September 3, Friday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1. Japan’s Prime Minister will not try to keep the helm of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party. Suga Yoshihide dropped out of its upcoming leadership election, meaning the country will have a new Prime Minister within weeks. Suga said, “As I was planning to run, I found I needed a lot of energy to think about coronavirus measures and the election campaign. I decided that it’s impossible to do both, and that I should devote myself to trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which is something that I promised the people of this country that I would do.”
2. A senior Taliban official has said women will have some role in the new Afghan government but they may not be appointed to any of the top government posts.
3. White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci says three shots are likely to be required to ensure that coronavirus vaccines remain effective for a long time.