Good morning. Welcome to Axios today. It's Thursday, September 9th. I'm Nyla Boudou. Here's

what we're watching today. Disappointing job numbers with some glimmers of hope. Plus,

actor Simulou on turning a movie into a movement. But first, today's one big thing. Afghanistan's

new government. The Taliban yesterday announced the first members of a new temporary Afghan government.

And as Axios' national security reporter, Zach Basu writes, the interim cabinet is made of a

mostly old guard Taliban officials. He's Zach. I know. What do we need to know about this new government?

So, yeah, the Taliban announced the formation of this all-male cabinet, mostly dominated by

ethnic plush dunes and high-level Taliban loyalists, members of the old guard who served in the

first Taliban government in the 1990s. Just one key figure, Saraj Akhani, who was wanted by the FBI

and actually has a $10 million bounty on his head, has been named the Interior Minister, which would

essentially be the equivalent of the Justice Department or the Department of Homeland Security

in the US. He leads the Akhani network, which has been designated as a terrorist organization

by the US and maintains close ties to al-Qaeda. So, Zach, what has been American and other world

leaders' reactions to this? So, no countries have recognized the Taliban, but several have had

diplomatic engagement with them. Russia, China, Qatar, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan have kept their

embassies in Kabul open. And I think we can expect a handful of those countries to ultimately

recognize the regime. And one point I like to make is that nobody's in a hurry to recognize the

Taliban. I think most world leaders, especially Western ones, are more concerned right now about

getting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and preventing the humanitarian crisis. But in terms of

international recognition, it's really a waiting game to see what the permanent Taliban government

looks like. And the State Department has said that the Taliban's legitimacy is something that will

have to be earned over time and very much dependent on their actions and not just their words.

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