Friday, June 21, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering Iran’s provocative move, President Xi Jinping’s second day in North Korea and Afghanistan’s campaign to help watermelon farmers.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

Iran shoots down a U.S. drone

The strike on a high-altitude surveillance drone was the latest in a series of episodes that have escalated tensions between Iran and the U.S. Top congressional leaders were summoned to a classified briefing in the White House Situation Room.

President Trump warned that the U.S. would “not stand for it.” But in keeping with his prior aversion to a war, he offered a way out of the crisis by saying he suspected the strike was the act of some “loose and stupid” individual.

What we know: Both countries acknowledge that Iran shot down the drone, but disagree on whether it was in Iranian airspace.

Analysis: Iran’s recent provocative acts are part of a strategy to force other countries to counter what it sees as an existential American threat, writes our Interpreter columnist, Max Fisher.

Regionally related: The U.S. Senate voted to block a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The move was a bipartisan rebuke of the president’s unflagging support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Lawmakers are unlikely to be able to override President Trump’s expected veto.

A ceremony welcoming President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday. CCTV, via Associated Press

Xi Jinping’s North Korea trip: Pomp and deflection

Analysts are watching Day 2 of the Chinese president’s historic visit for any sign of progress on reviving stalled nuclear negotiations with the U.S.

Day 1 included all the expected ceremony: a 21-gun salute at the airport, the release of thousands of balloons and crowds lining the streets as Mr. Xi was driven to the mausoleum where the North’s founder lies.

For Mr. Xi, the high-profile visit offers a chance to boost his international capital at a time when the trade war with the U.S. has dented the Chinese economy and Beijing faces an unprecedented show of defiance in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong: Another round of demonstrations is expected today, with protesters demanding that the government fully withdraw the now-suspended extradition bill. Millions of people have gathered to protest the law, which would further Beijing’s reach in the semiautonomous city.

India’s leader puts economy first

A promise to nearly double the size of the Indian economy to $5 trillion by 2024 was at the top of the priorities Prime Minister Narendra Modi set on Thursday for his second term. Experts view the target as wildly unrealistic.

The government pledged $359 billion in aid for the country’s struggling farmers — over an unspecified period — as well as loans for small businesses and priority access for poor women to 20 million homes it plans to build.

The plan didn’t address unemployment, which is at its highest in 45 years, nor did it tackle reforms that the business sector was hoping for.

Hindu nationalism: Mr. Modi’s agenda also follows through on one of his party’s more divisive promises — to expel illegal Muslim immigrants, mainly from Bangladesh, and grant Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants of other faiths.

A victim of the Christchurch attack, who is waiting on visas for his relatives, at his home. Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

Christchurch victims find government’s help wanting

Almost immediately after a gunman attacked two mosques in March, killing 51 Muslims and injuring dozens more, New Zealand’s government moved to help victims and families of the dead. It offered permanent residency to survivors and their immediate relatives and financial aid to those who were physically injured and left without income.

But a number of the victims say the government’s aid has fallen short of its lofty promises. The immigration system is struggling to keep up with visa applications, and the process for distributing funds has been opaque.

Quotable: “I’ve had enough; I don’t want this anymore. I’m so tired,” said a man recovering from nine gunshot wounds, who is waiting on visas for his mother and nephew. “Mentally I’m so tired, and physically.”

If you have time this weekend, this is worth it

The new arms race is hypersonic

Dan Winters for The New York Times

Revolutionary weapons that are under development in the U.S., China, Russia and other countries will have the capacity to travel at more than 15 times the speed of sound, to strike before any sonic booms or other meaningful warnings reveal their presence, and to penetrate any surface with the force of three to four tons of TNT.

The rush to possess these weapons has created a new arms race that could upend deterrence norms and renew Cold War-era tensions.

Here’s what else is happening

Himalayas: Climate change has been “eating” glaciers on the mountain range much more rapidly in the last 15 years than in the previous 25, according to new study based on decades of satellite data. The shift is a threat to hundreds of millions of people, for whom the glaciers are a source of water and an insurance policy against drought.

