Thursday, June 13, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning,

We’re covering the mass protests in Hong Kong, the Japanese prime minister’s trip to Iran and the readability (or lack thereof) of privacy policies.

By Stephen Hiltner

Protesters in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Clashes erupt as Hong Kong protesters block roads

Riot police used pepper spray and water cannons in a bid to disperse the tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered around the legislature to stop lawmakers from debating a plan to allow extraditions to mainland China.

The protesters are also calling for more open elections in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. “Hong Kong is a civilized city, but they don’t listen to the citizens,” one protester said.

The mass demonstrations have delayed debate on the bill, but they are unlikely to prevent the law from being enacted. The relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China has tilted decisively toward Beijing in recent years, and pro-Beijing lawmakers hold 43 of the legislature’s 70 seats.

Photographs: See scenes from the protests this week.

Explainer: The extradition proposal has produced some of the largest shows of dissent in the Hong Kong in years. Here’s why.

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA, via Shutterstock

Shinzo Abe plays peacemaker in Iran

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan arrived in Tehran, where growing tensions between Iran and the United States have stoked fears of another military conflict in the Middle East.

Mr. Abe met with Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, and is scheduled to meet with its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His visit, the first by a Japanese prime minister in more than 40 years, is the latest in a series of high-minded but long-shot efforts to lift Japan’s influence on the global stage.

The background: For Japanese business leaders, the conflict between Iran and the United States is a headache. Under American pressure, Japan has stopped oil imports from Iran, a country with which it has long enjoyed cordial relations. Japanese businesses, too, have reassessed their ties with the country for fear of provoking American displeasure.

Quote of note: At a joint news conference, Mr. Rouhani said Iran wouldn’t initiate a conflict with the United States but would give “a crushing response” if attacked.

President Trump at an event in Iowa on Tuesday. Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

Privilege and contempt in Washington

Escalating a continuing confrontation with House Democrats, President Trump invoked executive privilege to block members of Congress from gaining access to documents about how a citizenship question was added to the 2020 census.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee later voted to recommend that Attorney General William P. Barr and Wilbur Ross Jr., the commerce secretary, be held in contempt over the matter.

Background: Mr. Trump has vowed to fight “all the subpoenas” from House Democrats and stonewall their efforts to investigate the findings of the Mueller report. His latest invocation of executive privilege increased the prospects that the fight would end up in a lengthy court battle. At issue: The ill-defined line between the constitutional power of Congress to perform oversight and the power of the president to keep information secret.

Also in Washington: The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., went before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a second closed-door interview.

The Thai soccer players Natthakarn Chinwong and Sukanya Chor Charoenying after losing to the Americans. Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Routed at the World Cup? Thailand is as proud as ever

The Thai women’s soccer team made history as victims of the most lopsided thrashing in World Cup history, losing to the Americans, 0-13.

But most supporters of the Thai team declined to take offense or wallow in national angst. Instead, they seemed happy that the squad was representing Thailand in its second consecutive World Cup.

“I am not embarrassed at all,” said Tanatpong Kongsai, a longtime soccer fan. “The Thai national anthem was heard all over the stadium. The women’s team never disappoints Thais.”

For the American squad, the win was important. But the goal total was important, too.

Catch up: In Wednesday’s matches, Nigeria beat South Korea, 2-0; Germany beat Spain, 1-0; and France beat Norway, 2-1.

If you have 6 minutes, this is worth it

We read 150 privacy policies. They were mostly incomprehensible.

The New York Times

In the latest from Opinion’s Privacy Project, one writer analyzed the length and readability of policies from popular websites and apps, including The New York Times’s. Facebook’s privacy policy, for example, takes about 18 minutes to read. And Google’s has evolved over two decades — from a two-minute read in 1999 to a peak of 20 minutes by 2018.

“You’re confused into thinking these are there to inform users, as opposed to protect companies,” one privacy expert said.

Here’s what else is happening

Philippines: Officials accused a Chinese vessel of ramming a Philippine boat in the disputed South China Sea, causing it to sink and putting the lives of the crew members at risk.

North Korea: Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, delivered a condolence letter to South Korean officials on Wednesday after the death of a former first lady.

Australia: The military’s role in regional stability is evolving in the face of a rising, powerful China and a United States in seeming retreat from the global stage.

Saudi Arabia: Houthi rebels, fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war, attacked an airport in southern Saudi Arabia, injuring 26 people.

Ebola: A 5-year-old Congolese boy who traveled with his family into Uganda has died from the Ebola virus. Two of his relatives were also infected.

Trade war: The U.S.-China conflict has a new battlefront: the $1.6 trillion U.S. travel industry. Commerce Department figures show a sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists, who spend nearly twice as much as other foreign visitors.

Susan Wright for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, Kotor, Montenegro. Want to visit Europe, while avoiding avoid all those crowds? We found six quieter alternatives.

In memoriam: John Gunther Dean, who was the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia when the country fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. He was 93.

Agatha Christie: On a cold December night in 1926, the novelist went out in her beloved Morris Cowley roadster and didn’t return home for 11 days. Here’s how her disappearance played out.

What we’re reading: This article from Smithsonian.com. “There have long been wars fought over food,” says Kim Severson, our national food correspondent. “This covers one you probably haven’t heard of: the battle over seabird eggs in Gold Rush-era San Francisco.”

Now, a break from the news

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Cook: For a classic dinner, crunchy chicken Milanese with a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad won’t disappoint.

Go: A new Off Broadway play aims to make sure Toni Stone, the first woman to play big-league professional baseball, is no longer a footnote to history. The play is in previews at the Laura Pels Theater in Manhattan.

Watch: Martin Scorsese’s new documentary revisits a famous Bob Dylan tour that included Joan Baez and Allen Ginsberg. It’s a critic’s pick.

Eat: At Crown Shy in Manhattan, the only false step is the restaurant’s name, our critic writes.

Smarter Living: A few basic parenting guidelines will help you establish ground rules and maintain tech harmony at home. Set the example by setting limits: Children are likely to not only copy our behavior, but also feel as though they have to compete with devices for our attention. Set screen time limits to balance online and offline activities. No matter what, be vigilant, and be prepared to revisit this topic again and again.

And free yourself from self-doubt by learning to dodge land mines at work, fight bias and avoid burnout.

And now for the Back Story on …

‘Jr.’ etiquette

On Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, heard from Donald Trump Jr. for the second time.

Why it didn’t hear from Donald Trump II is a matter of etiquette.

Because he is named exactly after his father, Donald John Trump, etiquette experts say the son should be differentiated from his father with the suffix Jr., or junior. If a child is named for some other older relative (an uncle, cousin, grandfather), then he or she should use the suffix II, the second.

Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday. Tom Brenner for The New York Times

The number of juniors has been decreasing in the United States for nearly a century, according to Cleveland Evans, a professor of psychology at Bellevue University and a past president of the American Name Society. (Hispanic names are the exception to the trend.)

Mr. Evans said that tracks with an increased emphasis on individualism and unique names. About half of girls received one of the 50 most popular names until the mid-20th century, according to one study, but when it was published in 2010, only one out of four did.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Stephen (first of my name)

Thank you
To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. Jake Lucas wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
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