We’re covering a split in the Hong Kong protest movement, Iran’s breach of a critical nuclear fuel limit and debunked medical beliefs.
Hong Kong is shaken as protesters storm legislature
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully in Hong Kong on Monday, the anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 — the latest in a series of large protests centered on a bill that would allow extradition to mainland China.
But a much smaller group broke into the legislative building, smashed glass walls and spray-painted slogans in the inner chamber. They occupied it for hours; most had cleared out when riot police officers used tear gas to scatter the remaining crowd.
The split-screen images offered vivid evidence that the divide in Hong Kong is not just between protesters and the Beijing-allied government: The demonstrators are increasingly at odds with one another. Some veteran pro-democracy activists had implored younger ones not to break into the building.
Response: Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, condemned the “violence and lawlessness” at a predawn news conference. She praised the police, who she said had exercised restraint.
Map: See where the protests have taken place and where clashes between the police and demonstrators have broken out.
Another angle: In mainland China, many Western-educated professionals who might be expected to sympathize with the protesters consider them foolish for valuing individual rights over economic prosperity.
Iran says it has crossed a nuclear threshold
The country said it had exceeded a key nuclear fuel limit set under the 2015 pact that President Trump abandoned more than a year ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.
The breach does not give Iran enough material to produce a nuclear weapon. But it does signal that it is moving to abandon the pact’s limits and restore the far larger stockpile that the U.S. and five other nations spent years persuading it to send abroad.
Reminder: European officials are scrambling to preserve the nuclear deal, fearful that if it falls apart, the U.S. and Iran could be headed for military conflict — and perhaps war.
A previous European effort to soften the blow of U.S. sanctions by setting up a barter system was not enough for Iran. The sanctions cost more in lost oil sales than that system could generate, Iranians said.
Reaction: The Trump administration had no immediate reaction, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that the U.S. would never let Iran get within a year of possessing enough fuel to produce a nuclear weapon. Here’s what could happen next.
Another intense heat wave puts Europe to the test
From the Czech Republic to Switzerland to Spain, new heat records tested the Continent’s defenses. Schools were shuttered. Villages were evacuated. Soldiers battled wildfires.
And there is more to come, scientists say. The hottest summers in Europe in the last 500 years have all come in the last 17 years. Several of those heat waves bear the fingerprints of human-caused climate change.
Worldwide, 2019 is on track to be among the hottest years on record, and Europe is on the front line.
Details: In the Gard region of southern France, 60 fires on Friday burned 1,500 acres. In Germany, speed limits were imposed on parts of the autobahn because extreme heat can cause roads to buckle. More than 100 runners collapsed during a half-marathon in Hamburg on Sunday.
Global picture: The extraordinary temperatures are unsurprising, scientists say. As greenhouse gas emissions warm the planet (average global temperatures have gone up by around 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, since the dawn of the industrial age), more and more heat records are being broken all over the world.
French bill would require quick response to hate speech
The French Parliament will start debating a bill on online hate speech and harassment on Wednesday, as countries around the world grapple with the question of what content is acceptable online and how to regulate huge technological platforms.
The plan would make it mandatory for online platforms to remove hateful content in less than 24 hours, and it is raising some questions about censorship.
Details: The goal is to push tech companies to regulate content and crack down on hate speech. Once users flag content as hateful, online platforms will have 24 hours to analyze the information and, if necessary, remove it.
Back story: When President Emmanuel Macron announced the bill at a meeting of Jewish organizations — amid a resurgence of anti-Semitism around Europe — he said there was a need for “incisive, concrete” acts against all kinds of hate speech.
Quotable: The bill’s sponsor said the idea “is to put an end to impunity on social networks.”
If you have 15 minutes, this is worth it
Sanctions on Russia froze Manhattan investor’s money
Two years ago, Andrew Intrater’s private equity firm in Manhattan was thriving. He had rubbed elbows with billionaires at President Trump’s inauguration.
Now, the firm is effectively shuttered. Mr. Intrater cannot get access to his money, amid sanctions imposed on Russia, and Wall Street has cut ties with him. In a lawsuit, he says this amounts to an unreasonable seizure of property.
