Your Monday Briefing

F.B.I., Syria, Super Bowl | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, February 5, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Monday Briefing]( By MIKE IVES AND CHARLES MCDERMID Here’s your Morning Briefing: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press • The Winter Olympics begin Friday, but the normally quiet period ahead of competition has seen a lot of commotion. That’s because [South Korean journalists trail the North Korean athletes]( everywhere, deploying high-powered lenses and sharp elbows. [North Korea plans to send a 22-member delegation]( to the opening ceremonies, headed by the 90-year-old chairman of its Parliament. _____ Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Thousands of battle-hardened [Islamic State fighters have escaped Syria]( perhaps to fight another day. Classified Western intelligence assessments say that some militants are defecting to Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria. Others are paying smugglers to spirit them to Turkey, with an eventual goal of returning to their home countries. And [Egypt and Israel are secret allies]( in a covert war against Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula — dramatic evidence of a reconfiguration of regional politics. _____ Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The Super Bowl winner will be crowned in a few hours. (The game, between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, starts at 7:30 a.m. Hong Kong). [We're following the action here](. While not as popular as soccer internationally, the game is being broadcast in China, Japan, India, Australia and many other countries. Here’s [how to watch if you’re not in the U.S.]( Justin Timberlake performs at the halftime show; Pink sings the national anthem. In the U.S., there’s a new level of disquiet over enjoying a sport rife with concussions that cause permanent brain damage. [Our “On Football” columnist even consulted a priest]( (and in [an Op-Ed]( a woman chronicles one painful case study, that of her husband, a former N.F.L. player). _____ Damon Winter/The New York Times • Uma Thurman finally talked about Harvey Weinstein. The actress, who said in October that she was waiting to feel “less angry, spoke about [abusive encounters]( with him and a gruesome episode during filming of the 2003 film “Kill Bill.” And dozens more [young women say they were molested by Larry Nassar]( the former doctor for U.S.A. Gymnastics — even as the F.B.I. was pursuing its case against him. ([A distraught father rushed at him in court]( Athletes say he’s not the only problem. [This video]( explores accounts of abuse involving three U.S.A. Gymnastics coaches. _____ Johan Ordonez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • “It’s being blind, and then being able to see.” That was an archaeologist explaining how laser technology uncovered the ruins of a [vast Maya civilization that had been hidden under tree canopy]( in Guatemala. The same laser technology, known as lidar, [was also used recently in Cambodia]( to discover a network of ancient cities near the Angkor Wat temple complex. Business • Consumers in China have lifted the fortunes of many Western brands. But some Western products — [like tampons, deodorant and breakfast cereal]( — have failed to impress them. • Exxon Mobil said even aggressive climate change policies would [not prevent it from burning fossil fuels](. Critics say the company is underplaying how such policies could threaten its bottom line. • Beijing opened an investigation into [whether the U.S. subsidizes grain sorghum]( which China imports to feed ducks and produce baijiu, a powerful liquor. • New Fed chairman: Jerome Powell takes office today. [We look at the risks he faces](. • Will U.S. stocks recover from [Friday’s plunge]( Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Tim Dominick/The State, via Associated Press • An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Miami collided with a freight train early Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 100 others. It was the second major crash involving an Amtrak train in less than a week. [[The New York Times]( • President Trump’s scorched-earth assault on the F.B.I. and Justice Department, now largely focused on a Republican memo released Friday, is unlike anything America has seen in modern times. [[The New York Times]( • In Pakistan, at least 11 soldiers, including an army captain, were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at an army base. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. [[The New York Times]( • A ruling is expected today on an appeal by Lee Jae-yong, the heir to the Samsung business empire, who was convicted of offering kickbacks to former President Park Geun-hye. [[Yonhap]( • Singapore, one of the world’s safest countries, is preparing for the possibility of terrorist attacks ahead of a meeting of defense ministers this week. [[Reuters]( • The Maldives government ordered security forces to resist any move by the Supreme Court to arrest or impeach the nation’s president, Abdulla Yameen. [[BBC]( • The Philippine National Police reported killing nearly 50 suspected drug users and sellers in the last two months. [[The New York Times]( • Two U.S. government studies suggested, based on animal tests, that the risk of getting cancer from cellphone radiation is small. [[The New York Times]( • The oldest son of Fidel Castro committed suicide, according to Cuba’s state news media. Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart was a nuclear physicist who had been treated for depression. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Karsten Moran for The New York Times • Work on your pizza skills by baking a pie [topped with sweet and hot peppers](. • If your New Year’s resolution has fallen by the wayside, [email our Smarter Living editor](mailto:tim@nytimes.com) (subject line “2018 resolutions”) with your name, your goal and why you chose it, and two steps toward it. Noteworthy Roberto Schmidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Mount Everest’s official height is 29,029 feet, but there are divergent opinions on how the height should be measured. Nepali surveyors are now [heading to Everest’s summit — and hoping to settle the debate](. • Decades before e-commerce sites were popularizing handmade crafts, an American master weaver in Laos was working to keep local traditions alive. Our [correspondent visited her workshop](. • And meet [Naomi Watanabe]( a Japanese comedian who lip-syncs to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, and [Aito Iguchi]( a Japanese hockey prodigy who dreams of turning pro in North America. Back Story Matt Dunham/Associated Press A century ago on Tuesday, the Austrian painter [Gustav Klimt]( died in Vienna. Klimt is famous for his heavily ornamented portraits, one of which was confiscated by the Nazis during World War II but later recovered. [It sold for $135 million in 2006]( and the recovery effort inspired “The Woman in Gold,” [a 2015 film starring Helen Mirren](. Among the artist’s quirks — and a source of irritation for his wealthy patrons — was that he often refused to declare his works complete. Above, Klimt’s “Bauerngarten.” One Belgian family [stopped paying Klimt for a frieze it had commissioned]( for a palace in Brussels, as a way of motivating him to finish. He eventually did. But patrons who tried to collect his artwork were sometimes offered a refund instead of a painting. Klimt would even tweak pieces after they had won critical acclaim. His painting “Death and Life,” for example, won first prize at the International Art Exhibition in Rome in 1911. But Klimt later changed the background from gold to gray, [according to the Leopold Museum in Vienna]( and gave his representations of death and life “further ornaments.” _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Asian, European or American morning, or to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. And our Australia bureau chief offers [a weekly letter]( adding analysis and conversations with readers. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. 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