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| Hong Kong, Democratic Debate, Robots: Your Wednesday Briefing | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) | |
| Good morning. | Good morning. |
| We’re looking ahead to Carrie Lam’s coming policy address in Hong Kong and the biggest Democratic primary debate in the U.S. We’re also taking a peek at a potentially game-changing robotic hand. | We’re looking ahead to Carrie Lam’s coming policy address in Hong Kong and the biggest Democratic primary debate in the U.S. We’re also taking a peek at a potentially game-changing robotic hand. |
| Carrie Lam is expected to deliver her third annual policy address in a few hours, against the backdrop of increasingly violent protests that have convulsed the semiautonomous city. | Carrie Lam is expected to deliver her third annual policy address in a few hours, against the backdrop of increasingly violent protests that have convulsed the semiautonomous city. |
| I spoke to Javier Hernandez, The Times’s China correspondent who will be covering the speech, about what to expect. | I spoke to Javier Hernandez, The Times’s China correspondent who will be covering the speech, about what to expect. |
| How important are policy addresses in Hong Kong, typically? | How important are policy addresses in Hong Kong, typically? |
| The speech is a chance for Hong Kong’s leader to set priorities and unveil policies on issues like housing, taxes and the environment. It’s sort of like the State of the Union in the United States. The political class watches it intensely, but the broader public might not follow every word. | The speech is a chance for Hong Kong’s leader to set priorities and unveil policies on issues like housing, taxes and the environment. It’s sort of like the State of the Union in the United States. The political class watches it intensely, but the broader public might not follow every word. |
| Why is this time different? | Why is this time different? |
| Hong Kong is in political crisis. Pro-democracy protests have continued for more than four months, and they seem to be getting more violent. Mrs. Lam faces pressure to use this speech to help defuse the crisis. All eyes will be on her. But she is unlikely to address issues that the protesters have emphasized, including free elections and greater police accountability. So tensions are likely to continue for some time. | Hong Kong is in political crisis. Pro-democracy protests have continued for more than four months, and they seem to be getting more violent. Mrs. Lam faces pressure to use this speech to help defuse the crisis. All eyes will be on her. But she is unlikely to address issues that the protesters have emphasized, including free elections and greater police accountability. So tensions are likely to continue for some time. |
| What are you expecting her to say? | What are you expecting her to say? |
| Mrs. Lam has said she plans to focus on economic issues in her speech, including increasing the supply of affordable housing. The government believes Hong Kong’s vast inequality is the root of the unrest. But many protesters will tell you that they care about politics, not economics. They want Hong Kong to have greater autonomy from Beijing, and they say they will not rest until the government grants free elections. | Mrs. Lam has said she plans to focus on economic issues in her speech, including increasing the supply of affordable housing. The government believes Hong Kong’s vast inequality is the root of the unrest. But many protesters will tell you that they care about politics, not economics. They want Hong Kong to have greater autonomy from Beijing, and they say they will not rest until the government grants free elections. |
| Related: Hong Kong’s demonstrators have started boycotting or vandalizing global businesses, including Starbucks and the video game company Activision Blizzard, that they perceive as being sympathetic toward the Chinese Communist Party. | Related: Hong Kong’s demonstrators have started boycotting or vandalizing global businesses, including Starbucks and the video game company Activision Blizzard, that they perceive as being sympathetic toward the Chinese Communist Party. |
| LeBron James: The Los Angeles Lakers star said that an N.B.A. executive’s post about the Hong Kong protests could have endangered traveling players. | LeBron James: The Los Angeles Lakers star said that an N.B.A. executive’s post about the Hong Kong protests could have endangered traveling players. |
| In a few hours, 12 Democratic presidential candidates will take the stage for the biggest American primary debate in history. | In a few hours, 12 Democratic presidential candidates will take the stage for the biggest American primary debate in history. |
| Looming over the event will be President Trump’s foreign policy curveball on Syria and Congress’s impeachment inquiry. | Looming over the event will be President Trump’s foreign policy curveball on Syria and Congress’s impeachment inquiry. |
| What to watch for: While every candidate onstage has endorsed impeaching the president, there will be special scrutiny of Joe Biden, at whom Mr. Trump has lobbed baseless allegations that, as vice president, he acted improperly to benefit his son Hunter’s overseas business interests. | What to watch for: While every candidate onstage has endorsed impeaching the president, there will be special scrutiny of Joe Biden, at whom Mr. Trump has lobbed baseless allegations that, as vice president, he acted improperly to benefit his son Hunter’s overseas business interests. |
| Mr. Trump’s turnabout on Syria will likely widen the debate from in-the-weeds health care discussions. | Mr. Trump’s turnabout on Syria will likely widen the debate from in-the-weeds health care discussions. |
| The details: The Times and CNN are co-hosting this round of debates. You can watch it live on nytimes.com with real-time analysis, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern (8 a.m. Hong Kong). | The details: The Times and CNN are co-hosting this round of debates. You can watch it live on nytimes.com with real-time analysis, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern (8 a.m. Hong Kong). |
