Your Thursday Briefing

France, Boracay, North Korea | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, April 26, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. A Philippine island closes down for cleanup, “le bromance” is tested and Apu of “The Simpsons” may lose his voice. Here’s what you need to know: Doug Mills/The New York Times • The leaders of North and South Korea will meet tomorrow in an almost inconceivable moment of face-to-face diplomacy after 70 years of bitter rivalry. There will be a lot on the table when Kim Jong-un, the North’s supreme leader, meets President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjom, the so-called truce village, including issues that have bedeviled the Korean Peninsula for much of the 20th century. [Our veteran correspondent explains](. Amid hurried preparations, [Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan has been working]( overtime to make sure his country is not forgotten by its allies. (Tokyo even demanded that the South rethink a mango mousse it plans to serve that features a map with islands claimed by Japan.) Former President Jimmy Carter, one of the few Americans to have gone to North Korea, [also weighed in.]( _____ Eric Thayer for The New York Times • France and the U.S. will “make this planet great again.” That’s what the French president, Emmanuel Macron, told Congress, even as he argued that the U.S. should remain a part of both the [Iran nuclear deal and the Paris]( accord.]( Mr. Macron’s criticism of his host’s policies contrasted sharply with [“le bromance” with President Trump]( which continued at the Trumps’ first state dinner. (The body language of the two leaders — holding hands, kissing cheeks — was much discussed, but so was [Melania Trump’s white hat and Chanel dress]( Separately, Mr. Trump’s travel ban may survive. After arguments at the Supreme Court, it was hard to [identify enough justices ready to strike it down](. _____ Lukas Coch/EPA, via Shutterstock • “I think Harry will be disappointed.” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed disappointment that Adm. Harry Harris, above, would be posted as the [U.S. ambassador to South Korea instead of Australia.]( Mr. Turnbull said he had known about the cancellation for “some time.” (He said he would not respond to suggestions by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that the switch made [Australia look like a “second-class ally.”]( Admiral Harris is the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific. He oversees about 375,000 military and civilian personnel. _____ Aaron Favila/Associated Press • In the Philippines, a cleanup or an invasion? Tourists will be barred from the [central Philippine island of Boracay for six months]( starting today, as President Rodrigo Duterte vows to clean up what he calls an environmental “cesspool.” Mr. Duterte ordered Boracay to be closed this month, saying that the water “smells” and that it poses a danger to people’s health. But residents fear that the island will be militarized and that its tourism industry, which brought in more than $1 billion last year, may never recover. _____ Clara Vannucci for The New York Times • Bangladesh struggles to move on from the Rana Plaza disaster. This week was the [fifth anniversary of the deadliest garment industry]( accident in modern history: More than 1,100 people were killed in a horrific building collapse and more than 2,500 were injured. At the time, hundreds of factories were shuttered, and today the land where Rana Plaza once stood is overgrown with weeds. But as the garment industry returns to business as usual, critics say that the jailing of labor leaders and the expiration of safeguards show that little has been learned. Business Giulia Marchi for The New York Times • Chinese tech companies are [hiring female “motivators” to help overworked male coders]( relieve stress through conversation, activities — and massages. • Takeda, a Japanese drugmaker, reached a tentative [agreement to buy Ireland-based Shire for $64 billion]( in one of the biggest pharma deals to date. • Kobe Steel’s shares fell sharply as the Japanese authorities investigate the company’s [data falsification scandal](. • Foreign auto executives [at China’s annual auto show this week]( said Beijing’s plan to open its car market will change little, and is unlikely to avert a trade war with Washington. • U.S. stocks [were mixed](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Zik Maulana/Associated Press • In Indonesia, a fire erupted at an illegal oil well in Aceh Province, killing at least 18 people and injuring about 40 others. [[The New York Times]( • Hank Azaria, the voice of Apu on “The Simpsons,” offered to step aside after criticism that the character, a thickly accented store owner, is a racist stereotype. [[The New York Times]( • The Indian city of Jodhpur is on alert for protests after Asaram Bapu, 77, a self-styled guru, was sentenced to life in prison for raping a 16-year-old girl. [[The New York Times]( • A suspect was arrested in the case of the Golden State Killer, the serial murderer and rapist who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s. [[The New York Times]( • The governor of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea is under investigation after it was revealed that the City Council was paying $900,000 a year for a community yoga program run by a woman he is close to. [[ABC]( • The Shanghai police arrested eight ringleaders of a Ponzi scheme that took in more than $9.5 billion. [[South China Morning Post]( • Some 100,000 people have bet on the name of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s youngest son, born this week. James, Albert and Philip are in the mix, but the “wisdom of crowds” says it’s Arthur. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • These apps will help you plan a [last-minute trip](. • Here are some tips to protect your [browsing privacy](. • Recipe of the day: These mint-chocolatey [Grasshopper brownies]( cry out for a scoop of ice cream. Noteworthy [From “Dying to Breathe,” 2011-14. Mi Shixiu cradles He Quangui’s head as he struggles to breathe.]Sim Chi Yin • Sim Chi Yin, a freelance photographer in Beijing, won the seventh annual [Getty Images and Chris Hondros Fund Award](. Above, an image from “Dying to Breathe,” Ms. Sim’s series on China’s “black lung” epidemic. • Infinitesimal odds: Soo-Kyung Lee, a biologist in Oregon, [was stunned to discover]( that her daughter’s disabilities were linked to a mutation of the very gene she has studied for years. • And the new season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” has arrived on Hulu. As the series moves past Margaret Atwood’s novel, it feels, as it should, like the end of the world, [our chief TV critic writes](. Back Story Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times “It’s a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor.” That’s what Andy Warhol said was the key to success for Studio 54, the famously wild New York City nightclub that opened its doors on April 26, 1977. Donald and Ivana Trump were among the first guests — but they arrived early in the night. It would be hours before it turned into [a hedonistic dance party of epic proportions](. “All of us knew that night that we weren’t at the opening of a discothèque but the opening of something historical,” said Robin Leach, who went on to host “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” His comments were included [in the book “The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night,”]( by Anthony Haden-Guest. The owners of Studio 54, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, came to be known as the “first pashas of disco.” Above, Mr. Rubell, Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger and Mr. Warhol at the first anniversary party. But just two years after opening, the owners were charged with tax evasion for skimming from club receipts. After serving time in prison, they went on to open hotels and clubs. Mr. Rubell [died in 1989]( and Mr. Schrager was [pardoned by President Barack Obama]( just before he left office. Karen Zraick wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. 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