Your Wednesday Briefing

Alex Jones, California, Karunanidhi | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 8, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By INYOUNG KANG Good morning. Internet limits, California’s largest wildfire and India’s first Ikea. Here’s what you need to know: Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times • Who controls the internet? In China, the government maintains strict censorship. So [a generation of teenagers]( has grown up within limits they seem not to question. Above, Wen Shengjian, 14, likes basketball and wants to become a rapper, but he said the social criticism voiced by American rappers wouldn’t be good for China. The controls have allowed Beijing to build an alternative value system that competes with Western democracy, our Asia tech columnist writes. And the model of a censored internet is being exported to other countries, including Vietnam, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In the U.S., freedom has been the rule. But repeated peddling of false information finally prompted top technology companies to block one far right-wing figure: [Alex Jones, the face and voice of the Infowars media site](. He and his followers are claiming an assault on free speech — [an assertion free-speech scholars dismiss](. _____ Tatan Syuflana/Associated Press • The death toll from the [Indonesia earthquake]( has reached 105, and hopes of finding any more survivors are dimming. But stories are emerging from the villages and towns of North Lombok, above, a poor farming region that is closest to the quake’s epicenter, where thousands are now homeless. Narto Aryadi was praying when his mosque began to shake. It took him 12 hours to dig his way to safety, reciting every passage of the Quran he could remember. “This is done by God,” he said. “He can do anything. The earth and the sky belongs to him.” _____ Alexander Gerst/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Two fires burning in Northern California merged, becoming [the state’s largest blaze]( in a century of record-keeping. It’s forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate, but so far, no deaths have been reported. [President Trump has blamed California’s environmental policies]( for its wave of fires. There are now 17 (some visible from space), being fought by 14,000 firefighters. California is also clashing with the administration over auto emissions, [issuing a scathing report]( that laid out its plan to battle federal efforts to weaken efficiency and pollution standards. But the White House also had to keep an eye on the trial of Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, as [the prosecution’s star witness detailed a complex scheme]( of tax evasion, hidden accounts and secret companies in Cyprus. _____ Simplycycling.org • It ended badly. A young American couple quit their jobs and set off on a biking journey around the world. “There’s magic out there, in this great big beautiful world,” the man explained. They started off in South Africa. A year in, they had reached Central Asia. Then, in southwestern Tajikistan, a carload of men who are believed to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State spotted them. Their vow: [to kill “disbelievers.”]( _____ Emma Howells/The New York Times • “This guy goes to Korea to cut hair.’” The bond between [major league]( and their barbers]( is so strong that flying in their go-to guy for a trim is a pregame ritual, whether for vanity or superstition. Henry Garcia has made six hair-cutting trips to South Korea and one to Japan. “Caribbean hair doesn’t get cut well there,” said the barber, who cut the hair of a few South Korean players, too. “Their hair is different.” _____ Business Atul Loke for The New York Times • Will Ikea’s cheap, do-it-yourself model work in India’s complex market? The country’s [first store is opening in Hyderabad]( and it is likely to become a case study for other international retailers. • 1MDB twist: A U.S. branch of the investigation into the disappearance of about $4 billion from the giant Malaysian government investment fund appears to be focused on [Goldman Sachs](. • Trade-war analyses: Two of our writers look at different aspects of President Trump’s tariffs. One touches on the Opium Wars to note the [sense of history repeating itself](. And the other explains why Mr. Trump’s plan to [pay down the U.S. national debt with tariffs]( won’t work. • Trading of Tesla shares was halted after a tweet from Elon Musk’s account about taking the company private sent the [stock price soaring](. • U.S. stocks [were up](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • North Korea released a South Korean it had detained last month, a rare gesture that may add pressure on the South to return 14 citizens — including 12 waitresses — the North says are being held against their will. [[The New York Times]( • In memoriam: Muthuvel Karunanidhi, 94, a veteran politician in India and a flag-bearer of Tamil nationalism. [[Quartz India]( • A U.S. airstrike killed at least a dozen Afghan security forces near Kabul during intense fighting with the Taliban. [[The New York Times]( • A Syrian rocket scientist was killed by a car bomb that appeared to have been planted by Israel’s spy agency. [[The New York Times]( • “Black dollars matter.” Protests erupted in New York after a brawl between black customers and Asian-American nail salon workers. [[The New York Times]( • In Hong Kong, a former top official heightened his clash with a journalists’ group over its plans to host a talk by the head of a pro-independence political party. [[The New York Times]( • A Saudi youth organization apologized after it posted an image on Twitter of a plane heading toward the CN Tower in Toronto in a way that was reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks. [[CBC]( • “My turban really saved me.” A Sikh man was putting up political signs in support of Republicans when he was ambushed, told to return to his country and struck on the head. [[The New York Times]( • China has banned the release of Disney’s new Winnie-the-Pooh movie, “Christopher Robin.” It’s unclear why, but it may have something to do with an internet meme comparing the bear to President Xi Jinping. [[BBC]]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Celeste Sloman for The New York Times • Allow us to introduce Ask, a new way for Times subscribers to relay questions to our journalists and family of experts. (And everybody, including nonsubscribers, can benefit from the answers.) For the next month, we’re focusing of fitness. Our first expert is Jessamyn Stanley, a yoga teacher, body positivity advocate and author of “Every Body Yoga.” Got a question about the right kind of class, a pose for a certain ache or gear advice? [Ask here.]( • Recipe of the day: Ambitious weeknight cooks will love making [buttermilk fried chicken]( on a Wednesday. Noteworthy Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times • “I want to draw them so they are not forgotten.” [This Syrian artist]( was jailed for her activism, but that didn’t stop her from persuading guards to give her pencils and paper so she could sketch the faces of her fellow inmates. • In memoriam: [Joël Robuchon]( 73, an inventive French chef whose restaurants collectively earned a record number of Michelin stars. He embodied the old-world mentality before setting the stage for a new era in dining, [our restaurant critic writes](. • Constance Wu stars in what may be this summer’s guilty pleasure: the film adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians.” She shared [her beauty picks]( with us. Back Story Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times New York’s Restaurant Week, a promotional event offering dining deals across the city, is underway, so today we’re exploring the history of restaurants. Dining venues have existed since antiquity. [Greeks and Romans ate at thermopolia]( where customers could grab drinks and food from divots in L-shaped counters. During the 13th century in China, eateries featured regional specialties and [Ã]( carte menus]( and [some consider them]( be the predecessor]( of today’s restaurants. Globally, taverns and inns served food, but they focused primarily on alcohol or lodging. The word “restaurant” comes from 18th-century Paris, derived from the French verb restaurer, meaning to restore. According to the encyclopedia [Larousse Gastronomique]( a man named Boulanger [opened an establishment]( near the Louvre in 1765 that served bouillons restaurants, or restorative broths. After the French Revolution, many chefs for well-to-do families lost their jobs and began emulating Boulanger’s business. Although his story is widely cited, the origin of the modern restaurant is not so clear. Rebecca Spang, a historian who has written about restaurants, [said in an interview in 2000]( that “there are simply no direct sources to demonstrate that someone called Boulanger existed and that he opened a restaurant.” Instead, she suggests the distinction should go to Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau, who opened a bouillon establishment in 1766 and [called himself “the first restaurateur.”]( Matthew Sedacca wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Australian, European or American morning. [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. 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