Friday, July 26, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering North Korea’s new missiles, Boris Johnson’s hard-line stance and China’s appetite for Russian timber.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

North Korea tested new ballistic missiles

North Korea tested a new type of short-range ballistic missile that is harder to track, officials in South Korea said, raising the stakes in President Trump’s efforts to negotiate with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

The launch also violated a U.N. resolution that bars North Korea from developing and testing ballistic missiles. But the country hasn’t yet backed out of a moratorium on nuclear and longer-range missile tests announced in April.

Details: Analysts who studied photos released from the tests said the new missiles look like Russia’s Iskander missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads, and are easier to hide and harder to intercept — making them a deadly threat to South Korea and American troops based there.

Members of a mob after apparently targeting antigovernment protesters in Yuen Long on Sunday. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Hong Kong police ban a weekend march

The police blocked plans for a weekend protest in the border town of Yuen Long, where last week a mob of men apparently targeted antigovernment protesters, injuring dozens.

The march organizer said he would appeal the decision and, if rejected, would walk the protest route by himself. Others suggested they’d find excuses to gather in Yuen Long, raising the specter of more clashes.

The ban on the weekend protest — which had been called to denounce last week’s mob violence and the anemic police action against the attackers — will likely deepen distrust of the Hong Kong police, which has been widely criticized for using brutal force during previous demonstrations.

Chinese military presence: The “one country, two systems” model that governs Hong Kong’s relationship with the mainland allows for China’s military garrison in the semiautonomous city to help with public order if the local government requests it. So far, that seems unlikely.

Boris Johnson pushes a hard line

Britain’s new prime minister culled about half of the cabinet he inherited from his predecessor, Theresa May, and installed staunch Brexit supporters in key positions.

In a speech in Parliament on Thursday, less than 100 days before the nation is expected to crash out of the E.U., Mr. Johnson outlined tough new Brexit demands, including the “abolition” of a so-called “backstop” plan that would have allowed goods to flow freely across the Irish border.

The cabinet reshuffle and Mr. Johnson’s overblown oratory in Parliament appeared intended to send one message to the E.U. — he is serious about leaving without a deal if necessary.

Reminder: The backstop was a major sticking point in Mrs. May’s withdrawal plan. It would have kept Britain within the European customs union — anathema to hard-line Brexit supporters — in order to avoid erecting a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Impact: Mr. Johnson’s ejection of so many members of Mrs. May’s team frees them up to openly oppose a no-deal Brexit. And Mr. Johnson seems willing to call a general election this fall if Parliament tries to block a no-deal Brexit.

A Chinese-run mill at the outskirts of a Siberian logging town. Emile Ducke for The New York Times

China’s appetite for Siberian timber

China’s increasing demand has driven a spike in Russian timber exports over the last few years, bringing jobs and cash into Siberia’s logging towns.

The timber rush has been embraced by both Beijing and Moscow, which have pushed for closer economic ties amid their own disputes with the U.S.

But the arrangement has fueled fears of rapid deforestation and pollution in Siberia without much regard for the local population.

The numbers: Russian timber exports to China grew to $3.5 billion last year, from $2.2 billion in 2013, according to Russian trade statistics.

In the past five years, about 100 Chinese-operated mills have opened in just one logging town of just 100,000 people.

If you have some time, this is worth it

How Turkey purges its intellectuals

Emin Ozmen/Magnum, for The New York Times

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an attempt to consolidate his grip on power, has sought to dismantle the country’s academic sector.

Since 2017, about 6,000 academics have been fired. Many have also had their passports canceled and some face legal proceedings against them, as the country swerves toward an authoritarian state.

Here’s what else is happening

Indonesia: Nuril Maknun, who was sentenced to jail for recording her boss to prove that he had been sexually harassing her, is expected to receive amnesty from President Joko Widodo.

