Good morning. We’re covering episodes of violence in Hong Kong, and a bittersweet reopening of the Taj Mahal. |
 | | The Causeway Bay district last week after the knife attack. Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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Violence divides Hong Kong |
Last week, on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China, a man stabbed a police officer on a busy commercial street, then killed himself. Then, on Tuesday, the police said they had arrested nine people — including six teenagers — over alleged plots to make bombs and plant them in public areas. |
Some also suggest that police have overstated the threat of violence. Though the police have announced foiled bomb plots since anti-government protests erupted in 2019, few suspects have gone to trial, making the threat difficult to assess. |
Context: The events reopened an uncomfortable debate within the pro-democracy movement on whether it condones or supports violence, such as during the 2019 protests, when some threw Molotov cocktails or attacked Beijing supporters. This past week, the attacker drew sympathy online, and bouquets were left where he died. |
“I think even in the past year, the line has been pushed forward,” Ivan Choy, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said. |
 | | Plucking flowers on the bank of the Yamuna River.Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times |
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Taj Mahal’s reopening is bittersweet |
The crowds that usually throng India’s most famous monument at sunset have been reduced to a handful of mostly local residents lately, roaming around the 25-acre complex for just over $3 a ticket. |
Warnings that another wave of infections may be looming have cast a pall over lives that feel stuck in limbo. As India emerges from a devastating wave of the virus, the authorities have slowly reopened. With only 4 percent of the population vaccinated, though, the risks are always front of mind. |
The Taj Mahal, on its busiest days since reopening, is hosting 2,000 visitors — less than one-tenth its capacity. It needs ticket sale money to make necessary repairs, and around half of Agra’s 1.6 million people are dependent on tourism. But many tourism business owners in the area say that they don’t want the risk. |
Quotable: “Don’t sacrifice your life to visit the Taj Mahal,” said one guide. |
 | | Members of the Taliban in Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan last March.Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times |
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More signs of Taliban’s growth in Afghanistan |
The Taliban have implemented a broad strategy of trying to rebrand as capable governors while they press a ruthless, land-grabbing offensive across the country. |
It’s a stark signal that the insurgents, aware of their legacy of harsh rule, fully intend to try for all-out dominance of Afghanistan once the U.S. withdrawal is finished. |
But the signs that the Taliban have not reformed are increasingly clear: An assassination campaign against government and security workers continues, there is little effort at peace talks, and women are being forced out of public-facing roles and girls out of schools. There is fear that worse is on the horizon. |
On the ground: Districts were not always taken through sheer military force. Some fell because of poor governance, others because of local rivalries and low morale among security forces. Documents and interviews with insurgent commanders and Taliban officials show that the success of the group’s recent surge was not entirely expected, and that Taliban leaders are haphazardly trying to capitalize on their gains. |
 | | A passenger plane with 28 people aboard crashed in Kamchatka, Russia.Marina Lystseva/Associated Press |
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 | | Yousur Al-Hlou |
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Women who faced sexual assault by the Egyptian police spoke out to The Times in interviews, saying they felt they had no path for justice. They feared arrest and worried about stigmatizing their families. One police officer said that the abuse was rampant: The goal, he said, was not to gather evidence but to “humiliate your humanity.” |
A generation of spelling bee champs |
Every year, about 11 million kids in the U.S. participate in school-level spelling bees. The most ambitious middle and elementary schoolers set their sights on the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place this week. |
There’s a well-documented pattern among recent winners, as Anna Kambhampaty writes in The Times. Every year since 2008, a South Asian American child has been crowned a champion at the competition. This year, at least nine of the 11 finalists are of South Asian descent. |
The trend can be traced back to 1985, when Balu Natarajan became the first child of immigrants to win Scripps. That win prompted an outpouring from people of South Asian descent. “We really had no idea that we were doing this for a community,” Natarajan said. “We were just this tiny fraction of the participants.” |
Now, there are spelling bees tailored to South Asian children and coaching companies founded by South Asian Americans. Indian grocery stores often feature fliers for local bees. “The community created an infrastructure for the kids to really thrive and excel in this area,” Shalini Shankar, an anthropologist, said. |
 | | David Malosh for The New York Times |
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“No. 7 Cherry Lane,” which tells the story of a forbidden affair in 1960s Hong Kong, is “deeply eccentric,” Isabelia Herrera writes. |
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Melina |
The latest episode of “The Daily” is about the rise of the Delta variant. |
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