Tuesday, Aug 6, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

Today we’re covering India’s decision to integrate Kashmir, protesters’ most dramatic demonstrations in Hong Kong and a failed prison escape plan in Brazil.

Do you love the Morning Briefing and want to support The New York Times? The best way is to subscribe to The Times, for just $2 a week. Every subscription is vital, enabling us to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

Indian soldiers on patrol in Kashmir on Monday. Channi Anand/Associated Press

India strips Kashmir’s limited autonomy

The mountainous valley, which is sliced up between Indian and Pakistani control, is braced for rioting and unrest after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government moved to revoke a constitutional provision, Article 370, that had granted Kashmir a high degree of autonomy.

The measure, which Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had promised during the election campaign this year, permanently incorporates the territory that it controls into the rest of India.

Ahead of the announcement, India flooded the disputed region with thousands of extra troops, evacuated tourists, closed schools and cut off internet service.

Explainer: When India and Pakistan won independence in 1947, the Muslim-majority princely state of Kashmir opted to remain independent. But militants from Pakistan soon invaded, prompting Kashmir to seek protection from India. It agreed to become a part of India under certain conditions set out in Article 370.

Reaction: Pakistan, opposition lawmakers in India and some analysts denounced the move as potentially illegal and likely to end up before India’s Supreme Court.

Riot police officers firing tear gas during protests on Monday. Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Hong Kong protesters mount their fiercest challenge

Protesters from all walks of society fanned out across the semiautonomous city, occupying roads and malls, closing down businesses, and disrupting flights and rail services in the most dramatic day of demonstrations since the movement began in June.

The demonstrations, as with previous ones, also devolved into violent clashes as officers fired tear gas at protest sites across the city and protesters surrounded and vandalized several police stations.

The city’s leader, Carrie Lam, in her first public remarks in two weeks, accused protesters of trying to “topple Hong Kong” and of challenging Chinese sovereignty — a statement that analysts said was predictably uncompromising and offered nothing new.

Here’s how the day unfolded, by the numbers:

82: Protesters arrested, bringing the total since demonstrations began in early June to 420

200: Flights canceled

7: Railway lines partially or entirely suspended

Unknown: Tear gas canisters fired. A police spokesman put the total since early June at 1,000.

Mainland Chinese officials responsible for Hong Kong policy are scheduled to hold a news conference in Beijing today, and on Wednesday, they will meet with Hong Kong delegates to the Chinese national congress in Shenzhen.

President Trump leaves gun laws intact

In the wake of two deadly back-to-back shootings in the U.S. that killed a total of 31 people, the president on Monday condemned “racism, bigotry and white supremacy.”

But he stopped short of proposing any of the gun control measures that activists and Democrats had sought for years, instead focusing on the role of mental illness, the internet, and violence in the media and video games.

Reaction: Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates expressed continued outrage about the shootings and blamed Mr. Trump for inflaming racial divisions.

The latest: In El Paso, Tex., the death toll rose to 22. In Dayton, Ohio, the police said they were still investigating the gunman’s motives. Follow live updates here.

China turns renminbi into trade weapon

Stocks on Wall Street were headed for the worst day of the year on Monday, after China allowed its currency to sink to its weakest level in more than a decade — a sign that the trade war between the world’s two largest economies might be entering a more dangerous phase.

The rout on Wall Street followed sell-offs in Asian and European markets.

President Trump, who last week announced a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods, accused Beijing of currency manipulation.

Explainer: The tightly controlled renminbi crossed the psychologically important point of 7 renminbi to the dollar, and the question now is whether President Xi Jinping will let the currency weaken further.

A weaker renminbi enables Chinese exporters to undermine Mr. Trump’s tariffs, and could force China’s competitors to devalue their own currencies, potentially damaging global growth.

If you have 5 minutes, this is worth it

Myanmar military’s secret revenue sources

Thet Aung/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The country’s armed forces own or control more than 140 businesses that provide it with outside sources of revenue beyond government scrutiny and enable it to continue its operations against ethnic groups, according to a recent U.N. report.

Their wide variety of business activities include banking, tourism, construction, the production of palm oil and investments in real estate, the report states.

Here’s what else is happening

Japan: Organizers of an international art fair closed an exhibition that had featured a statue symbolizing one of the so-called comfort women who were forced into sexual servitude for Japanese soldiers during World War II — a move that further escalates resurging tensions with South Korea.

New Zealand: The government proposed decriminalizing abortions in the country and removing all current requirements placed on women seeking the procedure who are up to 20 weeks pregnant. The bill will be introduced to Parliament for a preliminary vote on Thursday, and Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said she expected the vote to be close.

Google: A group of Democratic senators, including the presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, urged the technology giant to give full-time status to its more than 120,000 temporary and contract workers. An article by The Times in May illuminated the inequalities faced by Google’s shadow work force, including lower pay and worse benefits.

HSBC: The bank abruptly announced that its chief executive, John Flint, would be stepping down after 18 months on the job, as it prepares for a more challenging environment ahead amid the U.S.-China trade war and Brexit.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Snapshot: Above, a lake formed by melting ice in Greenland, where temperatures last week hit record highs. Climate researchers in Europe, who examined data from around the world, said July was the hottest month ever recorded globally.

Brazil: A gang leader tried to escape from prison by impersonating his teenage daughter, complete with a silicone mask and a wig, but was thwarted by prison guards who noticed his nervousness as he tried to walk out the front door in disguise.

What we’re reading: This article in The Christian Science Monitor. “This colorful story challenges the stereotype of rural America as a place of exodus,” says our Colorado-based national correspondent, Jack Healy, “by portraying young farmers moving back to start small farms and small businesses.”

Now, a break from the news

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Cook: For this chicken and zucchini recipe, double the scallion salsa and use the leftovers on whatever you’d like. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

Read: Our critic recalls a summer spent as an apprentice to the Broadway pioneer Hal Prince, who died last week at 91. Mr. Prince’s contributions to American theater included “West Side Story” and “Cabaret.”

Watch: The director David Leitch narrates a sequence from “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.”

Smarter Living: After you have minor surgery or an injury, getting around and doing everyday tasks can be hard. A pack or pouch to carry things while you’re on crutches and a comfortable lap desk can help. And a portable charger for your devices means you can sit wherever you’re most comfortable, regardless of its proximity to an outlet.

And if you’re investing in the stock market, know that self-serving bias can lead you astray.

And now for the Back Story on …

Panning for gold

Twenty years after the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, Finland had its own gold-inspired migration. Only fitting, then, that the Finnish village of Tankavaara is hosting this year’s World Gold Panning Championships, which run through Saturday.

Using an actual pan to hunt for nuggets isn’t especially efficient and is rarely used commercially. But it has become an inexpensive outdoor hobby around the world.

A gold miner panning for gold in California in 1885. Underwood Archives/Getty Images

The incentive? Gold prices are surging. On Monday, trade war fears pushed the per-ounce price to as much as $1,468.31, not terribly far from the all-time high of $1,917.90.

Panning works just like you see it in old Westerns: You scoop some of the alluvial deposits into an angled pan and gently agitate it in the water. The gold sinks to the bottom of the pan.

Pros say that because of its density, gold is usually found behind a rock where water eddies in a stream.

Before you jump in, find out where panning is legal or get the landowner’s permission. And keep in mind that you’re most likely to turn up flakes, not nuggets.

That’s it for this briefing. I know a lot of the news is grim, but I hope your day is as good as gold. See you next time.

— 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 the shootings in Texas and Ohio.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Food type whose name often ends in “i” (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The tech reporter David McCabe of Axios is joining The New York Times to help cover tech policy in Washington.