Your Tuesday Briefing

Winnie Mandela, Tariffs, North Korea View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, April 3, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Dear readers, today’s briefing was delayed for (painful!) technical difficulties. Here’s what you need to know: Good morning. The world’s first law against “fake news,” an unexpected apology from Pyongyang and the rise and fall of Australia’s top cricketer. Here’s what you need to know: Tom Brenner/The New York Times • “Cooperation is the only correct choice.” That’s what China said it was pressing for when it hit back at [President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum]( with its own — as high as 25 percent in some cases — on 128 American products, including pork and seamless steel pipes. The retaliation was no surprise, but Beijing appeared to go beyond its initial threat to impose the tariffs in two stages. They all took effect on Monday, including the 25 percent charge on pork, an important moneymaker in states that voted for Mr. Trump. [Stocks in the U.S. fell sharply](. Above, Mr. Trump and Melania Trump on Monday at the 140th Annual White House Easter Egg Roll. _____ Kcna/Reuters • It is extremely rare for North Korea to offer such a public apology to the South, or, for that matter, to apologize for anything. But, in a measure of the North’s drive for détente, South Korean reporters in Pyongyang received a remarkably graceful mea culpa after they were [denied entry to a K-pop concert attended by Kim Jong-un]( the North’s leader. “We invited you and we are obliged to guarantee free coverage,” a senior North Korean official was quoted as saying. “I offer an apology and ask for your understanding for the wrong committed.” _____ • The world’s first ban on “fake news.” The lower house of Malaysia’s Parliament passed a bill that allows for [up to six years in prison for publishing or circulating misleading information]( and its Senate is expected to rapidly follow suit. Critics say the law is intended to stifle dissent before elections. In the U.S., dozens of local [TV anchors gave the same speech denouncing fake news]( recently. It turned out they were doing a “forced read” of a corporate script from the country’s largest broadcaster, Sinclair. _____ • British officials believe an [assassin smeared a Soviet-developed nerve agent]( on a door handle at the home of a former Russian double agent, suggesting a high-level plot hatched by the Kremlin. Since the nerve agent, Novichok, 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 carried out the attack. _____ Alexander Joe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • “Charming, intelligent, complex, fiery and eloquent.” Our esteemed former international correspondent wrote that in his obituary of [Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a leader in South Africa’s fight against apartheid]( known to most of the world through her marriage to Nelson Mandela. She died early Monday at the age of 81. “In time,” he wrote, “her reputation became scarred by accusations of extreme brutality toward suspected turncoats, misbehavior and indiscretion in her private life, and a radicalism that seemed at odds with Mr. Mandela’s quest for racial inclusiveness.” Business Joe White/Reuters • Shares of Tesla slid 5.1 percent, amid concerns about the [electric-car maker’s quarterly production numbers]( for its Model 3 sedan, which are expected in the next day or so. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, [joked about the company’s financial woes on Twitter]( on Sunday. The stock’s performance on Monday suggested investors were not amused. • Spotify, the Swedish music-streaming giant, [begins trading today with a valuation that could exceed $20 billion](. Instead of an initial public offering, it’s using the rare and potentially risky process known as a direct listing: No new stock is issued, and insiders can begin selling their stash on Day 1. • The Final Four of student debt: In the spirit of March Madness (which we explained in [last Friday’s Back Story]( we devised a tournament to compare the [systems in Australia, Britain, Sweden and the U.S.]( (Australia got the trophy.) • U.S. stocks [were down](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Associated Press • Afghan military helicopters bombed a religious ceremony in Kunduz Province, killing at least 70 people and wounding 30 others. Witnesses said that many children were among the victims. [[The New York Times]( • The rise and fall of Steve Smith, one of Australia’s most revered sportsmen. His role in a ball-tampering scheme has prompted national soul-searching. [[The New York Times]( • The Pacific nation of Nauru has cut its ties with Australia’s High Court, which had been the island’s final court of appeal since 1976. Critics said hundreds of asylum seekers held at an Australian offshore detention center on Nauru could now be left without the right to appeal. [[BBC]( • Fiji is reeling from Tropical Cyclone Josie, which has left at least four people dead and one missing amid severe flooding. [[The Weather Channel]( • Tiangong-1, a Chinese space station the size of a school bus, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, scattering its remaining pieces over the Pacific Ocean. [[The New York Times]( • In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the traditional baptism site of Jesus on the Jordan River is surrounded by minefields. An operation is underway to clear them. [[The New York Times]( • Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is bucking the global strongman trend: reining in the secret police, releasing political prisoners and allowing some freedom of expression. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Illustration by Paul Windle • Exercising while young may, possibly, [create more heart-muscle cells](. • Those two-minute walk breaks? [They add up](. • Recipe of the day: Don’t stress over dinner. Just make [fettuccine with asparagus](. Noteworthy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • The mystery of the mummy. A museum wasn’t sure whose head they had put on display. So the [F.B.I.’s forensic scientists were called in]( to crack the agency’s oldest case. • Tim Franco, a photographer who splits his time between South Korea and China, [explores the stories of North Korean defectors]( in a new portrait series. The title, “Unperson,” is a riff on a construct from George Orwell’s novel “1984.” • And after nearing extinction 20 years ago, [the Iberian lynx has made a comeback]( in southern Spain and Portugal, thanks to a vast E.U. recovery program (and about 50,000 rabbits). Back Story Vincent Yu/Associated Press Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has a vibrant mix of people, languages and cultures. Its flag takes a similar hybrid approach. The flag was approved by the Chinese national legislature 28 years ago this week. It was first raised on July 1, 1997, the day Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule after more than 150 years as a British colony and territory. The [flag was designed]( to reflect Hong Kong’s new relationship with the People’s Republic of China. It is the same shade of red as the Chinese national flag. In the center is a white flower from the Bauhinia blakeana, or Hong Kong orchid tree. (The real flower is a purplish pink and is not actually an orchid.) Stars on each of the five petals echo the five stars on the Chinese flag. The flag’s two colors are said to represent the “one country, two systems” principle under which China agreed to rule Hong Kong for the first 50 years. In recent years, Hong Kong protesters have [waved the British colonial flag]( to express their displeasure with the way Beijing governs. Since the handover in 1997, lawmakers and activists in Hong Kong have also been [prosecuted for desecrating]( the Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Jennifer Jett contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. You can also receive [an Evening Briefing]( on U.S. weeknights. And our Australia bureau chief offers [a weekly letter]( adding analysis and conversations with readers. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? 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