trump administration about the application of sanctions, it is still well on its way to making about 1,000 nominations this year, according to the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Any easing of sanctions for the Taliban could come at a political price.

Senators Marco Rubio from Florida and Rob Portman from Ohio, both Republicans, called on Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Monday to keep all internationally held Afghan assets out of the Taliban.

“The Taliban are sponsors of terrorism and have close ties to al-Qaeda, and therefore cannot be trusted to distribute money to the Afghan people who are in dire need and will instead use all means to actively set priorities that are hostile to US interests. “They wrote in a letter. “We can and should work to create alternative means of supporting the Afghan people, but we must not allow resources to be used to strengthen a repressive Taliban regime.”

Khalid Payenda, who resigned as Afghan finance minister last month, said Thursday during an event at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service that the Taliban appear to be struggling to resume government financial operations and that the country is about to run out of money would. He said the world must find ways to provide economic support to the people of Afghanistan without giving the Taliban the money and that sanctions must be maintained as leverage.

“I think it would be catastrophic to give full access to the reserves,” said Payenda, accusing the Taliban of still having links with al Qaeda. “The Taliban know that they cannot run a government without the finances and technical assistance of other countries.”

The White House made it clear this week that it will not let go of its economic influence on the Taliban prematurely. Biden government officials insisted that such interference is important to ensure the Taliban honor their pledges to allow Americans, permanent residents and Afghan citizens to leave the country on special immigrant visas.

“When we talk about Afghan reserves, Afghan access to the banking system, Afghan access to any kind of basic operation of the economy, remember that the United States has been basically the steward of them for the past 20 years. “Jake Sullivan, the White House national security advisor, told CNN.

He argued that the Taliban are now somewhat dependent on the United States, adding, “They understand the extent to which their ability to provide their citizens with everything needed for a functioning economy depends on the international community. It’s up to the United States. “

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World News

Jobs report August 2021 shocker: Solely 235,000 new jobs

Jobs report August 2021 shocker: Only 235,000 new jobs

Job creation in August was a huge disappointment as the economy only added 235,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

Economists polled by Dow Jones had sought 720,000 new hires.

The unemployment rate fell from 5.4% to 5.2%, in line with estimates.

The August total – the worst since January – is linked to heightened fears of the pandemic and the impact that rising Covid cases could have on a largely robust recovery. The weak report could tarnish the Federal Reserve’s policy as it weighs whether to withdraw some of the massive stimulus it has added since the outbreak in early 2020.

“The recovery in the job market slowed this month with a dramatic showdown in all industries,” said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor. “Ultimately, the wave of the Delta variant is a hard reminder that the pandemic is still in the driver’s seat and controlling our economic future.”

Leisure and hospitality jobs, which were the main driver of the overall gains at 350,000 per month for the past six months, stalled in August as the industry’s unemployment rate rose to 9.1%.

Instead, professional and business services resulted in 74,000 new jobs. Other winners included transportation and warehousing (53,000), private education (40,000), and manufacturing and other services, each increasing by 37,000.

The retail sector lost 29,000, with the bulk of it coming from food and beverage stores which saw a 23,000 decline.

“The weaker employment activity is likely both a demand and a supply story – companies have stopped hiring in the face of weaker demand and uncertainty about the future, while workers have withdrawn for health reasons,” said the Bank of America economist. Joseph Song, in a message to customers.

According to the report, the US is seeing around 150,000 new Covid cases daily, raising concerns that the recovery could stall until the latter part of the year.

“Delta is the story in this report,” said Marvin Loh, global macro strategist for State Street. “It’s going to be a bumpy rebound in the job market and one that is pushing back against a more optimistic narrative.”

During the month, the number of those who said they could not work due to a pandemic rose by about 400,000, bringing the total to 5.6 million.

