New liberty order for U.S. troops in Japan, Hezbollah vows to continue battling Israel despite loss of top commanders, and RIP U.S. Army veteran Kris Kristofferson.
1. A new liberty order, promised two months ago by the top U.S. commander in Japan following alleged cases of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault by U.S. troops, takes effect Tuesday. The order from U.S. Forces Japan bans early morning drinking in off-base establishments for all service members and spreads responsibility to every service member for policing one another’s conduct, according to a copy of the order obtained Monday by Stars and Stripes. “Servicemembers should make every reasonable effort to prevent inappropriate or illegal activities by other Servicemembers,” the order states. “If Servicemembers are aware of such misconduct, they are to directly report such misconduct to their chain of command or other appropriate organization/office as soon as possible to do so.”
2. Hezbollah’s acting leader vowed Monday to continue battling Israel and said the militant group was prepared for a long fight even after much of its top command was wiped out, including its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Israeli strikes have killed Nasrallah and six of his top commanders and officials in the last 10 days, and have hit what the military says are thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Early Monday, an airstrike hit a residential building, wiping out one apartment, damaging others, and killing three Palestinian militants in central Beirut, as Israel appeared to send a clear message that no part of Lebanon is out of bounds.
3. Russia fired missiles and drones at 11 regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, in a 33rd consecutive night of aerial attacks behind the front line and set a new monthly record of drone barrages. In Kyiv, multiple explosions and machine gun fire could be heard throughout the night as the Ukrainian capital’s air defenses fought off a drone attack for five hours. No casualties were reported in Kyiv or elsewhere, though a “critical infrastructure object” caught fire in the southern Mykolaiv region, Gov. Vitalii Kim said, without elaborating.
4. Kris Kristofferson, a singer-songwriter whose trove of country-pop hits such as “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” pushed him to the forefront of American popular composers and whose gritty-voiced, easygoing sex appeal propelled him to starring roles in Hollywood, died Sept. 28 at his home in Maui. He was 88. In a musical genre known for performers with hardscrabble roots, Mr. Kristofferson stood out as an Air Force brat who developed a passion for the English Romantic poet William Blake while at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship. He also harbored secret songwriting ambitions. Fulfilling his family’s expectations, he spent years piloting helicopters as an Army Airborne Ranger. But in 1965, then-Capt. Kristofferson quit a promising military career to pursue songwriting in Nashville - and supported himself as a janitor at a recording studio on the city’s fabled Music Row, among other jobs.
5. U.S. fighter jets are slated to soar over Seoul on Tuesday for the Armed Forces Day parade, a show of force commemorating the founding of South Korea’s military, a year after their appearance was canceled because of bad weather. Roughly 5,000 South Korean troops and nearly 100 pieces of heavy military equipment will pass through downtown Seoul for the annual event honoring the 76th anniversary of the military’s founding, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said by phone Monday. South Korean government officials speak to the media on a customary condition of anonymity.
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