Your Tuesday Briefing

Anthony Scaramucci, Russia, John Kelly | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, August 1, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Vano Shlamov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Russia said that new U.S. sanctions forced it to [order the dismissal of 755 American Embassy employees](. Though most are likely to be Russian nationals, it’s the harshest such move since 1986, and one that our analyst said underscored [President Vladimir Putin’s bad bet on warmer relations]( with a Trump administration. Vice President Mike Pence assured the [Baltic States of American support against the threat of Russian aggression]( telling the NATO allies during a trip there that “an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.” Above, Mr. Pence in Georgia on Monday. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times • President Trump [removed Anthony Scaramucci]( above center, as his communications director, relieving him just days after he had unloaded a crude tirade against other members of the president’s senior staff. The decision to remove Mr. Scaramucci, who had boasted about reporting directly to the president rather than the chief of staff, apparently came at the request of the newly sworn in holder of that post, John Kelly. Mr. Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general who presided over Mr. Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, [must now instill order on a staff whose infighting]( has grown toxic. Mr. Trump insisted in a tweet that, despite appearances, there was [no chaos in his administration](. _____ Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Syrian children born and raised under the Islamic State have experienced and witnessed astonishing brutality. Those freed are [struggling to leave the trauma behind](. At makeshift camps beyond the control of ISIS, small boys wearing black bandannas still play at being ISIS fighters. “You don’t see children living their normal age,” one observer said. “You see grown-up men.” _____ YouTube • Our team in Australia looks at a how [a viral video of lawn bowlers doing a Beyoncé dance]( above, has drawn attention to their plight: They may be losing their bowling lanes to Melbourne’s hot real estate market. _____ Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times • And most tourists to Hong Kong rush to fancy restaurants and shops, but the more adventurous types join guide Alla Lau on a subversive tour of the city’s less glamorous underbelly. Ms. Lau educates visitors about her native city’s unpaid [domestic workers, freewheeling]( [vendors and raucous politics](. Business [Employees at the Techtonic Group in Boulder, Colo. The company once relied on offshore services, but has made nurturing local talent a priority.]Ryan David Brown for The New York Times • American companies long saved money by hiring people in faraway cubicle farms in India or other countries. [Some of those jobs are being outsourced again]( — in the United States. Above, Americans training in Colorado. • Discovery will [buy Scripps Networks Interactive]( the owner of Food Network and HGTV, for $11.9 billion. The deal comes amid broad consolidation in the media and telecommunications industries. • Air travel trouble: A federal court directed American aviation regulators to address what a judge called “the Case of the [Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat]( And an airport attendant in France was caught on cellphone cameras [punching a passenger who was holding a child](. • HSBC will [buy back up to $2 billion more in shares](. The London-based bank, which generates much of its profit in Asia, has announced $5.5 billion in share repurchases since last year as its prospects have improved. • Apple’s earnings report on Tuesday is among [the top business headlines to watch]( this week. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Mohammad Ismail/Reuters • In Afghanistan, the Islamic State claimed a suicide attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul, at least the third coordinated assault in the Afghan capital in recent weeks. [[The New York Times]( • Taiwan was battered by two storms within 24 hours — Typhoon Nesat followed by Tropical Storm Haitang — leaving more than 100 people trapped by floodwaters. Both storms weakened heading into China, but Nesat forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 people in Fujian Province. [[The New York Times]( • The police in Indonesia detained more than 150 Chinese nationals accused of bilking about $450 million from wealthy Chinese embroiled in legal problems with false promises to stop the cases. [[Reuters]( • Angelina Jolie and Rithy Panh, the Cambodian filmmaker, denied accusations of ethical misconduct about how they cast the lead child actress for an upcoming film, “First They Killed My Father.” [[The Phnom Penh Post]( • Paris will play host to the 2024 Summer Olympics in an agreement that will give Los Angeles the 2028 Games. [[The New York Times]( • Sho Kimura received a hero’s welcome in Japan after a stunning upset win over Zou Shiming of China for the world flyweight championship. Kimura is one of 11 Japanese boxers to currently hold a world title. [[South China Morning Post]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Melina Hammer for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: If your corn looks good, [sauté some kernels with greens, bacon and scallions](. • Your summer [reading list](. • Want to drink well while traveling? Apps and Instagram can help — but so can [local servers,]( retailers](. Noteworthy Jakub Mosur/Associated Press • In memoriam: [Sam Shepard]( the avant-garde American playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, at 73; and [Jeanne Moreau]( the sensual, gravel-voiced actress of the French New Wave, at 89. • India’s favorite designer, Anita Dongre, hit an astounding level of visibility after the [Duchess of Cambridge wore one of her designs](. Our fashion team looks at why the West took so long to catch on. • On the latest “Game of Thrones,” Cersei and her schemes were central. [Here’s our recap](. (Want more? [Sign up for our weekly email newsletter]( Back Story Pete Leabo/Associated Press The Six Flags amusement park chain now has 20 properties across North America, but it all began on this day in 1961 when [Six Flags Over Texas]( opened its doors. The park, a harbinger of a trend that has swept much of the world, included a number of milestones: The log flume, a water ride now ubiquitous at theme parks, made its debut there in 1963. The park was also the first to feature a mine train roller coaster (complete with underwater tunnel) in 1966. Theme park innovations have since climbed ever-greater heights. Steel roller coasters with multiple inversions — in which riders are turned upside down — found favor in the ’70s. [The Corkscrew at Cedar Point theme park]( outside Cleveland was the first to feature three such loops. The ’90s brought inverted coasters like [Batman: The Ride]( in which passengers are seated underneath the track with their feet dangling. The turn of the century [brought on height with giga coasters]( like [Millennium Force]( at Cedar Point, although the past decade has seen a return to wooden coasters. 3-D glasses and computer simulations have become a staple at Universal’s theme parks, and a motorbike-style vehicle was engineered for [a ride at Disney’s park in Shanghai](. What will the next decade of rides bring? We’ll have our hands up in anticipation. Mekado Murphy contributed reporting. _____ We have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). 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