“Today’s job report reflects a sharp decline in employment growth, likely due to the increasing impact of the delta variant of COVID-19 on the US economy, although August is also a notoriously difficult month due to the holidays, to be precise investigate, ”said Tony Bedikian. Head of Global Markets at Citizens.

Still, the news wasn’t all bad for Jobs.

There have been significant upward revisions over the past two months, with the grand total now standing at 1.053 million in July, up from the original estimate of 943,000, while June was raised from 938,000 to 962,000. In the two months, the revisions added 134,000 to the initial counts.

Wages also continued to accelerate, increasing by 4.3% year-on-year and 0.6% on a monthly basis. Estimates had been 4% and 0.3%, respectively.

An alternative measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and part-time workers for economic reasons, fell sharply, falling from 9.6% in July to 8.9% in August.

The employment rate remained unchanged at 61.7% and was thus still well below the 63.3% in February 2020, the month before the pandemic was declared.

Employment also remained well below pre-Covid levels, with 5.6 million fewer employees and the total workforce still 2.9 million fewer.

Another key metric from the Fed, the employment-to-population measure, was 58.5%, a tenth of a percentage point more than in July, but still well below the pre-pandemic 61.1%. The measurement looks at the total number of employed persons compared to the population of working age.

August numbers have been volatile in recent years and are often revised significantly. You come amid other positive signs of employment.

Weekly unemployment reports have fallen to their lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020, but a large employment gap remains.

It’s not that there aren’t enough jobs: Recruiting firm Indeed estimates there are currently about 10.5 million open positions, a loose record for the U.S. job market. ZipRecruiter saw strong gains in job postings in the travel, arts & entertainment, and education sectors on Friday, suggesting broadly these sectors should see strong gains in the future.

Fed officials are closely monitoring job numbers for clues as to whether they can withdraw some of the political aid they have given since the pandemic began.

For the past few weeks, central bankers have been optimistic about the employment situation, but said they must see continued strength before changing course. What is at stake for now is the Fed’s massive monthly bond purchase program, which could be scaled back before the end of the year.

However, if the job data softens, it could lead Fed officials to wait until 2022 before scaling back their purchases. Fed officials have made it clear that rate hikes will come well after the taper starts.

“I still expect them to taper by the end of the year,” said Loh of State Street. “Maybe some of the more aggressive talks about something that happened in September are off the table. I think November is still a possibility.”

The Fed will next meet on September 21-22.

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Politics

Trump shouldn’t lead GOP ticket in 2024, retiring Sen. Pat Toomey says

Trump should not lead GOP ticket in 2024, retiring Sen. Pat Toomey says

Senator Pat Toomey will speak to CNBC at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on September 3, 2021.

Mike Green | CNBC

Senator Pat Toomey has urged his party not to nominate former President Donald Trump as a presidential candidate in 2024 and described his behavior after the 2020 elections as “totally unacceptable”.

The Pennsylvania Republican voted to have Trump impeached for his role in fueling his supporters’ Sept. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Speaking to CNBC at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on Friday, Toomey, who does not intend to seek re-election in 2022, suggested his party consider other presidential candidates in 2024.

“I think the future of our party is to be a party of ideas, not a party about a single person, and I think we will learn a lot from the next primaries,” he said.

“I think after what happened after the 2020 elections, I think the president’s behavior was completely unacceptable, so I don’t think he should be the candidate for the party leadership in 2024.”

Despite his staunch conservative track record of a two-decade long Congress career, Toomey has broken away from the unwavering allegiance to the former president that now serves as the litmus test in the GOP. The Pennsylvania Republican Party narrowly voted against formally reprimanding Toomey for his vote in condemnation of Trump in March, issuing a “strong reprimand” instead.

“I’m a Conservative Republican in every objective way when I look at the election results by comparing my views with those of a traditional Conservative Republican,” Toomey told CNBC Steve Sedgwick.

“It is President Trump who has deviated from Republican and Conservative orthodoxy in various ways. I stuck to the conservative views I’ve had for a long time, he had a different view on issues like trade and sometimes immigration.” And other things.”

