Wednesday, July 24, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering Boris Johnson’s victory, Li Peng’s death and the hunt for Pakistan’s feminist hero.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

The newly elected Conservative Party leader, Boris Johnson, at the party's leadership headquarters on Tuesday. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A new leader in Britain

Boris Johnson doubled down on his promise to get Brexit done by Oct. 31, deal or no deal, after winning the contest to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.

Mr. Johnson and Mrs. May will visit Queen Elizabeth II today to formalize the transition.

With the task of extracting the country from the E.U. now moving into the hands of a Brexit hard-liner and one of the country’s most polarizing politicians, Conservative ministers have begun an exodus from the government.

State of play: The circumstances that brought down Mrs. May haven’t changed — deep divisions within the Conservative Party, which governs Parliament with a tenuous majority, and fierce opposition from other parties to a no-deal Brexit. Here’s how events could unfold.

Another crisis for Britain: Days after Iran seized a British tanker, the country’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, warned that Tehran would protect itself.

Side note: The rise of Mr. Johnson has upended the rules of what leadership should look like, writes our fashion critic Vanessa Friedman.

Xinhua, via Associated Press

Obituary: The ‘butcher of Beijing’

Li Peng, the former Chinese premier who was derided for his role in the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, died on Monday. He was 90.

Two of our veteran China hands reconstruct his life and career. Born in 1928 to Communist revolutionaries in the early years of the Chinese civil war, he served 10 years as prime minister and then five years, until his retirement in 2003, as chief of the National People’s Congress, China’s Communist Party-dominated, rubber-stamp Parliament.

In May 1989, he announced the imposition of martial law in response to the pro-democracy protests that had taken over the heart of Beijing. The question hanging over his legacy: what personal responsibility did he bear when the army opened fire on the demonstrators, killing hundreds if not more.

A rare scuffle between South Korea and Russia

South Korea said its air force jets fired hundreds of warning shots to ward off a Russian military plane that intruded upon its territorial airspace, the first such encounter between the countries in decades.

South Korea said that during Russia and China’s joint air patrol in the region, the Russian warplane breached its airspace near a cluster of disputed islands, called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Japan said it had scrambled jets in response to the air patrol and lodged formal complaints against both Russia and South Korea.

Takeaway: The incident might have been a deliberate attempt to inflame tensions between Japan and South Korea, according to one expert who described such an outcome as being in Russia and China’s interest “because it weakens the alliance network with the U.S.”

North Korea: Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader, has inspected a newly built submarine, the state news media reported, a provocative move as the U.S. struggles to resume dialogue on ending the North’s nuclear and missile threats.

Indonesian couple named as Philippines bombers

A deadly cathedral bombing in January on the southern island of Jojo was a suicide attack carried out by a married Indonesian couple, the police in Indonesia said.

The couple went to Turkey in 2016, hoping to cross the border into Syria to reach the territory held by the Islamic State, but were instead arrested in 2017 and sent back to Indonesia, the police said.

The case underscores warnings from terrorism officials and experts about the growing influence of the Islamic State and associated militants in Southeast Asian nations, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Reminder: The bombing killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100 others in a part of the Philippines where the government has long fought Muslim insurgents. The Islamic State eventually claimed responsibility.

If you have 5 minutes, this is worth it

A feminist hero, under fire and on the run

Saiyna Bashir

Gulalai Ismail, pictured at center above in January, is one of Pakistan’s best-known women’s rights crusaders. For speaking out about forced marriages and gang rapes, she has been accused by the country of inciting rebellion, and for the past two months, practically no one has seen her.

Pakistan has been presenting itself as moving away from years of repression, but as Ms. Ismail’s case shows, many Pakistanis still live in fear of their own security services.

Here’s what else is happening

Robert Mueller: The Times will stream the special counsel’s testimony on Capitol Hill, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, and our reporters will provide live context and analysis. Here’s everything you need to know.

Huawei: President Trump said that his administration would make “timely” decisions about whether to allow American firms to continue selling products to the Chinese telecom equipment giant, which has been placed on a government blacklist.

Beijing Auto: The company said it would acquire a stake in the German carmaker Daimler, deepening ties between the two companies and China’s influence in Germany’s industrial sector.

Afghanistan: President Ashraf Ghani demanded President Trump clarify what he meant when he said during an Oval Office meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan that he could have Afghanistan “wiped off the face of the earth” but did not want to “kill 10 million people.”

Josh Spradling/The Planetary Society, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Snapshot: Above, an artist’s rendition of the Planetary Society spacecraft, LightSail2. On Tuesday, it successfully unfurled its sails in space, paving the way for travel powered by solar wind — one of the most fuel-efficient options that realizes a dream first imagined in the 1600s.

Diplomats’ brain injuries: Researchers reported the results from the first brain-imaging studies of 40 U.S. diplomats who reported strange neurological symptoms while working in Cuba. Brain trauma was evident, but the mystery over the cause only deepened.

52 Places traveler: In his latest dispatch, our columnist visits the remote Falkland Islands, where he was among very few tourists but thousands of penguins.

What we’re reading: This article from The Cut, on a Harvard professor who teaches a class on judgment — and got caught in a paternity trap.

Now, a break from the news

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

Cook: Try creamy chickpea salad with fresh herbs and scallions for a refreshing lunch.

Watch: “The Weekly,” a new documentary series from The Times, is now available to stream in Australia on SBS on Demand.

Listen: For transgender opera singers, transitioning can mean risking their careers — and their art. We spoke to some musicians about finding their voices.

Vote: Celery juice is gross. “Bikini bods” are the worst. The Times has collected and ranked some of the more random, incendiary opinions of the summer. Vote them up or down so that the hottest take of them all rises to the top.

Smarter Living: In an age of constant connectivity, it’s important to slow down and notice the world around you. Rob Walker, the author of “The Art of Noticing,” recommends going on a personal scavenger hunt, looking at things during a mundane errand or task that you wouldn’t normally look at. Find more tips here.

And our Parenting site examines in vitro fertilization, and what fertility specialists look for in an “ideal” human sperm.

And now for the Back Story on …

Robert Mueller’s nickname

There’s a lot more to Robert S. Mueller III than he’ll be sharing with lawmakers on Capitol Hill today. And some of it is kind of fun.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his wife in Washington. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

For instance, his nickname in the intelligence community. When he was serving a 12-year stint as F.B.I. director, he was dubbed Bobby Three Sticks — a play on his patrician name and its imposing three Roman numerals.

That “S.” is for Swan, inherited from Grace Swan, his great-great-grandmother (on his father’s side). Genealogy records indicate that the Swan family came from Scotland, where the name appears to have derived from “Swein,” a name that medieval Viking invaders brought with them, meaning “servant.” A separate derivation of Swan — from the fowl — meant “purity.”

The Three Sticks moniker — bestowed during an era when Mr. Mueller often took on organized crime — has spawned T-shirts, a parody Twitter account and other memes.

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

— Alisha

Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Andrea Kannapell, the briefings editor, 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 the fight over the future of Planned Parenthood, the women’s reproductive rights group in the U.S.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Devoutly wish (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Sam Sifton, an editor at The Times, has been named one of the 20 power players of food media by The Hollywood Reporter.