Your Wednesday Briefing

Jacob Zuma, North Korea, Julian Assange | View in [Browser]( View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, February 14, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By MIKE IVES AND CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s the news: Lawrence Jackson for The New York Times • North Korea’s nuclear program. Cyberactivities by China and Iran. Islamist militants in the Middle East. Russian provocations. Those were among the [global threats identified by]( U.S. security officials](. Above, Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence. Russia’s growing international reach was also evident in emerging news that at least [four Russian nationals, and perhaps dozens, were killed in fighting in Syria](. Mark Mazzetti, our Washington investigations editor, will be discussing the special counsel’s Russia inquiry with the reporters Michael Schmidt and Scott Shane; and Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs in New York. [Live stream it here]( at 7 p.m. Eastern (8 a.m. Hong Kong). And our Washington bureau is checking out a statement from the office of South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, that [the U.S. had “expressed its willingness” to start]( talks]( North Korea](. _____ Mladen Antonov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Generally speaking, the Winter Games are rolling along nicely. So are [the North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik]( above, who perform today in the opening round of pairs competition. They have zero chance to medal, but their skill and expressiveness offers a counterpoint to North Korea’s closely chaperoned [Olympic cheerleaders](. Other riveting stories: A gay athlete spoke publicly about what has been an open secret among male skaters: [crippling body image issues](. And at 17, Chloe Kim of the U.S. became the youngest female snowboarder to win gold in the Olympic halfpipe. ([Check out how she did it.]( You can find [our full coverage of the Games here]( ____ Illustration by Tamara Shopsin. Source photographs: Getty Images. • More on China. We have [a timely look at the White House’s silence]( as China marches forward on A.I. And an essayist in our magazine sees [China’s rise as proof of an uncomfortable fact]( No one who preaches “free trade” really practices it. _____ Pool photo by Wu Hong • President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was [ordered to step down by his own party](. The African National Congress said he was eroding the “renewed hope” felt in the country since last year. If Mr. Zuma rejects the order, the party could try to remove him through a no-confidence vote in Parliament, which could deepen party divisions. _____ Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press.. • In South Korea, two court rulings added to the toll of the scandal that swamped the former president, Park Geun-hye. Choi Soon-sil, above, the Park confidante at the center of the scandal, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. And the chairman of Lotte, a South Korean hotel and retail giant, was [sentenced to two and a half years]( on charges of offering Ms. Park and Ms. Choi $6.5 million in bribes. (Shares in Lotte’s retail division [fell 4 percent]( _____ The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens • You know what day it is. To mark Valentine’s Day, our reporter mined a collection of [about 12,000 paper valentines]( that span three centuries. She found lots of “optimism about romance,” but also spotted the card above, a bit of trolling from 1855. And our “Modern Love” column tells the story of a couple who decided to enliven the holiday by acting like strangers at a bar. His task was to pretend to pick her up — but then she struck up a conversation with a smart and well-read fellow at a nearby bar stool. … [Read on](. Business Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • MGM Resorts opened a [$3.4 billion property in Macau]( just ahead of the Lunar New Year on Friday. It’s a major bet on the Chinese gambling enclave at a time when [sexual misconduct allegations against the casino magnate Steve Wynn]( are shadowing the industry. • A unit of HNA Group is expected to sell two [Hong Kong properties today for $2 billion](. The Chinese conglomerate faces a liquidity crunch and scrutiny over its opaque ownership structure. • Credit Suisse reports earnings today, less than a week after [Hong Kong’s securities regulator fined the bank’s local units $5 million](. • General Motors says it [will close a factory in South Korea]( a setback for President Moon Jae-in’s economic agenda. • Most U.S. stocks [rose](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News John Pulu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Tonga is reeling after a Category 4 cyclone — the most powerful storm to strike the Pacific island nation in at least 60 years — flattened its Parliament building, damaged houses and left thousands without power. [Winds worsened]( as it reached Fiji. [[The New York Times]( • Israeli police recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be charged with corruption. Mr. Netanyau, addressing the nation before the police released their findings, said he would not step down. [[The New York Times]( • An arrest warrant for Julian Assange was upheld for the second time in a week. [[The New York Times]( • The F.B.I. director said that a report on Rob Porter, a Trump aide forced out over allegations of spousal abuse, was delivered months earlier than the White House has admitted. [[The New York Times]( • The Pakistani Taliban confirmed the death of their deputy commander in a U.S. drone strike last week in a tribal border region. [[The New York Times]( • Mount Agung erupted again, days after warnings for local residents in Bali were eased. [[The Jakarta Post]( • A newspaper in Malaysia, where homosexuality is considered a criminal offense, drew criticism for posting what it called a primer on how to identify gay and lesbian people. [[The Guardian]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Karsten Moran for The New York Times • Roman egg drop soup is a [simple recipe for midweek](. • Here’s how to [order room service]( the right way. • Sex shouldn’t be painful. If it is for you, try [these tips.]( Noteworthy John Yuyi • “The thing you’re doing now, reading prose on a screen, is going out of fashion.” [O]( magazine’s special tech issue]( looks at how the “text-based internet” is being eclipsed by the rising power of audio and video. • The New Noir: Horror filmmakers are hitting the raw nerves exposed by social movements like #MeToo. Our reporter visited a New York film institute that’s [promoting what he called the “golden age of horror]( • Prabal Gurung, a designer who grew up in Nepal, talked about his latest collection during New York Fashion Week. [He was inspired by the Mosuo]( a small matriarchal tribe in far-western China. “What I really loved was the absolute celebration of the femininity and empowerment,” he said. Back Story Kim Won-Jin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Valentine’s Day is [widely thought to mark a wine-fueled festival]( for courting couples in ancient Rome. But in North Korea, it marks a different kind of affection. On this day in 2012, Kim Jong-il, who ruled the country from 1994 until his death in 2011, was [posthumously named a “generalissimo.”]( The announcement came two days before what would have been Mr. Kim’s 70th birthday, which is still celebrated in the country as “The Day of the Shining Star.” The only other North Korean “generalissimo” is Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Il-sung, who began ruling in 1945 and received the title in 1992, two years before his death. The term is a clear cut above the “marshal” title held by North Korea’s third and current leader, Kim Jong-un. The younger Mr. Kim may stay in power for decades, though, and he already has several titles: “Dear respected comrade,” for one, as well as “[supreme commander]( of the Korean People’s Army. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Australian, European or American morning, or 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. 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