| From Washington: With Congress back from recess, the investigation ramped up with more depositions behind closed doors. House investigators learned this week that American efforts to pressure Ukraine for political help so alarmed John Bolton, then the national security adviser, that he told an aide to alert White House lawyers. | From Washington: With Congress back from recess, the investigation ramped up with more depositions behind closed doors. House investigators learned this week that American efforts to pressure Ukraine for political help so alarmed John Bolton, then the national security adviser, that he told an aide to alert White House lawyers. |
| Russia said on Tuesday that its troops were patrolling territory in northern Syria vacated by the Americans, seizing more territory in the conflict. | Russia said on Tuesday that its troops were patrolling territory in northern Syria vacated by the Americans, seizing more territory in the conflict. |
| Videos appeared to show a Russian-speaking man filming himself at one of two recently evacuated United States military bases in the region. | Videos appeared to show a Russian-speaking man filming himself at one of two recently evacuated United States military bases in the region. |
| Russia’s entry into the Kurdish-controlled region, days after President Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces and cleared the way for Turkey to invade, presents the Kremlin with an opportunity to cast itself as a potentially decisive power broker in the complex conflict. | Russia’s entry into the Kurdish-controlled region, days after President Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces and cleared the way for Turkey to invade, presents the Kremlin with an opportunity to cast itself as a potentially decisive power broker in the complex conflict. |
| On the ground: The fighting has forced at least 160,000 people from their homes, according to U.N. estimates. The Kurdish authorities put the figure at 270,000. | On the ground: The fighting has forced at least 160,000 people from their homes, according to U.N. estimates. The Kurdish authorities put the figure at 270,000. |
| The big questions: Who will control northeastern Syria? How will this turn out for the Kurds? Much is uncertain, but the answers to these questions will help determine the next stage of Syria’s eight-year war. | The big questions: Who will control northeastern Syria? How will this turn out for the Kurds? Much is uncertain, but the answers to these questions will help determine the next stage of Syria’s eight-year war. |
| Wine producers around the world are working to ensure their sensitive grapes keep flourishing despite hotter summers, warmer winters, droughts and unexpected weather events. Above, a vineyard in Australia. | Wine producers around the world are working to ensure their sensitive grapes keep flourishing despite hotter summers, warmer winters, droughts and unexpected weather events. Above, a vineyard in Australia. |
| In the first of a four-part series, The Times’s wine critic, Eric Asimov, explores how the industry is upending conventional norms and expanding into regions that were once considered too cold for producing wines in an attempt to adapt to the shifts. | In the first of a four-part series, The Times’s wine critic, Eric Asimov, explores how the industry is upending conventional norms and expanding into regions that were once considered too cold for producing wines in an attempt to adapt to the shifts. |
| Kashmir: Separatist militants fatally shot a truck driver from Rajasthan who was transporting apples this week, the latest example of their campaign of keeping civilians away from work to protest India’s revocation of the region’s autonomy. | Kashmir: Separatist militants fatally shot a truck driver from Rajasthan who was transporting apples this week, the latest example of their campaign of keeping civilians away from work to protest India’s revocation of the region’s autonomy. |
| Thailand: A judge who shot himself in court to protest what he called pressure to impose capital punishment on five Muslim murder suspects was released from the hospital this week. His drastic courtroom act drew attention to the simmering tensions between Muslims and Buddhists in the country’s south and the failure of the justice system. | Thailand: A judge who shot himself in court to protest what he called pressure to impose capital punishment on five Muslim murder suspects was released from the hospital this week. His drastic courtroom act drew attention to the simmering tensions between Muslims and Buddhists in the country’s south and the failure of the justice system. |
| New Zealand: The “Lord of the Rings” film director, Peter Jackson, helped catapult to victory a mayoral candidate who shared his opposition to a proposed development project near his studios. The intervention came in a country where money, fame and power are most often wielded lightly. | New Zealand: The “Lord of the Rings” film director, Peter Jackson, helped catapult to victory a mayoral candidate who shared his opposition to a proposed development project near his studios. The intervention came in a country where money, fame and power are most often wielded lightly. |
| Vietnam: Government officials said that they were reviewing “Abominable,” a DreamWorks animated film that briefly shows a map that includes China’s disputed “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea claiming territory also claimed by Vietnam and other countries. | Vietnam: Government officials said that they were reviewing “Abominable,” a DreamWorks animated film that briefly shows a map that includes China’s disputed “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea claiming territory also claimed by Vietnam and other countries. |
| Google: The technology giant unveiled its Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL phones, both equipped with so-called computational photography, which leverages algorithms, artificial intelligence and special sensors to make images look more professional. | Google: The technology giant unveiled its Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL phones, both equipped with so-called computational photography, which leverages algorithms, artificial intelligence and special sensors to make images look more professional. |
