[ad_1]
Hong Kong face-off reaches boiling level
A bloody battle on the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic College is nearing its 48th hour. The police have cornered protesters, who’re operating low on weapons and provides. A whole lot of them have tried to flee.
All the routes out of the besieged campus are blocked by a cordon of closely armed riot law enforcement officials utilizing a hailstorm of tear fuel and rubber bullets. The police have ordered protesters to “drop their weapons,” however college students concern that doing so will outcome of their arrests.
Close to the college, streets have been engulfed by tear fuel and fires, conjuring the texture of a battlefield. And dozens of girls who gave the impression to be the moms of trapped protesters staged a sit-in straight in entrance of the cordon final night time.
Explainer: We took a have a look at how universities, as soon as sanctuaries for protesters, are actually among the most turbulent parts of the city.
The newest: A courtroom struck down the territory’s ban on face masks, a blow to Carrie Lam’s authorities. Courses are suspended again today, however most have been anticipated to renew on Wednesday.
Secret cables present Iran’s outsize position in Iraq
A brand new cache of secret Iranian intelligence cables reveals Iran’s shadow battle for affect in Iraq — and the battle inside its personal spy divisions.
The cables — despatched by the Ministry of Intelligence and Safety, Iran’s model of the C.I.A., from 2014 to 2015 — element work by Iranian spies to co-opt Iraq’s leaders, pay Iraqi brokers working for the U.S. to modify sides, and infiltrate every aspect of political, economic and religious life.
Obtained by The Intercept and shared with The New York Occasions, the studies reveal way over was beforehand understood about how Iran and the U.S. used Iraq as a staging space for his or her spy video games.
However Iran, the paperwork present, has outmaneuvered the U.S. at almost each flip.
Stakes: It’s a pivotal second in Iraq, with protesters demanding an finish to Iranian affect. No less than 300 have been killed. Read our other main takeaways from the report.
SoftBank goals to create a Japanese web big
The corporate introduced an settlement to merge Yahoo Japan with the messaging app Line to create an internet goliath for Japan.
The 2 have struggled lately regardless of being the nation’s strongest web corporations, and hope the merger will allow them to compete with tech corporations within the U.S. and China.
Influence: SoftBank would get entry to Line’s customers in Japan, and tens of thousands and thousands extra elsewhere in Asia, together with Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia. In principle, it will result in a brilliant app merging the entire two firms’ providers.
What’s subsequent: A sophisticated monetary association, after which a course of to get approval from shareholders and authorities regulators, who’re possible to offer shut scrutiny. The businesses plan to finish the merger by subsequent October.
In case you have eight minutes, that is value it
Hollywood’s subsequent seismic shift
The long-promised streaming revolution is right here, and corporations like Disney, Amazon and Apple have been charging into the fray to problem streaming providers like the worldwide heavyweight Netflix. They’re even poaching writer-producers from established studios.
It’s upending how Hollywood does enterprise. As a substitute of relying solely on middlemen to get reveals and films to viewers, conventional leisure firms are promoting content material on to shoppers — and studios are releasing fewer movies in theaters.
Right here’s what else is going on
China on Xinjiang revelations: Responding to The New York Occasions’s report on tons of of leaked authorities paperwork detailing the creation of Muslim internment camps, Beijing said the report smeared the nation’s combat in opposition to extremism, but it surely didn’t dispute the authenticity of the paperwork.
TikTok: The pinnacle of the wildly well-liked viral video app that has turn out to be a refreshing weirdo upstart within the social media panorama is on a public relations tour, trying to ease U.S. suspicions about its allegiance to Beijing and its homeowners in China.
Samoa: Colleges within the Pacific island nation are closed indefinitely and youngsters are barred from public gatherings amid a measles epidemic that has killed at least six people, most youthful than age 2.
WeWork: The shared-office firm is preparing to cut at least 4,000 people from its work force because it struggles to stabilize its struggling enterprise.
Snapshot: Above, a bubble sub in Florida. The vessels give occupants beautiful panoramic views deep underwater. For individuals who can afford the worth — $2 million to $5 million — they’re standing symbols.
What we’re listening to: Slate’s “Slow Burn” podcast. “As a baby of the ’90s,” writes our London-based residence web page editor Claire Moses, “I’m having fun with the third season, in regards to the murders of Infamous B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. (And there’s music!)”
Now, a break from the information
Pay attention: Whipping between the institution and the avant-garde, the American pianist and composer Conrad Tao, 25, is a rising star.
Smarter Residing: Right here’s learn how to carry out two simple magic tricks (and why you need to study them).
And now for the Again Story on …
Our revelations about Iran’s energy in Iraq
I’m Tim Arango, one of many leads on a workforce of 10 reporters behind the news The Occasions printed this week about how Iran outmaneuvered the U.S. in Iraq.
Information organizations are sometimes opponents, however this was an instance of a very fruitful collaboration that stretched out over months.
The Intercept shared an unprecedented leak of secret Iranian intelligence cables with The Occasions, drawing on our experience within the area.
We’ve maintained a bureau in Baghdad for greater than 16 years, staying put — at nice expense and danger — when many different information organizations moved on.
I took the lead on The Occasions’s evaluation of the fabric, as a result of I used to be the Baghdad bureau chief for seven years, together with 2014 and 2015, the interval lined by the leaked cables. These have been the momentous years during which the Islamic State rose up and took management of a few third of Iraq.
What I noticed within the uncooked, unfiltered paperwork confirmed and added depth to my earlier reporting, revealing Iran’s use of brokers, spies and bribery to infiltrate the best echelons of Iraq’s authorities.
It took time, sources and reporting expertise to grasp simply how a lot the cables confirmed. If you wish to be part of extra groundbreaking reporting, please subscribe to The Times.
That’s it for this briefing. See you subsequent time.
— Melina
Thanks
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the information. You possibly can attain the workforce at briefing@nytimes.com.
P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our newest episode is in regards to the rise and fall of WeWork.
• Right here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Traditional literary character who makes a cope with the satan (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Occasions’s R&D workforce relaunched its website, exhibiting how they develop technical capabilities for the newsroom and new types of storytelling for readers.
[ad_2]
