Your Thursday Briefing

International Pushback, India Crimes, Thai Boys | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, July 19, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Tom Brenner for The New York Times • Pushback. America’s traditional allies, joined by some of its rivals, are accelerating their efforts to [buttress a global system]( that President Trump has seemed prepared to tear down. The E.U., China, Japan and others are making new partnerships, trade deals and joint statements, efforts that seem intended to preserve the rules-based order the United States created after World War II and championed ever since. In the U.S., President Trump added to days of confusion, appearing to [shift away from his acceptance of U.S. intelligence warnings on Russia]( only to be gainsayed by his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The uproar has been [a test case for Mr. Trump’s supporters](. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump continues to move on issues that captivate his base, taking [monumental steps to shrink the U.S. asylum system]( and discourage people from applying. _____ [Maria Butina, leader of a pro-gun organization in Russia, speaks to a crowd during a rally in support of legalizing the possession of handguns in Moscow in 2013.]Associated Press • Evidence of Russian interference now encompasses [the case of Maria Butina]( who the U.S. has accused of spying for Moscow. U.S. prosecutors portrayed her as living a double life, and using sex to further Moscow’s interest. Court filings also said that Ms. Butina, 29, relied on an unidentified Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin for money. [Watch a video about her here.]( _____ P. Ravikumar/Reuters • In India, shocking crimes, real and imagined. The country is recoiling after accounts emerged this week that [an 11-year-old girl]( Chennai had been raped repeatedly](. The suspects were all employees of her gated community, greeting residents, operating the elevator or delivering water. “An entire community got together to rape a child,” an Indian journalist wrote in horror. Above, anger as the suspects were transported. India is also rife with false rumors about child kidnappers. The rumors have been going viral on Facebook’s popular messaging service WhatsApp, prompting fearful mobs to kill two dozen innocent people since April. The Times went to a village where a [65-year-old woman was killed]( after being mistaken for a “child lifter.” Below, her son-in-law, who was badly injured as well. Priyadarshini Ravichandran for The New York Times _____ • Taliban restraint. [Taliban insurgents are refraining from attacking Afghan civilians]( for the first time in many years, according to Afghan officials and the insurgents themselves. The Taliban did not explain their change in tactics, which came after their cease-fire expired, and also after six months seen as the deadliest yet for civilians. However, the Islamic State has continued to carry out suicide bombings against nonmilitary targets. _____ Linh Pham/Getty Images • “It was a miracle.” The [12 Thai soccer teammates and their coach]( newly released from the hospital, appeared at a news conference, dribbling soccer balls to cheers from the assembled crowd and telling the harrowing tale of the long wait for help. The boys displayed gratitude to rescuers, regret for worrying their parents and solemn regard for the Thai diver who died working to save them. The coach’s tribute: “He sacrificed his life to protect and save us, the 13 Wild Boars, so we could go back outside and be happy, live a normal life.” Business Doug Chayka • Who should control the key technologies that will rule tomorrow? [Our tech columnist argues]( that the U.S. could outline and fund an alternative vision for the global technology industry — rather than abdicate to China. • The E.U. fined Google $5.1 billion. The internet giant was hit with the record penalty for [abusing its power in the smartphone market](. It’s Europe’s latest move to rein in tech companies. • How does facial recognition work? Our Lens blog looks at several photographers doing innovative work to [surface the mechanisms and human assumptions]( built into the increasingly deployed software systems. • When women earn more than their husbands, [neither partner likes to admit it]( according to new research from the Census Bureau. • U.S. stocks [were mixed](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News • Iran sued the U.S. at the International Court of Justice, pursuing a new strategy to nullify the nuclear sanctions reimposed by President Trump. The U.S. vowed to fight the “baseless” suit, which relies on a U.S.-Iran treaty signed well before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. [[The New York Times]( • Champagne and roses. A flight from Ethiopia to Eritrea carried politicians, artists, journalists and potential investors celebrating the peace deal that, nine days ago, ended their 20-year conflict. [[The New York Times]( • Premier Li Keqiang of China called for cheaper and more accessible cancer drugs after a popular new film, “Dying to Survive,” stirred national debate. [[BBC]( • American officials, after meetings with North Korean officials, said they expected the transfer of the remains of some American servicemen in the coming weeks, 65 years after the end of the Korean War. [[The New York Times]( • Scientists in Australia are claiming major progress toward a blood test to detect melanoma, the country’s fourth most common cancer, in its early stages. [[The Guardian]( • Matt Groening, the creator of the “Simpsons,” shared his feelings about the character Apu, who some see as an Indian stereotype. He said the criticism caught him off-guard, but at this point, the debate was “tainted.” [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Kerri MacDonald/The New York Times • How our 52 Places traveler keeps her gadgets charged, [anywhere she goes](. • The difference between cologne, perfume and [other fragrances](. • Recipe of the day: Grilling burgers is classic, but [smashing them]( in a hot cast-iron skillet is magical. Noteworthy NASA/JPL-Caltech • 79 moons and counting. The latest survey of the region around Jupiter turned up [a dozen new moons]( including an oddball going in the wrong direction. • The unsafe spaces of Young Jean Lee. The [first female Asian-American playwright on Broadway]( takes aim at identity and watches the audience squirm. • And Kilroy was here: Our At War blog looks at [the graffiti of war]( the drawings, scratchings and markings left by American soldiers that are small acts of rebellion on the battlefield, where there is little room for dissent. Back Story  On this day in 1848, [the first women’s rights convention in the U.S.]( was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The event was organized by [Lucretia Mott]( and [Elizabeth Cady Stanton]( pictured above right with Susan B. Anthony, after they were barred from the convention floor at an anti-slavery convention in 1840. The Seneca Falls convention was attended by about 200 women and 40 men. On the first day of the convention Stanton read the [“Declaration of Sentiments,”]( a treatise modeled after the U.S. Declaration of Independence that enumerated the grievances of women. On the second day, Stanton’s declaration was adopted, and men were invited to attend, among them abolitionist [Frederick Douglass](. During the ratification process of a number of resolutions, he sided with Stanton in support of women’s enfranchisement. Also in attendance was [Amelia Bloomer]( who went on to found the first women’s-interest newspaper, [The Lily](. Bloomer was also the namesake of the pantaloon style she popularized as part of her dress reform efforts. Although the convention was widely ridiculed at the time, Stanton’s declaration gave birth to the [women’s suffrage movement](. Women won the national [right to vote]( in the U.S. in 1920, 27 years after [New Zealand became the first country to grant women’s suffrage.]( Emma McAleavy wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, European or American morning. You can also receive [an Evening Briefing]( on U.S. weeknights. 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