Here’s what else is happening
Syria: Israeli warplanes struck several military sites in Syria, killing several fighters and civilians, Syrian state media reported on Monday. It appeared to be a stepping-up of Israel’s long-running, partly covert campaign to thwart Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and to stop weapon transfers to Lebanon.
OPEC: OPEC nations on Monday agreed to maintain their production cuts until early next year, papering over their differences to continue an effort that analysts say is propping up prices while demand for oil weakens.
Spain: Cities across Europe have tried to restrict vehicular access to their central areas, hoping to improve air quality. Now Madrid is heading in the opposite direction: Drivers will no longer be fined for entering a designated downtown area.
La Scala: Dominique Meyer, the head of Vienna’s State Opera, will take over the Teatro alla Scala in Milan starting in 2021, the Italian opera house said.
Snapshot: Above, elephants in Botswana, where scientists say there is little doubt the illegal ivory trade has invaded what was once a refuge in Africa. Based on aerial surveys and field visits, researchers report that fresh elephant carcasses in the country were up by nearly 600 percent from 2014 to 2018.
Women’s World Cup: England will face off against the U.S. today. The Lionesses, who have not allowed a goal since their opening game at the World Cup, will demand all of the Americans’ attention, our soccer correspondent writes.
Medical myths: Fish oil does not, in fact, reduce the risk of heart disease. That is just one piece of conventional wisdom that research has debunked. A new review of thousands of research papers published between 2003 and 2017 found that nearly 400 were “medical reversals” — correctives to commonly held beliefs like that one.
Staying grounded: Himesh Patel, the star of the new film “Yesterday,” delivered newspapers even while appearing on “EastEnders,” the British soap opera. He said his parents made him do it, to keep him grounded. “I hated it at the time,” he told our reporter.
What we’re reading: This piece from BuzzFeed News. Michael Roston, a science editor, writes: “When I heard a major toilet paper manufacturer was making and marketing a giant roll for millennials, I hoped someone would get to the bottom of the story. Katie Notopoulos’s cheeky exploration cracks the story open, baring it all in a most humorous way.”
Now, a break from the news
Cook: Drag a tortilla through a platter of refried beans with avocado and radish. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)
Watch: Every month, subscription streaming services add a new batch of titles to their libraries. Here are the ones we think are most interesting for July.
Go: The original London production of “Les Misérables” is closing this month after a 33-year run. When it returns, one well-loved feature won’t be there.
Listen: Hear a selection of Hootie & the Blowfish deep cuts and a conversation with Tim Sommer, who signed the group, on the latest Popcast.
Smarter Living: We have five recommendations for picnic gear, including the all-important corkscrew.
And now for the Back Story on …
Tennis phenoms
Cori Gauff’s upset victory over Venus Williams was a study in chronological contrasts — Gauff, the youngest player at Wimbledon, is just 15 years old, while Williams, the oldest, is 39. But the history of teenage tennis prodigies is an age-old story.
Young stars like Martina Hingis and Monica Seles have frequently found fame on the global stage, though the high-profile flameout of players like Jennifer Capriati — along with the prospect of stress injuries and the frequent involvement of aggressive tennis parents — spurred officials to set controversial limits on players younger than 18 in 1994.
(The restrictions are only for women; male prodigies like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who tend to be just a few years older, are free to do as they please.)
Gauff will be allowed to compete at only five more WTA tournaments before her 16th birthday next March, under what has become known as “the Capriati Rule.” One of the few young players who was grandfathered into professional tennis without any restrictions was none other than Venus Williams herself.
That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.
— Melina
Thank you To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Adam Pasick, the editorial director of newsletters, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].
P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the conditions at a Border Patrol station in Texas that houses young migrants. • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Overcaffeinated (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • In January 1978, The New York Times initiated a stand-alone sports section, the first of which included an interview with the tennis star Billie Jean King about her comeback.
Melina Delkic is a senior staff editor. @MelinaDelkic
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Your Tuesday Briefing
Your Tuesday Briefing
Good morning.
