Your Wednesday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/briefing/sri-lanka-japan-egypt.html

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Good morning,

We start today with the latest news from Sri Lanka, the logistical hurdles to beginning a new era in Japan and a journey along the fabled Silk Road.

In his first televised address since a series of bombings on Sunday killed at least 321 people, President Maithripala Sirisena promised to restructure the military and police over failure to act on warnings that the attacks were being planned.

“I must be truthful and admit that there were lapses on the part of defense officials,” the president said.

Islamic State: The group claimed responsibility for the attacks but their statement was difficult to independently verify.

“If the ISIS link in Sri Lanka proves true, this could be their most deadly attack outside Iraq and Syria,” writes Rukmini Callimachi, our ISIS expert. Follow her on Twitter for the latest analysis.

The victims: On Tuesday, the country observed a full day of mourning and began the first mass burials of victims. Read profiles of those who died.

Catch up: Here’s what we know and don’t know about the attacks.

Stabbing a defenseless teenager to death. Using a sniper to shoot at a schoolgirl and an unarmed old man. Indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with machine-gun fire.

These were some of the shocking allegations against a highly decorated platoon chief, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, during his time in Iraq. But when Navy SEAL commandos reported his actions, they were told that speaking out could cost them their careers.

How we know: The Times obtained a confidential Navy criminal investigation report.

What’s next: Because the commandos forced the referral of their concerns to authorities outside the SEALs, Chief Gallagher was arrested in September on more than a dozen charges, including premeditated murder and attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty, and his court-martial trial is set to begin on May 28.

Publicity: His wife and brother have been making television appearances to demand his release and mustering support among Republican lawmakers, and, after President Trump commented on the case, Chief Gallagher was moved to less restrictive detention.

In a stage-managed vote, the country approved a set of constitutional amendments that arm President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with expansive new powers over the judiciary and Parliament. The amendments also allow him to remain in office until 2030.

Since Mr. Sisi came to power in 2013, he has implemented harsh austerity measures, quashed any hint of criticism and eliminated political opponents. His supporters see him as a bulwark against terrorism, a friend to Egypt’s Christian minority and an economic reformer.

Takeaway: The results of the three-day referendum crystallized analysts’ suspicions that Mr. Sisi is erasing the democratic gains of the 2011 uprisings and also building a brand of authoritarianism surpassing that of Hosni Mubarak, the ousted former leader.

When the clock strikes midnight next Tuesday, most of the world will remain in the year 2019. But across Japan, which internally uses an ancient imperial calendar that honors the reigning emperor, it will mark the first day of the first year of the age of Reiwa.

In practice, the succession from Emperor Akihito to Emperor Naruhito means turning the clock to Year 1 on all official government documents, from tax forms to marriage registrations, and updating software.

Impact: The city of Nagoya estimates it will spend about $4.3 million preparing for the Reiwa era. In the city of Koga, employees preparing for the changeover accidentally erased 1,650 water bills.

Background: Japan adopted the imperial calendar from the Chinese in the seventh century, and government agencies have been required to use it since the late 1970s. The current hiccups have prompted a wider conversation about whether it’s time to finally switch to the Gregorian calendar completely.

Reiwa: There’s no single translation for the name of the new imperial era.

Sudan’s Air Force chief, Lt. Gen. Salah Abdelkhalig, initially opposed the protesters who were calling for an end to the autocratic leadership of President Omar al-Bashir.

But as more demonstrators gathered outside his office at the military headquarters, he started to have a change of heart. Amid the masses was his own son.

Saudi Arabia: The kingdom executed 37 men on Tuesday for terrorism-related crimes. The state-run news agency identified them by name, mostly Shiite Muslims, but gave little information on what crimes they had committed or when.

The Philippines: Six soldiers were killed by Communist rebels in the central island province of Samar, the military reported. The rebel movement that claimed responsibility, the New People’s Army, has been waging guerrilla war in the country since 1969, in one of the longest-running insurgencies in Asia.

Reuters: Myanmar’s highest court upheld the conviction of two Reuters reporters for violating a state secrets law after they uncovered a military massacre of Rohingya Muslims. The two have been held since December 2017, drawing international condemnation, and have been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Myanmar: At least 54 jade miners in the country’s northern Kachin state are believed to be dead after a huge mound of tailings, the mudlike byproduct of mining, collapsed into an open pit on Monday, burying them.

New Zealand: The country is offering permanent residency to the survivors of the mosque attacks in Christchurch last month, in which a gunman killed 50 people. The new policy also applies to the survivors’ immediate relatives and the families of victims.

Snapshot: Above, children playing soccer in the shadow of a 15th-century mosque complex in the city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan. In his latest dispatch, our 52 Places columnist travels along the fabled Silk Road.

Britain: A date for the on-again, off-again invitation to President Trump for a full state visit has been set for June, Buckingham Palace announced. His three-day visit will coincide with the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

What we’re reading: This collection in Balkan Insight. Melina Delkic, a member of the Briefings team, writes: “The series looks at the lives and work of the 139 reporters and media workers killed during and after the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. It’s a chilling reminder of the risks involved in reporting in wartime.”

Cook: Try a different kind of Passover dish: matzo lasagna.

Watch: Recently, one kind of stand-up performance has been hard to miss: pregnant comedians.

Go: More hotels and resorts are ramping up efforts to reduce or eliminate their resource and energy consumption.

See: Taylor Mac’s “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” puts the gore in gorgeous and is the unlikeliest bird to land on Broadway in many a year. We made it a Critic’s Pick.

Smarter Living: Among seasoned travelers, selective splurging — picking the one thing they’ll spend big on, while saving everywhere else — is a common strategy for getting the most out of a trip. The additional spend doesn’t have to be sizable. It can go for a nice hotel room or a local experience. The idea is to be mindful about when to allocate a little extra on something more memorable, engaging or relaxing.

And if you’re about to graduate, tackle your senioritis with a senior project.

Are you insane?

If your ancestors lived in the U.S., they could have faced that question in censuses past.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on universalizing a controversial census question historically asked only of some population groups before being dropped decades ago: whether the respondent is a citizen.

The population count, required every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution, has changed with time and political concerns. The first census, in 1790, listed the names of only heads of household. By 1850, the census included all household members, but left out the enslaved.

After the Civil War, race questions became tortuous. An article in The Sun of New York in 1890, headlined “A Census Puzzle,” detailed objections to classifying people as Negro, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, white, Chinese, Japanese or Indian. That version of the question was abandoned by 1900.

Many would say mental health and competency are also hardly simple issues. From 1850 to 1880, census officials gave it a shot, asking if any household members were “deaf and dumb, blind, insane or idiotic.” The question was tweaked for 1890 and then dropped.

That’s it for this briefing. Tuesday’s briefing incorrectly identified some of the foreign victims of the suicide bombings in Sri Lanka. Three were the children of a Danish, not Dutch, billionaire.

— Alisha

Thank youTo Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. Kayne Rogers, an editor whose great-great-grandmother was “deaf and dumb” in several censuses, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the problems at Boeing.• Here’s our mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: Dish often made with coconut milk (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • The New York Times’s annual diversity report shows that women now make up 51 percent of our staff, and people of color represent 30 percent; both have increased in recent years.