Your Monday Briefing

Pope Francis, Uzbekistan, Denmark View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, April 2, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Monday Briefing]( By DAN LEVIN Good morning. Signs of an assassin in Britain, a thaw in Uzbekistan and a rebel queen in Denmark. Here’s the latest: Tom Brenner/The New York Times • President Trump blamed Democrats and the [Mexican government for a “dangerous” flow of unauthorized immigrants]( and threatened to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement. His comments, most delivered via Twitter, came on a holiday weekend at his Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago. Among those accompanying him was Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser who has shaped much of the administration’s hard-line stance on immigration. Separately, our reporters examine how Mr. Trump’s rise to power [has affected the wealthy, scandal-racked family]( of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and presidential adviser. (Hint: It hasn’t been good.) _____ Dan Kitwood/Getty Images • British officials believe an assassin [smeared a Soviet-developed nerve agent on the door handle]( of Sergei Skripal’s home, above, suggesting a high-level plot hatched by the Kremlin. Since the poison, Novichek, is so potent and dangerous, the British authorities suspect that only a highly trained professional — on orders from the highest levels of the Russian government — could have administered it to the former Russian double agent and his daughter. That theory is raising questions about the role of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in the attack, which has raised tensions between Russia and the West to their highest point since the Cold War. _____ Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times • Bucking a global trend toward authoritarianism, Uzbekistan’s new leader is reining in the secret police, releasing political prisoners and allowing some freedom of expression. It’s still too dangerous to utter the name of the country’s vicious security service in public, but human rights activists say repression has eased, if only slightly. The changes [reflect a struggle]( between the new president and the brutal police state he is trying to tame. (Above, a memorial complex near Bukhara, Uzbekistan, in February.) _____ Nick Furbo • A “rebel queen.” In Denmark, where most public statues represent white men, two artists unveiled [the country’s first public monument to a black woman](. The sculpture, above, is a tribute to Mary Thomas, who led a fiery 1878 revolt against Danish colonial rule in the Caribbean. _____ Vatican Media, via Associated Press • Pope Francis celebrated [Easter Mass with a plea for peace](. He cited a need to end the “carnage” in “the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria” and urged “reconciliation” in the Middle East. The pope also baptized eight people into the Roman Catholic faith, including a Nigerian migrant who has been called a hero in Italy for foiling a robbery in Rome. Meanwhile, the Vatican [will hold an exorcism training course]( for priests, as demands for the ridding of demonic possession have soared around the world, including in Britain, where the practice has reportedly become a “booming industry.” Business Amazon, via YouTube • Technology companies apply for a dizzying number of patents every year, many of which are never used. But [recent filings by Amazon and Google do offer a peek]( at how the companies could seek to mine data from smart speakers and other household devices. (Above, Amazon’s Alexa Super Bowl ad.) • The Chinese government [retaliated against President Trump’s tariffs]( on steel and aluminum by slapping tariffs as high as 25 percent on imports of 128 American-made products, including pork and seamless steel pipes. • Facebook’s latest uproar: a 2016 memo from a top executive [defending]( at any cost]( — even if a lethal terrorist attack were organized on the platform. As Facebook lurches from crisis to crisis, only a few tech industry leaders have [spoken out against their struggling rival](. (Silicon Valley hates bad karma.) • People are trying to boycott the big tech companies amid a backlash. The problem is that Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google[are nearly inescapable](. • In Britain, thousands of companies with at least 250 employees must publish figures by Wednesday showing their [gender pay gap]( for the fiscal year ending in 2017. Here are [other headlines to watch]( for this week. • Many markets are closed for the Easter holiday. Here’s a snapshot of other [global markets](. In the News Jared Soares for The New York Times • In the U.S. push for gun control, both advocates and opponents think the other side will eventually give up. “It’ll go away,” said a 77-year-old man, above, who owns about 75 guns. “Like all the other times.” [[The New York Times]( • North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was in the audience when South Korean K-pop singers performed in the North for the first time in more than a decade. [[The New York Times]( • A Bulgarian government commission alleges that Julia Kristeva, one of France’s most respected philosophers, was also a Communist-era secret agent. Ms. Kristeva dismissed the accusation as “fake news” and a “barefaced lie.” [[The New York Times]( • Israel and the Palestinians are waging a public relations battle over the shooting deaths of 15 Palestinians by Israeli troops during violent protests at the Gaza border. [[The New York Times]( • A Kuwaiti court sentenced a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife to death by hanging in the case of a 29-year-old maid from the Philippines, whose body was found in a freezer in Kuwait this year. Both defendants are in custody in other countries. [[Deutsche Welle]( • April Fools? An alligator in the swimming pool, a Trump hotel room jail cell, and other news stories that sound like hoaxes — but aren’t. [[BBC]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Alex Eben Meyer • Working out is great for you. [Here’s how to start](. • For a versatile home-cooked option, stock your pantry with [dried legumes](. • Recipe of the day: Start the week with [vegetarian tortilla soup]( flavored with chipotles in adobo. Noteworthy Mark Peterson/Redux, for The New York Times • The U.S. defense secretary, Jim Mattis, above, was dismissed as a warmonger during the Obama presidency. But as global tensions rise under President Trump, he may [be the only reliable voice of caution left]( in an administration inching closer to the brink. • In memoriam: Johan van Hulst, 107, a Dutch educator who helped [save 600 Jewish children]( from the Nazis. Despite his efforts, he was haunted by those he couldn’t save. “You know for a fact that the children you leave behind are going to die. I took 12 with me. Later on, I asked myself, ‘Why not 13?’” • Can Europe lead on privacy? In an opinion piece, a former U.S. official [hails new E.U. rules that let consumers control their private information online]( and says they can actually help Americans, too — especially since President Trump signed a law prohibiting such safeguards. Back Story Library of Congress The annual [White House Easter Egg Roll]( is scheduled to take place today on the South Lawn of the White House. The tradition dates from 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president, though some accounts suggest that informal egg-rolling parties began under Lincoln. Above, the Egg Roll in 1929. The first lady, Melania Trump, will host guests who won a public lottery held in February. In the signature event, children guide the eggs across the lawn with a wooden spoon. There will be live music and other activities, including a reading nook staffed by White House figures like Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary. New this year: bowling. “The elaborate and labor-intensive Egg Roll is among the most daunting social events a presidential staff has to plan,” [The Times noted last year](. Guests receive souvenir wooden eggs as they leave, a tradition that began when Nancy Reagan was first lady. This year, the commemorative eggs were made from birch [by a company in Maine]( and they’re also [available for sale online](. The White House says that more than 21,000 guests attended last year. That was down from about 37,000 in recent years. They expect 30,000 people today. Karen Zraick contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and [here’s our full range of free newsletters](. What would you like to see here? 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