Your Wednesday Briefing

Cyberattack, Russia, North Korea | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, May 17, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Doug Mills/The New York Times • President Trump strongly [defended what he called his “absolute right”]( to share classified information about an Islamic State plot with top Russian officials, disclosures that set off a furor over whether he had violated the expectations of the Middle Eastern ally that provided the intelligence. Two American officials, one current and one former, told our reporters the [intelligence was provided by Israel]( — which considers itself to be threatened by a close Russian ally, Iran. The turmoil in Washington intensified as it emerged that the dismissed F.B.I. director, [James Comey, had left a paper trail]( of every interaction he had with the president — including Mr. Trump’s request that the agency drop its investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of [Turkey left his first meeting with President Trump]( at the White House declaring a “historical turn of tide” in the countries’ relationship. Our reporter details [Turkey’s decline from democracy](. _____ Yonhap, via Associated Press • Representatives of South Korea and the U.S. working toward a summit meeting in late June, agreed to “pursue drastic and practical joint approaches” to [the North Korean nuclear crisis]( possibly including talks with the North. Security experts said [North Korean sleeper cells]( might be responsible for the crippling ransomware attacks targeting [outdated versions of Microsoft’s Windows]( operating system. [North Korea’s most recent missile test]( meanwhile, appeared to show significant progress toward a long-range weapon. Above, South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, with Matt Pottinger, left, a special assistant to President Trump. _____ Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times • “You need to consider your options. No one will be resettled in Australia.” That’s what asylum seekers and refugees said Papua New Guinea officials told them, after announcing that parts of the [Manus Island detention center]( would be shut down. But their options appear to be limited to repatriation — or moving to an even more remote camp. _____ [An image taken from a video widely shared on Facebook in recent weeks appears to show King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand walking through a shopping mall in a yellow crop top.]Via facebook • Thailand dropped its plan to [block Facebook]( after the social media network agreed to take down more posts that [appeared to show Thailand’s new king]( walking through a shopping mall in a crop top that revealed his tattoos. _____ Minzayar Oo for The New York Times • And Myanmar’s many changes [don’t yet include much in the way of protecting women from violence]( our reporter found. Diplomats have called the issue a “silent emergency,” and rights advocates say the situation is made worse by weak law enforcement and courts rife with corruption and misogyny. Business Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters • A whistle-blowing automotive engineer prompted South Korea’s order to [recall 240,000 Hyundai cars](. • The 25 highest-paid hedge fund managers, including some underperformers, [earned a collective $11 billion]( in 2016. • The top [executive at China’s branch of Legendary Entertainment]( the Dalian Wanda-owned film studio, is leaving, the second major departure since the flop of “The Great Wall.” • Indian stocks [hit record highs]( led by exporters and encouraged by positive growth assessments. • And Tim Gurner, the Australian real estate mogul, said that spending on things like [avocado toast was impeding millennials’ ability]( to own homes. The criticism didn’t go over well. • U.S. stocks [were mixed](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Issei Kato/Reuters • Princess Mako, the 25-year-old granddaughter of Japan’s emperor, will reportedly marry a fellow student she met while attending a Christian university in Tokyo, and become a commoner. [[The Yomiuri Shimbun]( • The Syrian government dismissed as “lies” a U.S. government accusation that it was burning bodies at a prison complex to destroy evidence of war crimes. [[The New York Times]( • A 60-foot-long “sea monster” that set off a frenzy when it washed up on a remote Indonesian beach was finally identified as a badly decomposed whale. [[Jakarta Globe]( • More than 8,000 candidates running for 21 seats: This year’s Tehran City Council race is proving to be a spectacle that provides a rare perspective on Iranian society. [[The New York Times]( • An Indian court ruled that doctors were free to carry out an abortion on a 10-year-old girl who is nearly 21 weeks pregnant after being repeatedly raped by her stepfather. [[The New York Times]( • Refugees in Hong Kong who helped hide Edward Snowden, the American whistle-blower, face deportation. [[South China Morning Post]( • Henderson Island, a coral atoll in the South Pacific, has the world’s highest density of plastic litter, an Australian and British study found, with 671 items of rubbish per square meter. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Alex Welsh for The New York Times • Once we would brag of not needing very much of it. [Now, deep slumber is a coveted]( state achieved with gadgets, apps, gizmos and classes. • Need something to watch to help with the elliptical tedium of running on a treadmill? [Watch these shows]( while you workout. • Recipe of the day: Make this [fettuccine with asparagus]( one of your half-hour favorites. Noteworthy Edwin J. Torres for The New York Times • Murder in the 4-0. The Times documented every homicide last year in [the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx]( a part of New York where poverty and crime persist. • From our science reporters: Patients’ immune systems often produce antibodies to the very treatments that are keeping them alive. The [search for a solution is on](. Plus, we have [news about honeybee hair](. • Finally, Chanel’s $1,300 boomerang came back to hit it. In Australia, home of the Aboriginal boomerang, [the French brand is being accused]( of cultural appropriation, exploitation and ignorance. Back Story George Tames/The New York Times There’s an F.B.I. investigation currently in the headlines, but it was on this day in 1965 that a different one ended: [a two-year inquiry into “Louie, Louie.”]( The song was [originally recorded in 1956]( but it was the muddled lyrics of [the 1963 version by The Kingsmen]( that many listeners thought might be obscene. “Parents were concerned, and they figured, ‘My gosh, this sounds like a dirty song, I don’t understand it — maybe we should have an investigation,’ ” said Eric Predoehl, [who is making a documentary about the song’s history](. One parent’s letter to the serving attorney general, Robert Kennedy, [prompted the investigation](. “This land of ours is headed for an extreme state of moral degradation,” the parent wrote. The lyrics may have been indecipherable because, when the band recorded the single in a studio in Portland, Ore., [there was only one microphone]( hanging several feet above Jack Ely, the lead singer. To be heard, he reportedly shouted lines like (maybe) “Me gotta go” and “All the way.” The F.B.I. spent two years analyzing the lyrics, and although [its report]( includes possible interpretations that do include obscene references to sex, no one could definitively figure out what Mr. Ely was saying. We gotta go. Evan Gershkovich contributed reporting. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. We also have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). 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. 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