Good morning.

       We’re covering a bank account in China tied to President Trump, war fever in Azerbaijan and the release of a Chinese soldier who crossed into India to help herdsmen searching for lost yaks.

       Trump’s undisclosed bank account in China President Trump spent a decade unsuccessfully pursuing projects in China, operating an office there during his first run for the presidency and forging a partnership with a major government-controlled company. Now our investigative reporters have found a bank account there in his name.

       China is one of only three foreign countries — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Mr. Trump maintains a bank account, according to his tax records, which were obtained by The New York Times.

       The foreign accounts are held under corporate names and the identities of the financial institutions are not clear. A Trump-owned company paid $188, 561 in taxes in China between 2013 and 2015.

       History: Mr. Trump has sought a licensing deal in China since as far back as 2006, when he filed trademark applications in Hong Kong and the mainland. Many Chinese government approvals came after he became president. (The president’s daughter Ivanka Trump also won Chinese trademark approvals for her personal business after she joined the White House staff.)

       Response: “No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” said a Trump Organization attorney.

       7 days, 7 countries and their huge caseloads We looked at Argentina, Brazil, Britain, France, India, Russia and the United States, where large numbers of new coronavirus cases over the past week have helped push the global tally to more than 40.7 million.

       India reported 411,718 over the past seven days, but numbers have been falling since mid-September. It sounds like good news, but the lower numbers have raised questions about the reliability of the rapid tests that have become more widespread there. In France, where there were 174,273 new cases in the past seven days, at least 2,000 people are in intensive care — a threshold not reached since May.

       Over the past week in the U.S., there have been 421,114 new cases over the past week. Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states are struggling to control major outbreaks.

       Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

       In other developments:

       Thailand welcomed more than 10 million tourists from China last year. This week, tourism officials were pleased to announce the arrival of 39. It was the first group of foreign tourists to arrive in the kingdom in more than six months.

       The Czech Republic, which has the highest coronavirus transmission rates in Europe, announced plans to close most shops and further tighten restrictions on movement.

       Thailand protesters say concessions are not enough Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha acknowledged on Wednesday that the country cannot keep using excessive force against protesters and said he intended to withdraw an emergency decree cracking down on pro-democracy protests. But the protesters appeared unmoved by his words.

       In his address, delivered as thousands of demonstrators marched on government office buildings, the prime minister urged them to resolve their differences through a mediation by Parliament. The proposal is unlikely to satisfy protesters, our correspondent writes.

       After the address, they hand-delivered a resignation letter to a police commander for Mr. Prayuth to sign. A young man called out to the crowd over a megaphone, “Are we backing down?” “No!” the crowd shouted.

       Quotable: “We must now step back from the edge of the slippery slope that can easily slide to chaos, where all sides lose control of the situation,” Mr. Prayuth said.

       If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it Azerbaijan in full war mode

       As the country’s soldiers advance in the conflict with Armenia, tens of thousands of refugees hope to return to lost lands. The two sides are engaged in the heaviest fighting since the early 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan. Above, the funeral for Eldar Aliyev, 27, who died fighting for Azerbaijani forces.

       Around the capital of Baku, signs of war fever are everywhere and support for the fight is strong, our correspondent found. Bright flags hang from every public building, while giant screens along the main streets play video footage of precision drone strikes on Armenian soldiers.

       Here’s what else is happening Stampede in Afghanistan: At least 12 women died after thousands of people hoping to get visas to Pakistan for medical treatment overwhelmed a stadium. The crowd had gathered to wait for tokens to be given out that would enable them to start the process.

       Nigeria: Security forces opened fire at a demonstration in Lagos on Tuesday night, hitting several people, witnesses said. Two weeks of protests against police brutality have escalated. Here’s what is behind the protests and what they could mean for Nigeria.

       Gay marriage: Pope Francis appeared to break with the position of the Roman Catholic Church by supporting civil unions for same-sex couples, in remarks he made in a new documentary.

       India-China border: India on Wednesday released a Chinese soldier its forces had detained along the disputed mountainous border with China, signaling an easing of tensions. The soldier had inadvertently crossed the border to help herdsmen search for missing yaks.

       Snapshot: Above, workers at Cuarentena Baking, or Quarantine Baking, in Mexico City in September. Two artists started the bakery with nothing but a $42 toaster oven and their Instagram. The booming success they’ve had is a testament to the power of cooking as a survival strategy in Mexico’s food-obsessed capital.

       What we’re reading: This Foreign Policy article about how one Finnish correspondent covers the Trump administration. It’s a good look at how foreign correspondents explain a unique moment in the U.S. to their readers back home.

       Now, a break from the news

       Cook: These perfect chocolate chip cookies require some attention to detail. Don’t skip the overnight chilling of the dough.

       Watch: David Letterman’s Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” is back with more interviews and a perspective that has been altered by the coronavirus pandemic.

       Do: Running pummels knees more than walking does, but a new study shows that it may fortify and bulk up cartilage, helping stave off knee arthritis.

       For more ideas on what to read, cook, watch and do while staying safe at home, browse our At Home collection.

       And now for the Back Story on … Questionable parenting advice In over 150 years of publishing, The Times has offered many different tips for raising children. Here’s what our Parenting editor found when she went searching through our archives. Some advice was hilariously misguided but a lot sounded somewhat sensible to modern ears.

       In 1902, The Times ran a positive review of a book called “How Can I Cure My Indigestion?” by Dr. A.K. Bond, who is very anti-banana:

       The best of mothers may be foolish and affection cannot take the place of common sense. “A first-class mother sound in health, of well-developed physique, fond of babies, and restful to her nerves, is the best safeguard against indigestion in an infant.” You may not feed a baby on bananas, and Dr. Bond writes that he has come across such inhumanity (and stupidity).

       One of the goofiest examples was offered in 1919, by Dr. Lambert Ott, who saw wine as a remedy for children:

       “I have used red wine as a tonic for weak children with amazing results. However, I instructed the parents not to let the children know that I was giving them wine, but call it red tonic,” Dr. Ott said.

       In 1952, a voice of reason appeared in an article about Clark E. Vincent, a graduate student at the University of California who railed against trends in medicine and pointed out that the bottle vs. breast “controversy” had existed since Hippocrates:

       Writers in the field of infant care and child-rearing, he holds, instead of constructing a body of scientific data that will stand through scrutiny, have often reflected changing patterns of thought in middle-class society and changing theories of education and personal formation.

       His ultimate takeaway? Less dogmatism and more flexibility, “so long as the baby’s needs are satisfied.”

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

       — Melina and Will

       Thank you

       To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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