Trump’s loyalty and a dispute over the investigation into the deadly storming of the Capitol have become focal points in a battle for the soul of the Republican Party in recent months.

The right-wing House Freedom Caucus has launched a print campaign urging House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to expel Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from the Republican conference for agreeing to stand on the Capitol Special Committee on Dec. January to work with.

The former president still has significant power over the GOP, with loyal candidates aiming to oust incumbent and established Republicans in regional primaries across the country, while Trump continues to spread lies about the theft of the 2020 elections.

Toomey also criticized Trump’s agreement with the Taliban to completely withdraw US forces from Afghanistan.

“I think we were at a point and we could have maintained a very modest presence on the ground, an extremely low casualty rate, and we had not had a death in Afghanistan for well over a year, and at a modest financial cost . ” ,” he said.

“For this price we would have supported the Afghans, who were actually the spearheads who fight, and could have prevented the reappearance of terrorists from a state controlled by the Taliban.”

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Entertainment

‘We’re Like Athletes Right here’: The Maestro With a Fitness center Behavior

‘We’re Like Athletes Here’: The Maestro With a Gym Habit

“We make sacrifices,” he added, “because what we do is something valuable.”

After almost a year and a half of pandemic-related cancellations, Viotti wanted to start the new season in Amsterdam with a jolt, he said. The city has awaited his arrival since the Artistic Director of the Netherlands National Opera, Sophie de Lint, announced his appointment in 2019.

“Lorenzo was in great demand, so we had to be quick,” de Lint said in an interview. “He really is one of the most talented conductors today. He’s also an incredible ambassador for opera and classical music in general. “

Viotti was born into a musical family in Lausanne, Switzerland. One of his sisters, Marina Viotti, is a mezzo-soprano, the other, Milena, is a professional horn player, as is his brother Alessandro. Her father, Marcello Viotti, was chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra and music director of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice when he died in 2005 at the age of 50.

Viotti was 14 years old at the time. “As a child I don’t have many memories of him at work, but I learned a lot from him as a man, as a father,” he said. “We dived together, worked in the garden together, played soccer. For me these are the most important memories. The directing memories are not important. “

In addition to classical music, Viotti was exposed to a wide range of musical styles during his childhood, including hip-hop, rap, funk and soul. He tried many instruments, studied the piano, viola and drums and sang in the choir.

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World News

Japan’s Chief Is Stepping Down. Right here’s Who Would possibly Exchange Him.

Japan’s Leader Is Stepping Down. Here’s Who Might Replace Him.

TOKYO — When Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election as head of Japan’s governing party, the decision created an unexpected opening to replace him.

The winner of a party leadership contest later this month will be a shoo-in to become the next prime minister. But it’s a job that may have few takers.

Mr. Suga leaves the Liberal Democratic Party facing its biggest crisis in over a decade. Japan’s vaccine rollout started slowly. Coronavirus case counts are at their highest levels of the pandemic. The economic recovery has been tepid. And the government has failed to articulate a clear path forward.

The public is angry “about the way that Covid-19 and its economic effects have been handled,” said Michael Cucek, an assistant professor of Asian studies at Temple University’s Japan campus.

There’s little chance that the L.D.P. will lose power, but it is almost certain to see its majority diminished, he said. That means that, as the party decides who will replace Mr. Suga, the priority is finding someone who can “stanch the bleeding.”

With rank-and-file party members afraid for their prospects in the lower house elections that are likely to be held next month, many will want to “take this opportunity to change the image of the L.D.P.,” said Jiro Yamaguchi, a professor of political science at Hosei University in Tokyo.

Standing in the way of that desire, however, are the entrenched interests of the party’s elite, who will be reluctant to hand power to a new generation, he said.

