Your Tuesday Briefing

Tariffs, Italy, Syria | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, March 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s [the sign-up]( Good morning. A stolen Oscar, a Belarusian escort and a meeting in Pyongyang. Here’s what you need to know. Bryan Denton for The New York Times • Promises of more blues skies and less economic risk were among the highlights of the opening day of China’s [annual state-of-the-nation report to lawmakers]( the National People’s Congress. Premier Li Keqiang also announced an increase about $175 billion for the People’s Liberation Army. Still to come: the expected abolishment of presidential term limits, enabling Xi Jinping to solidify his rule. Our Beijing correspondent writes: “Hagiography aside, what is striking is [how little is known about Mr. Xi’s biography as a leader]( Bad news for China’s antipollution push: [S.U.V.s now make up more than one in three cars]( sold globally, because drivers in China (along with Australia and Europe) are ditching sedans. _____ Stefan Simonsen/European Pressphoto Agency • Tariff confusion. Among the many unanswered questions about the measures on steel and aluminum President Trump plans to sign this week, the first is: Who will be hit? The White House had insisted there would be no exceptions, but in a confounding tweet, [Mr. Trump said the tariffs would “come off”]( of Canada and Mexico if a new and “fair” multilateral trade pact were signed. A top Republican congressman broke ranks with Mr. Trump over the tariffs, saying: “We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war.” _____ Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press • “If America gives me protection, I will tell everything I know.” That’s the [deal on offer from a Belarusian escort jailed in Bangkok]( above. She told our reporter that she has recordings that contain evidence of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Her assertion would be easy to disregard, were it not for a 25-minute video investigation posted last month by a Russian opposition figure that relies heavily on her footage and photographs. _____ South Korea Presidential Blue House, via Associated Press • Top aides of South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, [met with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in Pyongyang]( in a bid to improve inter-Korean relations and help start a dialogue between the North and the U.S. Mr. Moon’s spokesman said the envoys were the first South Korean officials to visit the North in 11 years, and that they carried a personal letter from Mr. Moon to Mr. Kim. After returning home, the South Korean envoys will fly to Washington for follow-up discussions with the Trump administration. _____ Noel West for The New York Times • And we went all out for the Oscars. [Here are the highs and lows]( of the 90th Academy Awards. “The Shape of Water” and its director, Guillermo del Toro, were the big winners. Jordan Peele, above with his mother Lucinda Williams, became the first African-American to win the best original screenplay for “Get Out.” [Here’s the full list](. The #MeToo movement also had a starring role, but someone (briefly) [stole Frances McDormand’s Oscar](. [Read our wrap-up of the night]( and here are [photos from the red carpet](. Our [TV critic]( said the show was “mainly notable for acknowledging troubles that are harder to fix” than last year’s envelope mixup. Business • In a surprise move, U.S. regulators asked Qualcomm, the giant California chip maker, to delay a shareholder meeting to give them [more time to investigate whether a takeover bid by Broadcom]( a Singapore-based rival, would threaten national security. • China listed a [$400 million theme park on Australia’s Gold Coast]( built by the Chinese developer Songcheng, as a “key project” linked to its Belt and Road initiative. • Thanks to an initial coin offering, or I.C.O., the messaging company [Telegram is on track to raise $1 billion]( in four months. (It took Facebook seven years to get there.) • U.S. stocks [were up](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Linh Pham/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with 6,000 crew members, anchored off the coast of Danang, Vietnam, marking the first time such a U.S. Navy ship has docked in the country since the Vietnam War. Above, touring Vietnamese officers bought souvenirs aboard. [[The New York Times]( • Papua New Guinea’s highlands are being rocked by strong aftershocks after last week’s magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The death toll has risen to 55, and is expected go higher. [[Reuters]( • Aid trucks reached Syria’s besieged Ghouta region for the first time since one of the war’s deadliest assaults began two weeks ago. The U.N. says 400,000 people are trapped there. [[Reuters]( • In Italy, the Five Star Movement surged in national elections, a sign of the inroads populists are making into Europe’s mainstream. [[The New York Times]( • Brazil is suffering its worst outbreak of yellow fever in decades, and health officials are struggling to vaccinate 23 million people. [[The New York Times]( • Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met with President Trump, who said he would visit in May “if I can” for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. [[A.P.]( • A Japanese ski area created optical-illusion slopes that appear to send sledders sliding upward. [[The Asahi Shimbun]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Suzy Allman for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Tired of the usual chicken dinner? Try [a stir-fry with ketchup](. • Here’s how to tell people [you’ve stopped drinking](. • Do that thing [you keep putting off](. Noteworthy Giulia Marchi for The New York Times • Guanzhou, one of China’s biggest cities, made a bold move to [curb sexual harassment on the subway by reserving seats]( for female passengers. But men are claiming them. • For decades, antique Persian rugs — hand-knotted from silk and often taking years or even decades to produce — were the gold standard of floor coverings for the swank. [No more](. • And Stoya, a famous pornographer, spent years shaping the adult film industry. Did she inadvertently endanger society? Or, as she asks in our Op-Ed section: [Can]( Back Story Craig Lee for The New York Times For today’s back story, we’re introducing what we hope will become a regular feature, courtesy of our friends at The New York Times’s crossword column, [Wordplay](. Each week, the column’s editor, Deb Amlen, will highlight the answer to one of the most difficult clues from the previous week’s puzzles. Please [let us know](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com) how you like it. [This week’s word: sazerac](. It has only appeared in the Times Crossword three times over the past few years, most recently in [last Friday’s puzzle](. The sazerac is a 180-year-old cocktail based on rye and bitters. Even if you don’t imbibe, it’s certainly a fun name to say. The story of the drink begins in mid-19th century New Orleans, where an apothecary owner, Antoine Amedie Peychaud, treated his friends to brandy toddies containing a French brandy called Sazerac and a dash of the bitters made from a secret family recipe. By 1850, the sazerac became the first “branded” cocktail, and in 1873, the brandy was replaced by American rye whiskey, with a dash of absinthe. Over the years, Herbsaint, another anise-flavored pastis, has been used in place of absinthe and the [“official” sazerac recipe]( was modified to use Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. Our Cooking section also features [a version made with absinthe](. Chris Stanford contributed reporting. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Australian, European or American morning. [Sign up here]( 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](. 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