North Korea, Ireland, South China Sea: Your Monday Briefing
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Version 0 of 1. (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. U.S. negotiators enter North Korea, Ireland votes for abortion rights, and hunger looms in Afghanistan. Here’s what you need to know: • To meet, or not to meet? A team of U.S. negotiators crossed into North Korea, hoping to nail down details for a potential meeting between North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and President Trump in Singapore on June 12. Mr. Trump canceled the meeting last week, only to revive its possibility just as abruptly. For his part, Mr. Kim met with South Korea’s leader, Moon Jae-in, above left, who said Mr. Kim was determined to meet Mr. Trump and was committed to “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. negotiators want to determine what “denuclearization” means to the North Koreans, and how it might happen. Negotiating those questions would normally take months, but Mr. Trump is in a rush. After a White House official told reporters that June 12 was too early for a meeting, Mr. Trump claimed on Twitter that the official was a fake person invented by The New York Times. (The official was from the White House, and gave an anonymous briefing to scores of journalists.) Mr. Kim may also be eager for a deal, our reporter writes, so he can deliver on the prosperity he’s been promising to North Koreans. _____ • Ireland voted decisively to repeal a ban on abortions, one of the most restrictive in the world, ending an era in which thousands of women each year had been forced to travel abroad or illegally buy pills online to terminate pregnancies. By the time all the votes in the referendum were counted on Saturday, the “yes” camp had taken more than 66 percent of the vote, according to the official tally. The government has said it will pass legislation by the end of the year to allow unrestricted terminations up to 12 weeks. _____ • “A situation of untenable hunger.” The U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan says drought afflicting two-thirds of the country has put two million people at risk of severe food shortages. Seeds have dried out and livestock lack feed, and there is a growing shortfall in wheat. The U.N. has increased its requests for assistance, but the response from donors has been inadequate so far. Above, Afghans waiting to receive donated food. And in Helmand Province, a Taliban stronghold in the south (where there has been less than half an inch of rain all year), the story of Khadija, 18 and already twice-widowed, represents the bitter arc of the Afghan war, and of life for many Afghan women under familial control. _____ • Burkina Faso. An airline website. A T-shirt. No target is too small as China steps up pressure on Taiwan, the self-governing island it claims. In recent weeks, Delta apologized for causing China “emotional damage” by listing Taiwan as a separate entity on its website. The Gap pulled a T-shirt that omitted Taiwan from a map of China, adding that it “respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.” And the African country of Burkina Faso severed ties with Taiwan, which now has diplomatic relations with just 17 countries. But the attacks could backfire, by making more Taiwanese adamant about their separateness, and a former president, Lee Teng-hui, is pushing for a referendum to explicitly name the island Taiwan, rather than the Republic of China. Above, a monument to Chiang Kai-shek in Taipei, Taiwan. _____ • “There should be a thorough cleanup of the system.” An anticorruption activist in Malaysia is calling for the new government of Mahathir Mohamad to confront the multitude of disappearances and deaths that took place under Najib Razik, above left, the recently ousted strongman. They include unsolved abductions of religious figures, strange murders — a Mongolian woman by two of Mr. Najib’s bodyguards — and up to 1,000 wrongful deaths in custody. Looming over it all is a revived investigation into a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal. An astounding $28.7 million in cash, plus a reported 284 boxes of luxury handbags, has been seized from Mr. Najib and his wife, though he denies any wrongdoing: “I’m not a person who steals what belongs to the people.” _____ • A lifeline for ZTE. The Trump administration has reached a deal to save the Chinese telecom giant. ZTE would pay a fine and shake up its management over U.S. sanctions violations. • Alexa, no! Amazon explained how an Echo device mistakenly recorded a married couple’s private conversation, then sent it to one of the husband’s employees. • One million cars in Australia have been added to a recall over defective Takata airbags, which have been linked to at least one death in the country, bringing Australia’s recall total to four million. • Sri Lanka has taken a $1 billion loan from the China Development Bank to repay debt amassed by the previous government. • Disney’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” has been less than stellar at the box office. And Warner Bros. is set for a superhero-free summer, with high hopes for “Crazy Rich Asians.” • Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • A 19-year-old Guatemalan woman was shot dead near Laredo, Tex., after illegally crossing the Mexican border. Her family says she was desperately seeking a better life. [The New York Times] • China sent warships to challenge two U.S. Navy vessels that sailed through waters in the South China Sea that Beijing claims as its own. [The New York Times] • Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan met with President Vladimir Putin. They agreed to reduce tensions over four disputed islands that Russia controls. [NHK] • Four Russians were killed in Syria in an hourlong firefight with the Islamic State, which lost 43 militants, according to the Russian government. [The New York Times] • An Australian man was sentenced to life in prison in the brutal murder of his 12-year-old foster daughter. [BBC News] • Indonesian lawmakers passed controversial antiterrorism legislation that, among other measures, opens the door to military involvement in internal security. [Al Jazeera] • Bangladesh has launched a violent crackdown on drugs, with more than 50 accused traffickers shot dead in a week, and there are fears of a brutal Philippines-style crusade. [The Guardian] Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • The best road trip snacks, ranked. • The case for having a hobby. • Recipe of the day: Tonight, grill a large salmon fillet. • Scientists see promise in resurrecting the northern white rhinoceros, which is near extinction. But even if the technology can succeed, should we do it? • “A wan imitation” of Mexican food. Our reviewer was left cold by the fare at the Bar Patrón by Rockpool, a new restaurant in Sydney. • A CNN reporter went to interview Morgan Freeman. She tells us how the story become much bigger than that. Tennis was once the sport of kings. With the first round of the French Open underway, here’s a look at its royal history in France. Modern tennis evolved from jeu de paume, or “game of the palm,” a sport favored by French and English monarchs alike. (This version of the game is now known as “real tennis,” and still has its devotees.) French monarchs helped popularize the sport. One of the first courts in Paris was built at the Louvre by King Charles V, in 1368. Francis I, who ruled in the 1500s, was said to be an enthusiastic player and built courts throughout the country. Charles IX called it “one of the most honorable, worthy and healthy exercises” in 1571. “Healthy” may be relative: King Louis X was believed to have died from a chill following a particularly strenuous game in 1316 (though some suspect poison was involved). The sport declined in popularity during the reign of Louis XIV. Though he built a jeu de paume court at Versailles in the 1680s, he was reportedly not very good at it, and spent more of his time playing billiards. France no longer has a monarchy, but the French Open still might: Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard known as “the king of clay,” is seeking an unprecedented 11th title this year. Jillian Rayfield wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. 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