Your Wednesday Briefing

Texas, China, North Korea | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, November 8, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By INYOUNG KANG AND CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Doug Mills/The New York Times • President Trump arrives in China after visiting South Korea, where he dropped his fiery threats and derisive references to [North Korea and assured the anxious officials in Seoul]( that the region’s nuclear standoff “will all work out.” And instead of threatening pre-emptive action, Mr. Trump said he prayed that using military force wouldn’t be necessary, adding that it would be in North Korea’s interest to “come to the table and to make a deal.” Above, Mr. Trump with President Moon Jae-in in Seoul on Tuesday. Separately, [10 North Korean defectors, including a 3-year-old boy and his mother,]( were arrested in China and may be deported, an activist in South Korea said. _____ • In our latest report from the “[Paradise Papers]( a trove of documents from an offshore firm used to hide wealth, records show how an [American billionaire built one of the world’s largest trusts](. Another billionaire owned part of a company accused of exploiting the poor. Both men used Appleby, a law firm based in Bermuda, to minimize or defer taxes and park their money outside the public eye. _____ The New York Times • The Texas church gunman who [killed 26 people on Sunday once escaped from a psychiatric hospital]( after making death threats against his superiors, according to a 2012 police report. He was also court-martialed from the U.S. Air Force for domestic violence. But that information was not entered [into a database]( that could have prevented him from buying a military-style rifle. President Trump suggested that stricter gun laws [could have worsened the toll](. After each mass shooting, the question arises: Why does the U.S. have such a high rate of them? Americans have a lot of theories, but our Interpreter columnists say the [answer is lying in plain sight](. _____ • The movie mogul Harvey Weinstein hired private detectives, lawyers and undercover agents [to try to scuttle articles]( about accusations of sexual harassment and assault against him, [The New Yorker reported](. A dam-burst of [accusations has also engulfed British Parliament]( over the last 10 days, released by the revelations about Mr. Weinstein. As allegations against Mr. Weinstein and others pile up, our gender editor looks at how social media, famous accusers and a generational change have added up to [a profound shift]( in how we talk about sexual harassment. _____ Dominique Faget/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The Paris climate agreement has the [support of one of the last holdouts, Syria]( leaving the U.S. as the only country rejecting the global pact among nearly 200 countries to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In India, where pollution is rampant, the [toxic haze blanketing New Delhi]( from burning crops and other pollutants, above, was so severe this week that an official said the city had “become a gas chamber.” _____ • They were imprisoned for seeking a more democratic Hong Kong. Now the city’s highest court will hear the appeals of Joshua Wong, 21, and two other young democracy activists. [In rare interviews]( their parents shared the heartbreak and pride of watching their children come of age as leaders of a protest movement. They also described their disagreements, highlighting the generation gap that has divided Hong Kong in its struggle to define itself. _____ Business • Made in China 2025 is Beijing’s ambitious plan to dominate cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence within a decade, but its[tightening grip on the technology of tomorrow]( has Washington worried. • Will the Murdochs break up Fox? That’s the [question going around]( after it was reported that [Fox held preliminary talks to sell most of its assets to Disney](. • Sina, the Chinese internet company, changed its shareholder structure a week after winning a [proxy fight against an American hedge fund](. Shares in Sina fell about 10 percent on Tuesday. • The self-driving car is edging closer to becoming driverless. [Waymo]( the autonomous car company from Google’s parent, Alphabet, is conducting road tests without emergency human drivers. • In a worrying trend, dictators and oligarchs from Saudi Arabia, Russia and other countries [are investing heavily in]( Valley]( our columnist writes. • Wall Street investors are [pouring money into Bitcoin]( helping extend an eight-month spike in its price. • U.S. stocks [were weaker](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News via /Reuters • Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled that 600 migrants stranded on Manus Island did not have a right to power, water or food. [[The New York Times]( • Flooding in Indonesia has displaced thousands in North Sumatra, where the water level topped three feet in some areas. [[Jakarta Post]( • In Japan, a 70-year-old woman called the “black widow” was sentenced to death for killing her husband and two boyfriends with cyanide. [[Asahi Shimbun]( • In a region of northern Iraq fraught with violence, Muslims, Christians and Jews coexist — in theory. [[The New York Times]( • Carter Page, a former Trump adviser, offered new details about meeting with a Russian official during the 2016 campaign [[The New York Times]( • An award-winning photo of two elephants fleeing an angry mob in eastern India captures the conflicts that have become routine in the region. [[BBC]( • Joseph O’Brien, 24, became the youngest winning trainer in the Melbourne Cup’s history, defeating his father, who saddled the runner-up. [[The Guardian]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • Careful cyclists know: helmets [save lives](. • A moment of grace with a [parent in decline](. • Recipe of the day: Get dinner on the table in under a half-hour with [sautéed chicken breasts](. Noteworthy  • North Korea’s mountains have [shaped its national narrative](. The Kim dynasty, for example, has used Mount Paektu — an important spiritual symbol for both the North and South — to legitimize its rule. • In rural Japan, our travel writer helped [carry a mikoshi, a heavy, portable shrine]( in an ancient ritual that builds community and is a chance to “show off our manpower.” • And new research on mammoth fossils suggests that [male pachyderms died in more “silly ways”]( than their female counterparts. “In many species, males tend to do somewhat stupid things,” a biologist said. Back Story Bram Stoker’s immortality is proving more unpierceable than that of his bloodthirsty creation, Dracula. [Stoker, who was born in Ireland]( on this day in 1847, gave everlasting life to Dracula, the Transylvanian vampire, in the 1897 novel of the same name, and then took it away. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Since then, Stoker’s tale has been reimagined countless times, in [books]( on [television]( and in films, like “[Bram Stoker’s Dracula]( (1992). Now, one of his descendants is hoping to revive previously unpublished parts of the story. Stoker took seven years to write the [original novel]( clawing his way through an overabundance of imagination and research that left much of the material in drafts. The novelist’s great grandnephew Dacre Stoker announced he will [release a prequel, “Dracul,”]( in 2018. It draws heavily from Bram Stoker’s original notes and private journal, and from family legends. Paramount has already bought the movie rights, so Dracula may be resurrected on the big screen once again. Lori Moore contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Browse past briefings [here](. This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. We have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. And our Australia bureau chief offers [a weekly letter]( adding analysis and conversations with readers. You can sign up for these and other 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)). 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