Your Friday Briefing

Putin, Cedars, Rohingya | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, July 20, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Friday Briefing]( By MATTHEW SEDACCA Good morning. A surprise invitation, a new definition of Israel and a changed policy from Facebook. Here’s what you need to know: Pool photo by Sergei Karpukhin • “Say that again? Did I hear you right? O.K., that’s going to be special.” That was Dan Coats, the director of U.S. national intelligence, being blindsided by a reporter’s alert that [President Trump was]( to]( Vladimir Putin]( of Russia to the White House this fall. It was indicative of the conflicting narratives and clashing priorities of Mr. Trump and his intelligence agencies, which has been on remarkable display this week, underscoring the degree to which the president [picks and chooses intelligence to suit his political purposes](. For his part, Mr. Putin said that unspecified forces in the U.S. [were trying to undermine the results of the talks in Helsinki, Finland]( comments aimed at deepening American divisions. _____ Abir Sultan/European Pressphoto Agency, via Shutterstock • Israel’s Parliament narrowly [passed a contentious basic law]( that enshrines it as the Jewish-nation state. The legislation downgrades the status of the Arabic language, promotes Jewish construction and affirms the exclusive right of Jews to self-determination. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the vote as “a defining moment in the annals of Zionism.” Arab members of Parliament ripped up copies of the bill, crying out, “Apartheid!” The nation’s right-wing government has been emboldened by the Trump administration as well as the nationalist and populist movements gaining traction among allies in Europe and elsewhere. _____ Adam Dean for The New York Times • Myanmar’s military [planned the genocidal campaign]( to rid the country of Rohingya Muslims, according to a new report. Fortify Rights, a young Bangkok-based human rights organization, published the finding from testimony collected from 254 survivors, officials and workers over 21 months. The conclusions: Military and local officials removed tools that could be used for self-defense, created easier pathways for military raids, armed and trained ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, and closed international aid for the Rohingya. Government troops were deployed to Rohingya areas of Rakhine State where the Rohingya once lived, and participated in violence that began in late August. Several groups have formed in Myanmar to examine the violence, which led to the exodus of around 700,000 Rohingya. So far, none has resulted in broad admissions of blame by the state. _____ Jim Wilson/The New York Times • Facebook, facing growing criticism, said it would begin [removing misinformation that could lead to people being physically harmed]( an expansion of its rules about the type of content it will take down. The new rules will also apply to Instagram, but not to WhatsApp (both are owned by Facebook). Rumors spread on social media have fueled many lethal and violent attacks. Read our reports from [India]( [Myanmar]( and [Sri Lanka](. _____ Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has wasted no time in using the levers of democracy to expand his authority over Turkey. Since his inauguration for a second term last week, he [has issued several decrees and presidential decisions]( enabling him to exert control with almost unchecked authority. “The state is being reorganized around Tayyip Erdogan,” a journalist wrote. _____ Business • At a key U.S. trade commission hearing on the Trump administration’s proposed auto tariffs, small business owners and players in the global auto industry [expressed concerns over rising costs and stifled innovation](. • China’s prolonged review of Qualcomm’s bid for another chipmaker, NXP, [is widely seen as retaliation for U.S. tariffs](. • The race to $1 trillion market value has gotten tighter: [Amazon’s market value broke $900 billion]( briefly on Wednesday. Amazon’s value has nearly doubled since late October, while Apple’s has largely stagnated above $900 billion. • Microsoft [reported strong quarterly earnings]( and is emerging as a clear No. 2 to Amazon in cloud computing. • A New Zealand firm [reduced its workweek from 40 to 32 hours over four days](. Productivity shot up. • U.S. stocks [were down](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Yonhap • In South Korea, a court ordered the government and a shipping company to pay compensation to families who lost relatives in the 2014 sinking of Sewol ferry, above, which killed 304 people. [[The New York Times]( • In northern Syria, makeshift prisons hold suspects accused of fighting for ISIS, whose home countries are reluctant to repatriate them. A Times reporter gained access. [[The New York Times]( • Vietnam’s foreign ministry said that a new cybersecurity law would create a “safe and healthy cyberspace,” but critics warn it will further empower the government to crack down on dissent. [[Reuters]( • China, the global leader on limiting the effects of climate change, is making significant progress to reduce its own emissions, though not yet fast enough to meet global targets, a report found. [[The New York Times]( • Iran rejected eight requests from the U.S. for a presidential meeting at the U.N. General Assembly last year, a top Iranian official said. [[The New York Times]( • In Berlin, police have seized 77 properties owned by a Lebanese family suspected of crimes including the theft of a 220-pound, pure 24-carat gold coin. [[BBC]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Plan the weekend around making a[cherry and apricot clafoutis]( and don’t forget to share. • How to look well rested, even [when you’re not](. • 10 items to [spruce up your outdoor space](. Noteworthy Josh Haner/The New York Times • Cedar trees, a national symbol of Lebanon, have outlived empires and survived modern wars. But global warming could wipe out most of the country’s remaining cedar forests by the end of the century. [Here’s what Lebanon’s mountaintop forests look like today.]( • One of our best-read stories today is [this Op-Ed]( in which a writer from the American heartland examines the liberal blindspots about “Trump Country.” For one thing, she writes, it is not Trump Country. • Asian-American actors, storytellers and comedians are finding a place in the U.S. comedy ecosystem [through a monthly showcase]( at theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Back Story Ruth Fremson/The New York Times “We know that drinking, plus driving, spell death and disaster.” At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden 34 years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation designed to force states to [raise their minimum drinking age to 21]( by linking it to federal highway aid. Until 1919, there was no national drinking age in the U.S. After the end of Prohibition in 1933, most states set their drinking age at 21, where it remained until the Vietnam War. The argument that if you were old enough to be drafted for military service, you were [old enough to drink]( led many states to drop their drinking age to 18. As a result, drunken driving among young people surged [in the early 1970s.]( By 1988, all states had adopted age 21 as the minimum legal drinking age (although [Louisiana was an outlier for a time](. As a result, [alcohol-related traffic deaths among young drivers declined]( according to the National Institutes of Health. Today, the U.S. has the highest drinking age in the Western Hemisphere. In most of the world, it is 18. “Raising that drinking age is not a fad or an experiment,” Mr. Reagan said at the ceremony. “It’s a proven success.” Remy Tumin wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, European or American morning. You can also 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