We’re covering a split in the Hong Kong protest movement, Iran’s breach of a critical nuclear fuel limit and debunked medical beliefs.
Hong Kong is shaken as protesters storm legislature
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully in Hong Kong on Monday, the anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 — the latest in a series of large protests centered on a bill that would allow extradition to mainland China.
But a much smaller group broke into the legislative building, smashed glass walls and spray-painted slogans in the inner chamber. They occupied it for hours; most had cleared out when riot police officers used tear gas to scatter the remaining crowd.
The split-screen images offered vivid evidence that the divide in Hong Kong is not just between protesters and the Beijing-allied government: The demonstrators are increasingly at odds with one another. Some veteran pro-democracy activists had implored younger ones not to break into the building.
Response: Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, condemned the “violence and lawlessness” at a predawn news conference. She praised the police, who she said had exercised restraint.
Map: See where the protests have taken place and where clashes between the police and demonstrators have broken out.
Another angle: In mainland China, many Western-educated professionals who might be expected to sympathize with the protesters consider them foolish for valuing individual rights over economic prosperity.
Iran says it has crossed a nuclear threshold
The country said it had exceeded a key nuclear fuel limit set under the 2015 pact that President Trump abandoned more than a year ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.
The breach does not give Iran enough material to produce a nuclear weapon. But it does signal that it is moving to abandon the pact’s limits and restore the far larger stockpile that the U.S. and five other nations spent years persuading it to send abroad.
Reminder: European officials are scrambling to preserve the nuclear deal, fearful that if it falls apart, the U.S. and Iran could be headed for military conflict — and perhaps war.
A previous European effort to soften the blow of U.S. sanctions by setting up a barter system was not enough for Iran. The sanctions cost more in lost oil sales than that system could generate, Iranians said.
Reaction: The Trump administration had no immediate reaction, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that the U.S. would never let Iran get within a year of possessing enough fuel to produce a nuclear weapon. Here’s what could happen next.
Another intense heat wave puts Europe to the test
From the Czech Republic to Switzerland to Spain, new heat records tested the Continent’s defenses. Schools were shuttered. Villages were evacuated. Soldiers battled wildfires.
And there is more to come, scientists say. The hottest summers in Europe in the last 500 years have all come in the last 17 years. Several of those heat waves bear the fingerprints of human-caused climate change.
Worldwide, 2019 is on track to be among the hottest years on record, and Europe is on the front line.
Details: In the Gard region of southern France, 60 fires on Friday burned 1,500 acres. In Germany, speed limits were imposed on parts of the autobahn because extreme heat can cause roads to buckle. More than 100 runners collapsed during a half-marathon in Hamburg on Sunday.
Global picture: The extraordinary temperatures are unsurprising, scientists say. As greenhouse gas emissions warm the planet (average global temperatures have gone up by around 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, since the dawn of the industrial age), more and more heat records are being broken all over the world.
French bill would require quick response to hate speech
The French Parliament will start debating a bill on online hate speech and harassment on Wednesday, as countries around the world grapple with the question of what content is acceptable online and how to regulate huge technological platforms.
The plan would make it mandatory for online platforms to remove hateful content in less than 24 hours, and it is raising some questions about censorship.
Details: The goal is to push tech companies to regulate content and crack down on hate speech. Once users flag content as hateful, online platforms will have 24 hours to analyze the information and, if necessary, remove it.
Back story: When President Emmanuel Macron announced the bill at a meeting of Jewish organizations — amid a resurgence of anti-Semitism around Europe — he said there was a need for “incisive, concrete” acts against all kinds of hate speech.
Quotable: The bill’s sponsor said the idea “is to put an end to impunity on social networks.”
If you have 15 minutes, this is worth it
Sanctions on Russia froze Manhattan investor’s money
Two years ago, Andrew Intrater’s private equity firm in Manhattan was thriving. He had rubbed elbows with billionaires at President Trump’s inauguration.
