Your Monday Briefing

North Korea, Charlottesville, Pakistan | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, August 14, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Monday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Edu Bayer for The New York Times • Trying to stop the fallout over President Trump’s equivocal response to this weekend’s bloody rallies in Charlottesville, Va., the White House [condemned “white supremacists”]( for inciting violence during the protests over the removal of [a statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general](. The statement, issued 36 hours after the protests began, came after lawmakers from both parties called on Mr. Trump to denounce the white racists and agitators affiliated with the so-called alt-right, some of whom brandished pro-Trump banners. The police charged a 20-year-old man with second-degree murder, [identifying him as the driver]( who caused a smashup that [killed a 32-year-old woman]( in a crowd of counterprotestors and injured many more. _____ Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press • President Trump is trying again to enlist China as a peacemaker in the [bristling nuclear-edged dispute with North Korea](. It’s a big gamble for Mr. Trump, coming as he plans to ratchet up conflict with Beijing over trade issues that have animated his political rise. Our analyst looks at how [Mr. Trump’s “fire and fury” and “locked and loaded]( warnings have left many wondering whether his strategy is more method or madness. Here are some of the possible military scenarios against North Korea, and the [consequences that military and diplomatic officials say]( they might spawn. _____ Fayyaz Ahmed/European Pressphoto Agency • Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations were marred by [a suicide attack on a military truck in the southwestern city of Quetta]( above, that killed at least 15 people, including eight soldiers, and wounded at least 40 others on Saturday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which a military spokesman said had been aimed at sabotaging today’s events to mark the country’s 70th anniversary. _____ Amanda Mustard for The New York Times • In Vietnam, activists say a government report — possibly posted by accident — confirms their fears of [high rates of executions, forced labor and deaths in custody](. Above, a father’s altar to a son who died in custody. Among its findings, the report said 429 prisoners had been executed from August 2013 to June 2016, giving Vietnam the world’s third-highest execution rate over that period, after China and Iran. _____ Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times • Many Indonesians remember the New Order regime that Suharto led from 1967 to 1998 for corruption and repression, including a brutal campaign of anti-communist purges that historians describe as one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. But in a country where open discussion of his rule remains taboo, [the General Suharto Memorial Museum celebrates]( him as a kindly father and heroic nation-builder. To some, this is a rewriting of history that’s too much to bear. _____ Sam Greenwood/Getty Images • And Hideki Matsuyama is trying to become [the first Japanese golfer to win a men’s major]( at the P.G.A. Championship. Check here for the [latest leaderboard.]( Business Abbey Lossing • The stereotype of the [loner genius nerd has become a damaging myth]( in the U.S. tech industry. In truth, interpersonal skills like collaboration, communication and empathy are vital to career success in technology. • Shanghai’s rapidly expanding subway system [wants to emulate New York’s]( but not in everything — like long delays and lengthy construction projects. • Facebook quietly authorized the release of a [Chinese version of its Moments app]( called Colorful Balloons. • The Dow and the S.&P. 500 have diverged, with the Dow surging ahead. [Our columnist explains the differences]( between the two, and blames the gap on Boeing, Apple and Charles Dow. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency • The authorities in Nepal said at least 49 people have been killed by flooding and landslides across the country, and that elephants had been deployed to rescue trapped tourists in the south. [[BBC]( • In Malaysia, violence broke out at a forum where the former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamed, 92, was speaking. He was escorted to safety after shoes, chairs and other projectiles were thrown at him. [[Reuters]( • The Trump administration’s plan to sharply cut aid to Hanoi could hurt efforts to clear the unexploded U.S. ordnance leftover from the Vietnam War. [[South China Morning Post]( • The Indian government is under fire after 30 children died in a hospital over two days. Critics blamed a shortage of oxygen caused by a cutoff of deliveries over unpaid bills. [[The New York Times]( • Splashing out cash: A hotel in Japan introduced the world’s first pure-platinum bathtub, valued at $3.45 million. [[The Asahi Shimbun]( Smarter Living Sven Hoppe/DPA, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • Why you shouldn’t put off a password manager any longer, and more in [our weekly newsletter](. • As a poet once said, you are a child of the universe — and now you can sync your calendar with the solar system. [Sign up here]( to add meteor showers, eclipses and other cosmic special events to your Google or iOS calendar. • Recipe of the day: Make practically any fruit into a cobbler with Melissa Clark’s [fantastic recipe](. Noteworthy Quinn Ryan Mattingly for The New York Times • Vietnamese art is surging in popularity and [commanding prices topping $1 million]( but artists and dealers complain that the proliferation of fakes is dragging down the market. • In memoriam: [U.R. Rao]( a pioneer of India’s space program, died at 85. Mr. Rao believed that science — particularly aerospace science — could help his country solve its food shortages and eradicate its poverty. • There was repression behind the Iron Curtain. But it wasn’t sexual. In our Red Century series, Kristen Ghodsee, the professor and author, argues that Eastern European [women had better sex under socialism](. Back Story Lee Jin-man/Associated Press North and South Korea have agreed on very little in recent decades, but this week their shared past means the two countries have a rare holiday in common: Independence Day. Called [Gwangbokjeol]( (“the day the light returned”) in the South and Chogukhaebangŭi nal (“Liberation of the Fatherland Day”) in the North, the holiday is what is known in the West as V-J Day, or Victory Over Japan Day. [The Japanese empire formally surrendered]( on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and liberating the Korean Peninsula, which had been under colonial rule since 1910. The government of [South Korea was established]( on the same day three years later, and the two countries were divided. The holiday is celebrated with patriotic fanfare in both countries, although the North has found new ways to reassert its independence. For the 70th Liberation Day in 2015 — amid [renewed military tensions]( with the South — Pyongyang [created its own time zone](. “The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time,” the North’s state-run news agency said. The country had previously been in the same time zone as South Korea and Japan, but its clocks are now set 30 minutes behind. Inyoung Kang contributed reporting. _____ We 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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018