The outcome of the party election is likely to hinge, as always, on the results of horse trading and back-room deals among the various internal factions led by those insiders. Here are some of the candidates they are likely to consider.

Credit…Pool photo by Philip Fong

So far, only one person has officially announced an intention to run: Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister. During a news conference on Tuesday outlining his platform, he sought to draw a bright line with Mr. Suga, pledging a more transparent and accountable style of government that would get the coronavirus firmly under control by early next year.

Mr. Kishida, 64, is a party insider, educated at the elite Waseda University, for whom politics is a family business: He got his start working in the office of his father, who represented the city of Hiroshima.

Over his years in politics, Mr. Kishida has held a wide range of cabinet positions and important roles in the L.D.P., but he is best known as the long-serving foreign minister under Shinzo Abe, Mr. Suga’s predecessor. He also briefly served as defense minister.

Last year, when Mr. Abe stepped down, Mr. Kishida was his favored successor. But rival factions within the L.D.P. opposed the pick, and Mr. Suga emerged as a compromise candidate.

Although Mr. Kishida seems the most likely choice of the old guard, Mr. Abe and other party grandees have not yet indicated whom they will support.

Mr. Kishida is unpopular among backbench lawmakers. “If the rank-and-file members are obedient to these bosses, then Mr. Kishida will get enough votes to replace Mr. Suga,” Mr. Yamaguchi, the political science professor, said. But if those members insist that the party needs a makeover, Mr. Abe and others will have to look elsewhere.

Credit…Koji Sasahara/Associated Press

If the L.D.P. is looking for a new face, it might turn to Sanae Takaichi, a conservative who is a darling of the Japanese right wing.

A former minister of internal affairs and telecommunications, Ms. Takaichi, 60, said on Friday that she would be interested in running for the top job, taking the opportunity to draw a contrast with Mr. Suga by dressing him down for what she called his indecisive leadership.

“She’s very conservative, and she tries to present herself as the idol of the right wing or conservative camp in the L.D.P., the true believers,” Mr. Yamaguchi said, adding that many in the party would be happy to line up behind her.

That said, Ms. Takaichi has no faction of her own, so she would need to clear the hurdle of getting 20 L.D.P. lawmakers to endorse her before she could run. The party, which has governed Japan for most of the postwar era, has never had a female leader.

“The Japanese public wants to see a female prime minister, but in the inside-party struggle, she has no base,” said Lully Miura, a political scientist and head of the Yamaneko Research Institute in Tokyo.

If Ms. Takaichi enters the race, Ms. Miura said, “she’s running in this election to become the top female candidate in the future,” hoping that the profile boost would give her an edge in the next leadership race.

Credit…Charly Triballeau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Ishiba, 64, is a former defense minister popular among the public but disliked by L.D.P. lawmakers for his abrasive, populist style.

He twice ran against Mr. Abe, nearly beating him in the 2012 election, and was one of the leading contenders for Mr. Suga’s job during last year’s contest.

Mr. Ishiba has said he will take another shot at seizing the reins of the party, but it is not clear who would support him. Mr. Abe reportedly still holds a grudge against him, and the other faction leaders actively worked to foil him last year.

“He’s a borderline case in terms of a candidate. He can probably get the 20 signatures, but he’s not particularly well liked by the Diet members,” said Mr. Cucek of Temple University, referring to the Japanese Parliament.

Still, Ms. Miura argued that Mr. Ishiba may be the best positioned to challenge Mr. Kishida. Local party members, she said, are fans. “They want to win their election, and in order to win their election, they want the candidate that can win,” she said.

Credit…Kazuhiro Nogi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Kono, 58, is a popular, charismatic figure with the right policy experience to be the next prime minister. But his current position as the minister in charge of the vaccine rollout could make it tough for him to win.

That’s partly because it will be hard for him to avoid responsibility for Japan’s missteps and partly because many will argue that he should be devoting his time and energy to combating the current crisis, not politicking.

