August 7, Monday, 2023

1. Former Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro has laid flowers at the grave of the former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who fostered close ties with Japan. Lee died in 2020 at the age of 97. He had contributed to Taiwan’s democratization by allowing voters to directly cast ballots in a presidential race for the first time.
2. Severe Tropical Storm Khanun is on track to approach southwestern Japan by Wednesday. It is moving north with winds expected to reach 90 kilometers per hour. The Japan Meteorological Agency says Khanun is moving slowly over waters off the Amami region in Kagoshima Prefecture. Bands of active rain clouds could develop in the region and in southern Kyushu through Tuesday morning. Record-breaking precipitation could hit the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan through Thursday.
3. Tensions continue to rise in the West African nation of Niger, after military leaders who staged a coup rejected a regional bloc’s request to reinstate the president by a Sunday deadline. The coup leaders announced on Sunday that they closed the country’s airspace, citing the possibility of military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.