Your Friday Briefing

North Korea, Narendra Modi, Bill Cosby | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, April 27, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Friday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Historic talks in Korea, a Modi-Xi meeting in China and a guilty verdict for Bill Cosby. Here’s what you need to know: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images • Kim Jong-un today will become the first North Korean leader to cross the border into South Korea, starting a historic summit meeting with President Moon Jae-in that will demonstrate to the world his willingness to trade away his nuclear weapons. The talks, which will be the third summit meeting between the Koreas, could produce a peace agreement to formally end the Korean War of the 1950s. But they’re mostly seen by experts as a prelude to a meeting between [Mr. Kim and President Trump](. (A potential wrench: The parents of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died after being jailed by North Korea, [filed a suit again]( From dessert to décor, we looked at the symbolism of the [meeting]( of Panmunjom]( the "truce village" where it’s taking place. And here’s a [short history]( of the inter-Korean talks and a [visual guide to the Korean War](. _____ Fred Dufour/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • In another meeting of global importance, [Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will be in China]( to meet with President Xi Jinping. Officially, Mr. Modi, who requested the meeting, wants to “reset” relations after a period of strain between the nations, often described as “frenemies.” Unofficially, he will be seeking assurances from Mr. Xi that will help strengthen him domestically. Above, the leaders in 2017. Mr. Modi is up for re-election next year, and though his political party is still India’s most formidable, missteps in recent weeks, including a delayed response to two highly publicized rapes, have brought an avalanche of criticism. _____ Matt Slocum/Associated Press • Bill Cosby was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a young woman at his home 14 years ago, [capping the shocking downfall]( one of the world’s best-known entertainers. The jury found the actor and comedian guilty of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The quick verdict, in contrast to the hung jury last year, suggests the [momentum from the #MeToo movement]( has had an effect. In recent years, Mr. Cosby, 80, had admitted to decades of philandering, smashing the image he created as the upstanding paterfamilias in the sitcom “The Cosby Show.” _____ Erin Schaff for The New York Times • Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany [arrives at the White House today]( but don’t expect a sequel to the buddy movie between President Trump and Emmanuel Macron, the French president. The lack of chemistry between Ms. Merkel, a scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, and Mr. Trump is not new. What is new is the apparent indifference in the White House to the German chancellor, at a time when Ms. Merkel’s global position has weakened. Also in Washington, Mr. Trump said that the investigation of his lawyer, Michael Cohen, [had nothing to do with him](. And the Senate confirmed the hawkish C.I.A. director, [Mike Pompeo,]( secretary of state](. _____ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters • An assassination in Malaysia is shrouded in international intrigue. Kuala Lumpur may seem like an odd place for a battle between Israel and Hamas, but it has long served as a way station for extremists, including some of the Sept. 11 hijackers. A Palestinian engineer, Fadi al-Batsh, is the latest Hamas figure to be [targeted abroad by Israel’s Mossad]( spy agency, officials say, as another conspiracy plays out in Malaysia. (In February 2017, the half brother of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was killed at a Kuala Lumpur airport.) Above, a coffin containing Mr. Batsh’s body in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Business Illustration by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg photographs by Getty Images • Is that really you? Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to clean up Facebook, but the company has [failed to stop even Zuckerberg impersonators]( who swindle people. • Walmart is close to acquiring a majority stake in Flipkart, India’s top online retailer, [a bold move in its escalating war with Amazon](. Insiders said that the deal would value Flipkart at about $20 billion. • Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, [offered to buy London’s iconic Wembley Stadium]( — perhaps the clearest signal yet that the N.F.L. wants a franchise in Britain. • A Japanese robotics engineer built a [12-foot, Transformers-style, humanoid robot]( that can morph into a sports car. • U.S. stocks [were up]( across the board. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Yasser Al-Zayyat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The Philippine ambassador to Kuwait was expelled after his staff members attempted a rescue of Filipino domestic workers there. The effort, which critics called a stunt, was recorded and posted online, embarrassing Kuwait. [[The New York Times]( • Mohamed Noor, the U.S. police officer charged with the murder of Justine Damond, an Australian life coach, appears set to claim self-defense. [[AAP via The Age]( • In India, 13 children died when a school bus driver listening to music on earphones drove onto tracks and was hit by a train. [[The New York Times]( • A U.S. military attaché has been barred from leaving Pakistan after his sport utility vehicle hit a motorcycle and killed a rider. [[The New York Times]( • “If I die, please tell my family.” A doctor on a rescue boat describes the harrowing ordeal refugees go through trying to cross the Mediterranean. [[The New York Times]( • A Chinese entomologist discovered what he insists is the world’s biggest mosquito, with a 2-inch-long body and a 4.3-inch wingspan. [[South China Morning Post]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • Help someone living with cancer through [imaginative care](. • Recipe of the day: Even if you don’t feel like [roasting a chicken this weekend]( the salsa verde goes with everything. Noteworthy Change For Balance Productions/Abramorama • “Love & Bananas”: The actress Ashley Bell, above, best known for her work in horror movies, has produced an emotionally [charged film about the threats to elephants in Thailand](. • In memoriam. [Soon-Tek Oh,]( 85, a veteran actor who worked to broaden the range of dramatic roles available to Asian-Americans, first through East West Players and later through other theater troupes that he founded or guided. • The vertical migration of brine shrimp was once dismissed as [“synchronized swimming for sea monkeys.”]( New research suggests that the tiny crustaceans’ enormous daily commute plays a vital role in the planet’s health. Back Story Getty Images, via Hudson Archive Mary Wollstonecraft — an English philosopher, author and feminist — was born into a financially unstable household with a violent alcoholic father at its helm in London on this day in 1759. Wollstonecraft rejected the notion that women [were incapable of reason]( and promoted women’s education. And she opposed marriage, which she considered to be a form of slavery. In the end she did marry — to [William Godwin]( who is now seen as one of the first modern proponents of anarchism — when she was pregnant with her second child. (Wollstonecraft had a daughter from an affair with an American.) Wollstonecraft died at 38, less than two weeks after giving birth to [a second daughter, Mary]( who would grow up to write “Frankenstein.” Among the works for which Wollstonecraft is known are two (angry) public letters: “A Vindication of the Rights of Men” (this was [published anonymously in 1790]( and “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” published in 1792. Her goal for women: “I do not wish them to have power over men, but over themselves.” Claire Moses wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. 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