Now, the firm is effectively shuttered. Mr. Intrater cannot get access to his money, amid sanctions imposed on Russia, and Wall Street has cut ties with him. In a lawsuit, he says this amounts to an unreasonable seizure of property.
Here’s what else is happening
Syria: Israeli warplanes struck several military sites in Syria, killing several fighters and civilians, Syrian state media reported on Monday. It appeared to be a stepping-up of Israel’s long-running, partly covert campaign to thwart Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and to stop weapon transfers to Lebanon.
OPEC: OPEC nations on Monday agreed to maintain their production cuts until early next year, papering over their differences to continue an effort that analysts say is propping up prices while demand for oil weakens.
Spain: Cities across Europe have tried to restrict vehicular access to their central areas, hoping to improve air quality. Now Madrid is heading in the opposite direction: Drivers will no longer be fined for entering a designated downtown area.
La Scala: Dominique Meyer, the head of Vienna’s State Opera, will take over the Teatro alla Scala in Milan starting in 2021, the Italian opera house said.
Snapshot: Above, elephants in Botswana, where scientists say there is little doubt the illegal ivory trade has invaded what was once a refuge in Africa. Based on aerial surveys and field visits, researchers report that fresh elephant carcasses in the country were up by nearly 600 percent from 2014 to 2018.
Women’s World Cup: England will face off against the U.S. today. The Lionesses, who have not allowed a goal since their opening game at the World Cup, will demand all of the Americans’ attention, our soccer correspondent writes.
Medical myths: Fish oil does not, in fact, reduce the risk of heart disease. That is just one piece of conventional wisdom that research has debunked. A new review of thousands of research papers published between 2003 and 2017 found that nearly 400 were “medical reversals” — correctives to commonly held beliefs like that one.
Staying grounded: Himesh Patel, the star of the new film “Yesterday,” delivered newspapers even while appearing on “EastEnders,” the British soap opera. He said his parents made him do it, to keep him grounded. “I hated it at the time,” he told our reporter.
What we’re reading: This piece from BuzzFeed News. Michael Roston, a science editor, writes: “When I heard a major toilet paper manufacturer was making and marketing a giant roll for millennials, I hoped someone would get to the bottom of the story. Katie Notopoulos’s cheeky exploration cracks the story open, baring it all in a most humorous way.”
Now, a break from the news
Cook: Drag a tortilla through a platter of refried beans with avocado and radish. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)
Watch: Every month, subscription streaming services add a new batch of titles to their libraries. Here are the ones we think are most interesting for July.
Go: The original London production of “Les Misérables” is closing this month after a 33-year run. When it returns, one well-loved feature won’t be there.
Listen: Hear a selection of Hootie & the Blowfish deep cuts and a conversation with Tim Sommer, who signed the group, on the latest Popcast.
Smarter Living: We have five recommendations for picnic gear, including the all-important corkscrew.
And now for the Back Story on …
Tennis phenoms
Cori Gauff’s upset victory over Venus Williams was a study in chronological contrasts — Gauff, the youngest player at Wimbledon, is just 15 years old, while Williams, the oldest, is 39. But the history of teenage tennis prodigies is an age-old story.
Young stars like Martina Hingis and Monica Seles have frequently found fame on the global stage, though the high-profile flameout of players like Jennifer Capriati — along with the prospect of stress injuries and the frequent involvement of aggressive tennis parents — spurred officials to set controversial limits on players younger than 18 in 1994.
(The restrictions are only for women; male prodigies like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who tend to be just a few years older, are free to do as they please.)
Gauff will be allowed to compete at only five more WTA tournaments before her 16th birthday next March, under what has become known as “the Capriati Rule.” One of the few young players who was grandfathered into professional tennis without any restrictions was none other than Venus Williams herself.
That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.
— Melina
Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Adam Pasick, the editorial director of newsletters, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].
P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the conditions at a Border Patrol station in Texas that houses young migrants.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Overcaffeinated (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• In January 1978, The New York Times initiated a stand-alone sports section, the first of which included an interview with the tennis star Billie Jean King about her comeback.
Melina Delkic is a senior staff editor. @MelinaDelkic
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