But if Mr. Kono jumps in — he said on Friday that he was consulting with colleagues about the possibility — he could shake up the election. With a widely followed Twitter account and an easy, relatable style that contrasts with the traditional wooden affect of many Japanese politicians, he is seen as a leading contender to usher in a generational shift in the L.D.P.

“He’s well known for saying the right things to powerful politicians. So he is regarded as a brave challenger to old-style politics,” Mr. Yamaguchi said.

But the party might be better off having him wait to run until after the pandemic, when he would have an easier time marshaling support, Ms. Miura said.

If the party leadership lines up behind him during this election, it will be a sign that it is very worried about the L.D.P.’s political prospects, she said, adding, “He’s the last resort.”

Hisako Ueno, Makiko Inoue and Hikari Hida contributed reporting.

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Politics

Biden to Tour Hurricane Ida Harm in New Orleans

Biden to Tour Hurricane Ida Damage in New Orleans

WASHINGTON – President Biden will fly to New Orleans on Friday to view the damage caused by Hurricane Ida to demonstrate his commitment to the federal government’s storm response, even as his administration remains embroiled in other urgent matters of the coronavirus surge after his departure from Afghanistan.

In guidelines to reporters issued late Thursday evening, White House officials said Mr. Biden would investigate storm damage and meet with government officials from hurricane-hit communities, which the president on Thursday named the fifth largest hurricane in American history .

Mr Biden, speaking at the White House Thursday, said he would meet with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, along with mayor presidents and other local officials.

“Governor Edwards encouraged me to come and assured me that the visit will not disrupt the on-site recovery effort,” said Biden. “I wanted to be sure of that. My message to all concerned is: We are all in it together. The nation is here to help. “

Ida stormed Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday, leaving at least 12 dead and the power grid in ruins before its remains marched up the east coast, flooding New York and much of the rest of the northeast, killing dozens more.

Despite the withdrawal of the last of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan on Monday, Mr Biden has struggled throughout the week to show his commitment to the assault effort. On Sunday when the storm hit the Gulf Coast, it stopped at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington to give workers a lift.

Mr Biden said Thursday that he “will be kept informed of progress from FEMA every hour late into the night and that we will work around the clock until the region’s critical needs are fully met”.

Floods in New York

Updated

9/3/2021, 5:00 p.m. ET

Mr. Biden’s itinerary and aggressive public efforts to highlight how his administration prepared for the storm contrast sharply with President George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago.

Bush drew harsh criticism for the federal government’s slow response to the storm that inundated parts of New Orleans and claimed the deaths of more than 1,800 people. Mr Bush was famously photographed viewing the devastation of the storm from a window on Air Force One, which became a symbol of the state’s distancing from the damage. He later said he regretted the photo and wished he had ended up in Louisiana.

“I should have landed in Baton Rouge, met with the governor and walked out and said, ‘I’m listening,'” Bush said in a 2010 interview. “And then I flew back to Washington. I didn’t do that. And pay a price for it. “

Mr Biden did not mention Mr Bush in his remarks about the hurricane this week. But he has repeatedly promoted government efforts to position electrical workers, medical teams, power generators, and other aid in front of the storm in hopes of bringing relief quickly to those affected.

“As we tackle the core elements of disaster relief, we’re also deploying new tools to expedite this recovery – things that weren’t used very often in previous hurricane responses,” Biden said Thursday. “Working with private companies that own and operate the lifeline infrastructure such as electricity and communications, we’ve used the latest technology to expedite restoration of power and cellular service.”

Mr Biden also used the storm, including the floods in the northeast on Wednesday, to raise awareness of his climate change agenda. Democrats in Congress are looking to pass a multi-trillion dollar spending bill this month that Biden said should include tax incentives for low-carbon energy use along with other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday that the hurricane reaffirmed the president’s “commitment to adopt his Build Back Better agenda, which has a big, big focus on addressing the climate crisis.”