Your Wednesday Briefing

YouTube, China, Fake News View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, April 4, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. A celebrity jeweler on the run, the Vatican’s deal with China crumbles and Apple scores a coup in the fight for A.I. Here’s what you need to know: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press • At least four people were injured, one of them critically, in a shooting at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, Calif. The shooter, who the police said was a woman, died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Check back for the [latest on this developing story](. Google, which owns YouTube, [said on Twitter]( that it was “coordinating with authorities” and would provide more information when it was available. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times • “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military.” [President Trump made the pledge]( on his third day of railing about America’s “weak” border laws, stirred by Fox News’s alarmist coverage of a caravan of migrants slowly heading north through Mexico. Our reporters note: The U.S. military is generally barred by law from carrying out domestic law enforcement functions like apprehending people at the border. The Trump administration also published a [list of more than 1,000 Chinese products that will soon face a]( percent import tax]( including electronic touch screens, iron and steel plates, medical devices, aircraft parts and batteries. The move is likely to inflame a trade war that has already drawn [fierce opposition from some of America’s biggest companies](. An unexpected pawn: [California’s wine](. _____ • Another quote worth noting: “I think there is no religion in human society that is above the state.” That was a senior Beijing official, underscoring [China’s intention to maintain strict control over all religious organizations]( and their believers — and dimming the prospects of what appeared to be an imminent deal with the Vatican. And our Magazine looks at President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power by considering [Hong Kong’s missing booksellers](. _____ • In India, less than a day after announcing penalties for journalists who write or broadcast “fake news,” [the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew them](. The government gave no official explanation, but some in the county had seen the rules as an attack on the press ahead of campaigning for national elections. The country may be more captivated — or enraged — by the tale of Nirav Modi, India’s jeweler to the stars. He’s now on the run, accused of amassing a global empire with [nearly $3 billion obtained illegally from government-run banks](. _____ Sam Melhorn/The Commercial Appeal, via Associated Press • The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated 50 years ago. Today, [we remember him and the battles that outlived him]( workers rights, a sprawling protest movement, persistent segregation and poverty. [The Times obituary]( celebrated him as a prophet in the crusade for racial equality and a voice for millions of African Americans. “He was their voice of anguish,” it reads, “their eloquence in humiliation, their battle cry for human dignity.” Business • Tesla says it is “rapidly addressing” [bottlenecks in the production of Model 3 electric cars]( and is making 2,000 a week — a nice jump from last year but still short of investors’ hopes. Tesla’s shares, which have been battered recently, rose on the news. • Apple hired Google’s chief of artificial intelligence, [John Giannandrea, 53, a major coup]( in the race for A.I. skills and tech. • Welcome to the Big Board: [Spotify shares began trading]( $165.90]( initially giving the Swedish company a valuation of more than $33 billion. (There was some botched hospitality: [The New York Stock Exchange flew]( Swiss flag]( • The Walt Disney Company [offered to buy Sky News]( — an effort to help Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox buy full control of Sky News’s parent company, the broadcaster Sky. • U.S. stocks [were up across the board](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Indonesia Search and Rescue, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Indonesia declared a state of emergency over a seven-square-mile oil spill off the coast of Borneo whose source had not yet been identified. At least four fishermen were killed over the weekend when the fuel ignited, and hundreds of people reported health issues. [[BBC]( • The Thai police found 9.4 million speed pills and 788 kilograms (more than 1,700 pounds) of crystal meth hidden in tea packets in a truck. Street value: more than $54 million. [[Bangkok Post]( • A pair of Belarusian sex instructors who say they have evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential race face imminent deportation from Thailand to Russia or Belarus. [[The New York Times]( • The cherished sword of a samurai who in the late 19th century established a prominent winery in California was found in the ruins of a building destroyed in last year’s wildfires. [[The Asahi Shimbun]( • Foodies in Southeast Asia have laid into a British cooking show’s judges for insisting that a Malaysian contestant’s chicken rendang curry should have been crispy. [[A.P.]( • A story sweeping China: A taxi driver from Chengdu and his wife will be reunited with their missing daughter after searching for her for 24 years. [[South China Morning Post]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • Save your relationship — [outsource the chores]( (if you can). • Make a luxury trip to Paris affordable with [these tips](. • Recipe of the day: [Swedish meatballs]( potatoes]( and a little lingonberry jam. Noteworthy Bob Leverone/Associated Press • Special rules in American football: A Times reporter found stringent rules [in place for N.F.L. cheerleaders]( like shaving techniques and the proper use of tampons — even as the sport grapples with accusations of domestic violence and sexual harassment. • From our At War blog: Alissa J. Rubin, our former Baghdad bureau chief, made a return trip to northern Iraq — and found herself navigating [checkpoints as endless as the rival armed fighters manning them](. • Anna Chennault, a Chinese-born anti-Communist Washington lobbyist, [died last week](. She dabbled in foreign intrigue after the death of her husband, the renowned leader of World War II’s Flying Tigers. Back Story Getty Images Each week, The Times’s crossword column, [Wordplay]( highlights the answer to one of the most difficult clues from the previous week’s puzzles. This week’s word: [Niobe](. The Greek mythological character Niobe was the subject of a tough clue from [last Wednesday’s crossword puzzle]( “ ‘Like ___, all tears’: Hamlet.” The word has appeared in Times crosswords 139 times. Niobe is most closely associated with tears, as noted in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: “A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father’s body, Like Niobe, all tears. Why she, even she — O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourned longer! — married with my uncle …” It was arrogance that was Niobe’s undoing, and the cause of her tears. The story of Niobe’s tears began at a ceremony held to honor the Titan Leto, mother of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. In a fit of arrogance, Niobe bragged that she was superior to Leto because she had more children (either 12 or 14, depending on the version of the myth). When the twins heard this, they came to Earth and killed all of Niobe’s children. In deep anguish, she ran to Mount Sipylus to beg the gods to put an end to her pain. Zeus felt sorry for her and turned her into a rock, so she would not feel anymore. However, even as a rock, Niobe’s tears continued to flow, and the stream that pours from the real Weeping Rock in Manisa, Turkey, symbolizes a mother’s eternal mourning. Deb Amlen contributed reporting. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Australian, European or American morning. [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Asia Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018