Thursday: Gory details in the Khashoggi case

India’s #MeToo, Marijuana, Vaccines in China View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, October 18, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( ADVERTISEMENT Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA Good morning. More evidence of a Saudi journalist’s killing, a prominent development for India’s #MeToo movement, a green rush in Canada. Here’s what you need to know: Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images • Gruesome details in the Khashoggi case. A senior Turkish official described [audio recordings]( of Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Brace yourself. According to the official’s account, killers were waiting for the journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. They severed his fingers during an interrogation. Then they beheaded and dismembered him. Turkey’s strategy: The new leaks came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was visiting Turkey and increase pressure on Saudi Arabia and the U.S. for answers. Above, Turkish police search the rooftop of the Saudi consulate. Saudi Arabia’s stance: Fifteen days after Mr. Khashoggi disappeared, it has failed to provide an explanation; instead, Saudi leaders have repeatedly denied involvement. The U.S. position: President Trump has [show]( Saudi Arabia so far, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s meetings there seemed friendly. In the U.S. however, bipartisan criticism of the Saudis has intensified. _____ Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • India’s #MeToo movement reaches the top. An Indian cabinet minister, M.J. Akbar, above, quit his post amid [growing sexual harassment allegations]( against him. Today a court will hear a defamation case that he and his 97 lawyers — yes, 97 — have brought against Priya Ramani, his first accuser. Since Ms. Ramani stepped forward, 20 more women have accused the minister of sexual harassment. Mr. Akbar is the most prominent figure to be felled by India’s #MeToo movement, which gathered pace last week after a year of fits and starts. So far, women have accused [a diverse group]( of journalists, authors and Bollywood actors, singers and directors. _____ Glenn Hunt/EPA, via Shutterstock • A conservative Australian state decriminalizes abortion. After decades of activism, the state of Queensland [scrapped a century-old law]( that made abortion an offense punishable with prison time. The new law will allow women to terminate pregnancies up to 22 weeks, or beyond with approval from doctors. New South Wales, which includes the city of Sydney, is now the only Australian state where abortion is still a crime. Queensland is deeply conservative, and an effort to change the abortion law failed just last year. But since then, a number of women have joined the Queensland Parliament. And for this vote, the leader of the opposition allowed lawmakers to vote their conscience rather than along party lines. _____ Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press • Canada lights up. Pot enthusiasts from Winnipeg to Montreal had “End of Prohibition” parties. Government-run dispensaries greeted a rush of customers. There was a “bud drop” at the stroke of midnight. It’s been one day since Canada [legalized recreational marijuana use]( only the second country in the world to do so, reflecting the country’s progressive politics. But critics worry about public health. And [cannabis stocks didn’t see a lift](. _____ Business Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • China imposed a $1.3 billion fine on a local pharmaceutical company responsible for hundreds of thousands of [faulty vaccines]( given mostly to babies, sending its strongest signal yet of a stricter legal environment for the scandal-prone industry. • A new front in the trade war: President Trump plans to pull out of a global [144-year-old postal treaty]( that lets China ship small packages to the U.S. at a discounted rate, undercutting American companies. • Uber and Lyft are both [racing toward I.P.O.s]( next year. Uber has been valued at as much as $120 billion, which would make its Wall Street debut potentially the biggest since 2014. • U.S. stocks [were down](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. India’s stock exchange is closed. In the News Tien Minh/ Vietnam News Agency, via Associated Press • A prominent Vietnamese political activist and blogger known as Mother Mushroom, above, who was arrested in 2016 and jailed for “propaganda against the state,” was released and sent to the U.S., human rights groups said. [[The New York Times]( • South Korea refused to grant refugee status to hundreds of Yemenis who fled the war in their home country and prompted an anti-asylum backlash. They will be allowed to stay in South Korea with limited rights on temporary visas. [[The New York Times]( • In Crimea, a student gunman killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more at his college. He then detonated an explosive device and was found dead. His friend said he had expressed interest in the 1999 Columbine school shooting. [[The New York Times]( • President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the opening of a bridge linking the semiautonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau with the Chinese city of Zhuhai later this month, but won’t cross over into Hong Kong. [[The South China Morning Post]( • Religious hate crimes in Britain rose by 40 percent in the last year, according to the government. The majority were aimed at Muslims. [[BBC]( • In memoriam: Ian Kiernan, the record-breaking sailor and environmental activist who founded Clean Up Australia. He was 78. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: [Spiced lamb chops]( are lean and cook in just 30 minutes. • Let’s talk about crying [at work](. • Traveling soon? Here are [five things you should leave behind](. Noteworthy Robert Fuhring • Caroll Spinney may not be a name you recognize. But you’ve probably seen his work. For nearly 50 years, Mr. Spinney, above, played the gentle Big Bird and grumpy Oscar the Grouch characters on [“Sesame Street.”]( Today, his half-century run comes to an end. • Pets in tuxedos and chiffon are becoming increasingly common at weddings, as couples look to [include their furry friends]( in the ceremony. • Melissa McCarthy has worked so hard throughout her career to make people laugh. Now as the lead in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” her new movie, she will [make people cry](. Back Story Gabriela Herman for The New York Times Fall foliage is peaking around New York, home to many of your Briefings writers and editors. The yearly marvel never ceases to amaze us, so we wanted to share [an explanation we first published a couple years ago.]( The leaves of deciduous trees [change colors]( as nights lengthen and cooler weather prevails, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The structures of photosynthesis have to be dismantled, and all the energy possible has to be packed up and delivered to the trunk for its winter reserve. That results in the exhilarating array of colors of the fall forests. The green of the leaf, from chlorophyll, breaks down, allowing the emergence of previously hidden yellow-orange pigments. All the changes render the leaf unstable and more vulnerable to solar rays than in the height of the summer. The auburn, scarlet and ruby hues are caused by a chemical the leaf manufactures to help protect it from the sun. The same compound colors beets, raspberries and apples. Halfway around the world, Japan’s leaf season is [also peaking](. Theirs, called momijigari, offers a fall parallel to spring’s cherry blossom festivals. _____ 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](. FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Asia Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018