Emissions reduction: Leaders from all 28 E.U. countries, which together represent nearly 10 percent of global emissions, are in Brussels to discuss a proposal that would get the bloc to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Britain: Conservative lawmakers narrowed the choice for the party’s next leader, who will become prime minister, to Boris Johnson, the bombastic longtime Brexit advocate, and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Slack: Shares of the workplace messaging company, whose platform has transformed office culture and communication, soared on the first day of trading to $38.50 a pop, up from its reference price of $26, bringing Slack’s valuation to $23 billion.

Nissan: The Japanese carmaker settled a pivotal dispute with Renault over corporate governance in a deal that will likely ease recent tensions between the alliance partners.

Noorullah Shirzada/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Snapshot: Above, a vendor selling watermelons. To help Afghan farmers struggling with low prices after an abundant harvest, The government is feeding the fruit to the army and a university is holding eating competitions.

“Whale jail”: After an international backlash, Russia started releasing some of the dozens of orcas and belugas captured by private companies for sale to theme parks in China. The whales were held for months in pens in the country’s Far East.

Women’s World Cup: China’s national soccer team, one of the world’s best in the 1980s and 1990s, has stumbled lately. But it still hopes to regain its former glory. On Thursday, the U.S. beat Sweden, Chile defeated Thailand and New Zealand lost to Cameroon.

Lost and found ... and returned: A study found that people are more likely to return lost wallets that contain money — and the more money, the likelier the return.

What we’re reading: This article in National Geographic. Lynda Richardson, a Travel editor, calls it “a haunting and timely piece, on the heels of the U.S. House of Representatives hearing on reparations, about the discovery in Alabama of the last known American slave ship.” The accompanying video has rare footage of some of the enslaved it carried, who lived into the 20th century.

Now, a break from the news

Bobby Doherty for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Margaret MacMillan Jones.

Cook: Slather sweet potatoes with a tahini butter mixed with soy sauce.

Watch: Petra Costa’s documentary about Brazil, “The Edge of Democracy,” chronicles the impeachment of one president, the imprisonment of another and the triumph of authoritarian politics.

Listen: A pair of songs, “Conversation Piece” and “Red Door,” that Julien Baker released on vinyl for Record Store Day are available to stream.

Read: “Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact,” features Jack Ryan Jr.’s latest adventures. It debuts on our hardcover fiction and combined print & e-book fiction best-seller lists.

Smarter Living: The chance of encountering bedbugs in any given hotel room is “pretty darn unlikely,” according to one expert, but we have tips on how to check and what to do if you find the bloodsuckers. Pull back the sheets and look closely, particularly near the headboard. The bugs are flat, slightly teardrop-shaped and visible to the naked eye, so you can rest easy if you don’t find any after a cursory inspection.

And a growing amount of research reveals how unfavorable workplaces can be for women. We have tips on how to fight bias.

And now for the Back Story on …

A seasonal moment

Grab your crystals, everyone: The solstice is here.

It’s the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the period when the region is most tilted toward the sun. The opposite is happening in the Southern Hemisphere.

A Mongolian Shaman performing a Sun ritual during the Summer Solstice last year. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Jenna Wortham, host of The Times’s “Still Processing” podcast, says the solstice “is an invitation to lean into the light and awaken the awareness that lives inside of us all.” How?

Your Back Story writer today is a communications director at The Times, and also a yoga instructor. So, of course, I recommend a few postures.

As it happens, the United Nations has declared today the International Day of Yoga, so I invite you to look up at the sky and consider our connection to the universe. The word “yoga,” after all, means “union” in Sanskrit.

You can do an abbreviated sun salutation by inhaling and reaching both arms straight up to the sky, then exhaling, bending at the waist and bowing forward. Or try the full version.

Whichever you choose, namaste — meaning the teacher in me salutes the teacher in you.

That’s it for this briefing. Whatever hemisphere you’re in, hope you have a great weekend.

— Alisha

Thank you
Inyoung Kang and Chris Stanford helped compile this briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Ari Isaacman Bevacqua 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 how the Trump administration is telling asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Big name in hummus (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• In honor of Pride month, The Times conducted a walking tour of 11 important locations in New York City’s L.G.B.T. history.