| Snapshot: Above, a robotic hand designed by an artificial intelligence lab, OpenAI, that can successfully solve a Rubik’s Cube — a feat that many researchers believe is an indication that machines can be trained to perform more complex tasks. | Snapshot: Above, a robotic hand designed by an artificial intelligence lab, OpenAI, that can successfully solve a Rubik’s Cube — a feat that many researchers believe is an indication that machines can be trained to perform more complex tasks. |
| Fortnite: One of the world’s most popular video games is back online with a new map, after going dark this past weekend. | Fortnite: One of the world’s most popular video games is back online with a new map, after going dark this past weekend. |
| What we’re listening to: This “Reply All” episode on feral hogs. “Host PJ Vogt starts with a viral tweet about gun control, then goes way down the rabbit hole on the invasive species that is terrorizing rural America, egged on by a hunting industry that is inadvertently making the problem worse,” writes Adam Pasick, on the briefings team. | What we’re listening to: This “Reply All” episode on feral hogs. “Host PJ Vogt starts with a viral tweet about gun control, then goes way down the rabbit hole on the invasive species that is terrorizing rural America, egged on by a hunting industry that is inadvertently making the problem worse,” writes Adam Pasick, on the briefings team. |
| Cook: Tagliatelle with prosciutto and butter delivers big flavor quickly. | Cook: Tagliatelle with prosciutto and butter delivers big flavor quickly. |
| Watch: In making “Lucy in the Sky,” starring Natalie Portman, Noah Hawley may be the first director to narrow his focus for a movie set in outer space. | Watch: In making “Lucy in the Sky,” starring Natalie Portman, Noah Hawley may be the first director to narrow his focus for a movie set in outer space. |
| Read: Elton John’s memoir “Me” is a crowded book by a rock star who’s kept a lot to himself. | Read: Elton John’s memoir “Me” is a crowded book by a rock star who’s kept a lot to himself. |
| Smarter Living: Air travelers can leave behind pounds of waste, from disposable earphones to plastic dishes. To get travelers and airlines thinking — and talking — about the problem, a British design firm refashioned the economy meal tray, replacing plastic with renewable materials such as coffee grounds, banana leaves and coconut wood. | Smarter Living: Air travelers can leave behind pounds of waste, from disposable earphones to plastic dishes. To get travelers and airlines thinking — and talking — about the problem, a British design firm refashioned the economy meal tray, replacing plastic with renewable materials such as coffee grounds, banana leaves and coconut wood. |
| Plus, we have eight tips for hotels on making guests feel more welcome. | Plus, we have eight tips for hotels on making guests feel more welcome. |
| As the Oct. 31 deadline for Brexit nears, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement with European leaders to try to pass in Parliament this Saturday. | As the Oct. 31 deadline for Brexit nears, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement with European leaders to try to pass in Parliament this Saturday. |
| But there’s still no consensus on a central concern: the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. | But there’s still no consensus on a central concern: the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. |
| The line was drawn in the early 1920s, dividing newly independent Ireland from the six counties of British Northern Ireland. Ireland’s customs controls sharply reduced trade between the two. | The line was drawn in the early 1920s, dividing newly independent Ireland from the six counties of British Northern Ireland. Ireland’s customs controls sharply reduced trade between the two. |
| The boundary took on increased significance during the decades of the Troubles, the political strife between Northern Ireland’s Protestants and Catholics, in which some 3,600 people died. British military checkpoints went up at border crossings, and quickly became a target for pro-Ireland militants. | The boundary took on increased significance during the decades of the Troubles, the political strife between Northern Ireland’s Protestants and Catholics, in which some 3,600 people died. British military checkpoints went up at border crossings, and quickly became a target for pro-Ireland militants. |
| In the 1990s, the adoption of the European Single Market resolved trade issues, the Good Friday Agreement put an end to the Troubles and the border became all but invisible. | In the 1990s, the adoption of the European Single Market resolved trade issues, the Good Friday Agreement put an end to the Troubles and the border became all but invisible. |
| Now, as Britain — and, by extension, Northern Ireland — prepares to leave the E.U., leaders are working to avoid reinstating border controls that might reignite sectarian tensions. | Now, as Britain — and, by extension, Northern Ireland — prepares to leave the E.U., leaders are working to avoid reinstating border controls that might reignite sectarian tensions. |
| That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. | That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. |
| — Alisha | — Alisha |
| Thank youTo Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Tom Wright-Piersanti wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | Thank youTo Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Tom Wright-Piersanti 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 efforts to discredit the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Made a small, plaintive sound, as a cat (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Times journalists won eight Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, including the honor of Journalist of the Year for Nikole Hannah-Jones, a force behind the Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project.” | P.S.• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about efforts to discredit the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Made a small, plaintive sound, as a cat (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • Times journalists won eight Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, including the honor of Journalist of the Year for Nikole Hannah-Jones, a force behind the Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project.” |