Nissan: The Japanese carmaker announced it would cut 12,500 jobs around the world after profits plunged in the most recent quarter to $59 million from $1 billion during the same period last year. The company is also grappling with the fallout from a scandal involving its former chief executive, Carlos Ghosn.

Heat wave: Temperatures across Western Europe soared to their highest levels in recorded history, hovering around 40 degrees Celsius in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium — places where air conditioning is rare.

Jeffrey Epstein: The financier charged with sex trafficking was found unconscious in jail in Manhattan with neck injuries, a law enforcement official said, in an incident that is being treated as a possible suicide attempt.

ASAP Rocky: The rapper was charged with assault on Thursday and will remain in custody until his trial on Tuesday, Swedish prosecutors said. The case, which started as a street brawl, ballooned into a diplomatic incident involving President Trump and has prompted accusations of racism for Sweden’s treatment of the rapper.

Breast implants: Textured implants made by Allergan that have been linked to an unusual cancer are being recalled worldwide.

Michel Spingler/Associated Press

Snapshot: Above, Franky Zapata, the French inventor of his jet-powered hoverboard, taking off in Sangette, France, at the start of his attempt to fly across the English Channel. He plunged into the water shortly after liftoff, uninjured.

Tunisia: President Béji Caïd Essebsi, the country’s first popularly elected leader, died at the age of 92. He steered the country through a democratic transition after an uprising that set in motion the Arab Spring of 2011.

Tree stumps: Two ecologists at Auckland University of Technology found that a leafless tree stump in a rain forest near Auckland was actually alive, surviving on water from neighboring trees that were most likely connected by their own underground plumbing system.

What we’re listening to: This mini-series from Radiolab on intelligence. “From the dark side of IQ tests to a scavenger hunt for Albert Einstein’s brain, ‘G’ highlights the power, and fragility, of humanity,” Remy Tumin on the briefings team writes.

Now, a break from the news

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: This banoffee pie — a mash-up of banana and toffee — has generous layers of dulce de leche, bananas and whipped cream. It is not for the faint of heart.

Watch: The trailer for “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.” There’s quite a bit to enjoy in the latest film directed by Quentin Tarantino, our critic writes.

Read: “The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited!,” a graphic novel based on a podcast, is new this week on our paperback trade fiction and combined print and e-book fiction best seller lists.

Listen: On this week’s Modern Love podcast, the actress Amanda Seyfried reads “He’s Playing Our Song,” an essay about a young woman’s discovery of sober love.

Smarter Living: Flying, especially long distances, can be one of the biggest factors in an individual's carbon footprint. But swearing off flying isn’t necessarily a viable option. That’s where carbon offsets come in: They compensate for your emissions by lowering greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. Here’s our guidance on buying and using them. (They cost less than you might think.)

And technology that allows hotel guests to use their phones as room keys is expanding, taking aim at those environmentally unfriendly plastic cards.

And now for the Back Story on …

Garlic

The world’s biggest garlic festival starts today in Gilroy, Calif., serving up more than two tons of the pungent vegetable in dishes like calamari, pesto, french fries and bread.

Garlic — a close cousin to onions and leeks — has been consumed by humans for thousands of years as both food and medicine. Hippocrates prescribed garlic to treat a variety of conditions, and the ancient Greeks gave garlic to both Olympic athletes and fighting cocks to help their performance.

A visitor at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in 2014 wearing an appropriate hat.

The jury is still out on many health claims (one meta-analysis concluded the “evidence is not strong” that garlic helps with high blood pressure), but any positive benefits are likely linked to the antioxidant effects of the sulfur compounds formed when a garlic clove is crushed. They also give garlic its powerful aroma.

But do leave your chopped garlic out for 10 minutes, to allow those compounds to form.

That’s it for this briefing. Have a great weekend.

— Alisha

Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Victoria Shannon, on the briefings team, 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 Robert Mueller’s testimony.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: The first one was sent in 1971 (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Styles Desk at The New York Times is expanding its coverage of California, sending two editors to Los Angeles for several months to work with a team of three local reporters.