Tuesday, Oct 1, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning.

The 70th anniversary of the Communist Party’s rule is stirring up patriotism in China and anger in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, scrutiny around President Trump’s foreign policy extended to Australia. Here’s the latest.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

President Xi Jinping delivering a speech to commemorate the anniversary at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Noel Celis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

China celebrates 70th anniversary

Flower arrangements, soldiers and performers are in position for the big day. So are the protesters.

Today, President Xi Jinping will preside over elaborate festivities in Beijing to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China. But in Hong Kong, where it is also a public holiday, workers and students are expected to hold antigovernment demonstrations intended to draw the world’s attention away from the mainland.

What to expect: A military parade of 15,000 soldiers and sailors, 160 aircraft and 580 tanks and other weapons will roll through Tiananmen Square. The display is intended to underscore how far the Communist Party has come since taking power — its first parade was said to include 17 planes that flew by multiple times to make its forces seem bigger.

Mr. Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, is also expected to give a speech this morning, which experts will parse for any references to the political turmoil in Hong Kong.

The latest in Hong Kong: The city is in lockdown mode as it braces for what could be an escalation of protests. The annual fireworks display has been canceled, the morning flag-raising ceremony no longer has a public viewing area, and some malls will be shuttered for the day.

As with previous demonstrations, the protests could become violent. News reports suggest that the police will be deploying as many as 6,000 officers and that China has quietly doubled its military presence in the city.

On the ground: Follow our reporters on Twitter for the latest. Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers will be in Beijing, and Keith Bradsher and Tiffany May will be among our team of reporters in Hong Kong.

Trump scrutiny widens to Australia

President Trump, during a recent phone call, pushed Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia to help gather information for a Justice Department inquiry that he hoped would discredit the Mueller investigation, according to two American officials with knowledge of the call.

And the White House restricted access to the call’s transcript to a small group of the president’s aides — an unusual move that was similar to the handling of the July phone call with the Ukrainian president at the center of the impeachment inquiry

The discussion with Mr. Morrison again indicates that the president used American diplomacy to advance his personal political interests.

Reminder: The F.B.I.’s counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election began after Australian officials told the bureau that a Trump adviser had disclosed that the Russian government made overtures to the Trump campaign about releasing political damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

On impeachment: On Monday, Mr. Trump responded aggressively to the growing scrutiny around his dealings with Ukraine. He questioned whether the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee should be arrested for treason, which can be punishable by death. Mr. Trump also warned that removing him from office would spark a “civil war.”

The latest: House Democrats on Monday issued a subpoena demanding that Rudolph Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s private lawyer, produce communications and other records. The whistle-blower, whose complaint set off the investigation, is expected to testify behind closed doors soon.

If you have some time, this is worth it

Russia’s playbook in Africa

Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times

After meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, Russia is sowing political chaos in the Central African Republic.

Russian forces there have trained local soldiers and facilitated peace talks between warlords and the government, which has been in tumult since a 2012 coup. At the same time, Russian representatives have struck deals with the government and rebels to mine diamonds — both legally and illegally.

Here’s what else is happening

Somalia: Car bombers attacked U.S. and European military targets, officials said, injuring a number of Somali civilians. An Islamist extremist group, the Shabab, claimed responsibility for at least one of the assaults.

Japan: Today, the country will raise taxes on a variety of goods and services, from toilet paper and tampons to computers and kimonos. The move is intended to fund social programs and pay down the debt, but many worry it could dampen consumer spending and nudge the country into recession.

Iran-U.S.: In a mission that could have been lifted out of a Hollywood thriller, President Emmanuel Macron of France tried to broker a phone call between the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, and President Trump last week. In the end, both Mr. Macron and Mr. Trump were left hanging.

WeWork: The shared office space company officially shelved its plans for an initial public offering on Monday, days after its chief executive resigned under pressure as investors balked at its billions in losses.

Indonesia: Thousands of protesters urged President Joko Widodo to halt a slew of bills that would weaken anticorruption efforts, outlaw abortion in most cases and prohibit sex outside marriage, effectively banning gay and lesbian relations.

Atul Loke for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, a protest last month in the capital of Kashmir, which has been locked down for nearly two months after the Indian government stripped the restive region of its autonomy. Our photographer spent four weeks capturing a population that feels unsettled, demoralized and furious.

Cuba: A writer and a photographer set off on a 12-day journey across the island, past potholes and beach towns and rolling green hills, to better understand the country’s musical roots. They found an ever-shifting sound that draws on Africa and Haiti, France and Spain.

In memoriam: Shuping Wang, a Chinese doctor who exposed efforts to conceal an AIDS epidemic in the 1990s in rural China, where the disease spread through shoddy facilities that bought blood from poor farmers. She died last week, possibly of a heart attack, at age 59.

What we’re reading: This Twitter thread of people recounting times they gushed over a celebrity’s dog before noticing the celebrity holding the leash. “It’s hilarious — and we could all use a laugh,” writes Andrea Kannapell, the Briefings editor.

Now, a break from the news

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Cook: Linguine with clam sauce can be on the table in the time it takes to boil water. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

Go: In an installation opening this week at the Tate Modern in London, Kara Walker examines the British Empire, the debate over memorials and the tragedy of Emmett Till.

See: A photographer from the Philippines recreated scenes from her favorite films using Asian actors and models.

Listen: On the latest episode of Popcast, we discuss the stream of collaborations between English- and Spanish-speaking artists after the success of “Despacito.”

Smarter Living: There’s significant evidence that exposure to two types of chemicals found in plastics — phthalates and bisphenols — can affect health, especially during fetal development and children’s first years. So use metal or glass containers, a HEPA-filtered vacuum, and avoid vinyl products like shower curtains. For baby toys, wood or silicone is safer than plastic.

And we have guidance on how to wash children’s stuffed toys — especially important after they’ve been sick.

And now for the Back Story on …

The start of modern climate science

Warnings that carbon dioxide might warm the Earth go back further than you might think.

An experiment that demonstrated the warming power of the gas was first presented in 1856, at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Albany.

We found no images of Eunice Newton Foote, so we're letting her own words represent her.

The amateur scientist who performed and wrote up the experiment may also come as a surprise: Eunice Newton Foote, an inventor and American women’s rights campaigner.

Her experiment was straightforward. To see whether releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere would increase temperatures, she used thermometers and two glass tubes, one rich in carbon dioxide, the other less so.

She laid both tubes out in the sun to see whether one might heat more. We know the answer: The one with more CO2 did.

Her results were presented at the Albany meeting by a man, in keeping with the era’s limitations on women.

But her work was published, and three years later, replicated and advanced by the British scientist John Tyndall. The work created the foundational understanding of the greenhouse effect, which informs climate research to this day.

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. Kendra Pierre-Louis, a climate reporter, 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 whistle-blower’s complaint against President Trump.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Santa’s surname (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• James Bennet, who oversees the Opinion department at The Times, explained the operations of our editorial board, which is independent of the newsroom.