Your Thursday Briefing

Global Trade, Aung San Suu Kyi, Women’s Day | View in [Browser]( View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, March 8, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By INYOUNG KANG AND CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Talk of a trade war, old-school news and an icon’s rebuke. Here’s what you need to know. Doug Mills/The New York Times • A gathering storm. Countries around the world are readying retaliation if President Trump signs off on stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He [is expected to do so as soon as today](. The [European Union has announced its counterattack]( including taxing U.S. goods like Harley-Davidsons and filing a challenge with the World Trade Organization. South Korea worries that tariffs will [derail its efforts to denuclearize the North]( and Mr. Trump’s fellow Republicans warned of their impact on key trading partners. [Here’s a look at what Australia]( has to lose. _____ Hein Htet/European Pressphoto Agency • The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum revoked a prestigious human rights award it had given to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who is now Myanmar’s civilian leader. The museum faulted Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi for failing “to condemn or stop the military’s brutal campaign” [against the country’s minority Rohingya population](. The decision is perhaps the strongest condemnation yet of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been increasingly criticized for the Myanmar military’s campaign of ethnic violence. _____ Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press • Kim Jong-un’s meeting with South Korean envoys this week was an eye-catching [diplomatic debut for the enigmatic young dictator](. Mr. Kim even surprised the South Koreans with his willingness to start negotiations on nuclear disarmament. Still, the path to talks is riddled with obstacles, including new U.S. [sanctions on Mr. Kim’s government]( for use of a banned nerve agent in the assassination of his half brother in Malaysia last year. A drawn-out diplomatic process will be good for Beijing, [delaying the possibility of war on its border](. In [today’s episode of “The Daily” podcast]( our White House correspondent looks at what happened to the threat of nuclear war. _____ Matt Dunham/Associated Press • The British authorities confirmed that a former [Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned by a nerve agent in England]( this week. Suspicion is now rampant that the episode was an assassination — and that Russia may be responsible. Though officials insist that it is far too soon to lay blame, Britain must confront the possibility that once again, an attack on British soil was carried out by the government of President Vladimir Putin. The former spy, Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, remain in critical condition. _____ Sara Hylton for The New York Times • In honor of International Women’s Day — an official holiday in many countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and much of Central Asia — here are two uplifting stories: Sunitha Krishnan [works for sex trafficking victims in India](. “I don’t deny that I was a victim,” she said. “But my healing was self-determined, and that is why I call myself a survivor.” And Hoda Katebi is the founder of Joojoo Azad, a politically charged fashion blog that [challenges stereotypes of hijab-wearing Muslim women](. Business Doug Chayka • Our tech columnist [skipped digital news for two months]( reading only newspapers. His old-school experiment led to some interesting conclusions. (“Every problem we battle in understanding the news is exacerbated by plugging into the social-media herd.”) • Leaders of the 11-nation [Trans-Pacific Partnership are preparing to sign the free trade pact]( today in Chile. They are hoping to add more members, possibly Thailand, South Korea and even the U.K. among others. • Peter Thiel, the [billionaire Facebook board member and Trump supporter]( shared his takes on politics, Silicon Valley and more. • U.S. stocks [were weaker](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News MAF International, via Reuters • In Papua New Guinea, aftershocks killed at least 18 people as the country was still recovering from the earthquake that killed more than 100 people last week. [[The New York Times]( • Turkey took an extraordinary step: asking the U.S. to stop Kurdish commanders from sending forces to Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in western Syria, to fight against Turkish troops. [[The New York Times]( • Mount Shinmoedake erupted in southern Japan, spewing ash over a wide region. It is the volcano’s largest eruption in seven years. [[The Asahi Shimbun]( • A British diver posted a video of a sea of plastic off the coast of Bali. The Indonesian island has been inundated with plastic waste during the annual rainy season. [[The Guardian]( • “We hope and pray every day.” Malaysia’s transport minister said his country is determined to find MH370, the passenger jet that disappeared four years ago today with 239 people on board. [[The Star]( • Hog wild: A boar sneaked into a mosque in Malaysia, injuring a man and wreaking havoc before being shot dead by a member of the congregation. [[Malay Mail]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Craig Lee for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Leave ordinary roasted potatoes behind with a little [lemon, smoked paprika and rosemary](. • Take the stress out of weeknight cooking with [this useful multitasker](. • Find a great rug that [won’t decimate]( your budget. Noteworthy VSF • Balkrishna Doshi, 90, a low-cost housing pioneer from India, won [this year’s Pritzker Prize]( the highest honor in architecture. “Architecture is not a static building,” he said, “it’s a living organism.” Above, an art gallery designed by Mr. Doshi. • DaDong, a legendary Beijing restaurant reputed to serve the tastiest Peking duck, opened recently in Manhattan. The result is … satisfactory, [our restaurant critic writes](. • And a soccer match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia [was the first major game on Iraqi soil since 1990](. “We see something like this and finally we feel hope this situation will get better,” an Iraqi fan told us at the stadium. Back Story National World War I Museum and Memorial They were sworn into service, required to wear regulation uniforms and saw the horrors of war. But when the Hello Girls returned home to the U.S. after World War I, they were largely forgotten. Today is [International Women’s Day]( a global recognition of women’s achievements. We’re looking back more than 100 years to recognize the place in history of a group of 223 women. In 1917, on the eve of World War I, [the U.S.]( 2.8 million men]( into military service. The Army realized that its success would rely on [the Allies’ use of a]( technology: the telephone](. Enter the Hello Girls, a group of bilingual telephone operators selected for working the switchboards in France, connecting the front lines with supply depots and military command. They often handled over 150,000 calls per day. But because they were women, the U.S. government denied them veteran status for more than 60 years after the war. “The unfortunate reality is their service wasn’t officially recognized with veteran status until 1979 when a small fraction of those who served were still alive,” a senior curator at the [National World War I Museum and Memorial]( said. “To achieve that point of hard won recognition took a monumental effort.” Remy Tumin 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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