Wednesday: The U.S. and China talk trade

Brexit, Google, Trump View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, December 12, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( ADVERTISEMENT Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA AND INYOUNG KANG (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s [the sign-up]( Good morning. Theresa May tours Europe, Google’s C.E.O. testifies and U.S.-China negotiators talk trade. Here’s the latest: Michael Sohn/Associated Press • Prime Minister Theresa May scrambles to save Brexit. After postponing a crucial vote in Parliament, Mrs. May set out on [a tour of European capitals]( seeking concessions to try to salvage her agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the E.U. Above, Mrs. May with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. But European leaders expressed resistance to further negotiations. “There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation,” said the president of the European Commission. Some saw a metaphor when Mrs. May was briefly [stuck in her car in Germany](. British officials said Parliament would get a chance to vote on the deal by Jan. 21. But opposition lawmakers had little faith in such assurances — and most people in the country have no idea what could happen next. → Go deeper: Nigel Farage, the chief architect of the Brexit effort, has retreated to the sidelines of the current mess. “There are some people who think this dog’s dinner of a deal is my fault,” [he told our reporter](. But that’s not how he sees it. _____ David Ryder/Reuters • A prospect of progress for U.S.-China trade. Officials in Beijing and Washington [planned to meet next year]( to finalize a trade pact ahead of the current truce’s March 1 deadline. President Trump claimed progress — “Very productive conversations going on with China,” he wrote on Twitter. And [global markets rallied]( on the prospect of easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. But complications remain. A ruling in a bail hearing is imminent for Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, who has been accused of evading U.S. sanctions against Iran and is being held in Canada. Above, the scene outside her hearing. Adding to tensions, [a former Canadian diplomat]( Michael Kovrig, has disappeared in China and may be under detention there, according to the nongovernmental organization where he now works. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times • President Trump threatens a government shutdown. The president, in an extraordinarily public altercation at the White House on Tuesday, [vowed to block full funding for the government]( if Democrats refused to finance his border wall. The testy back-and-forth with Democratic congressional leaders, pictured above, raised fresh concerns that the two sides might not reach an agreement on spending bills by a Dec. 21 deadline, just before Christmas. Mr. Trump wants [$5 billion]( for the border wall, but the administration has yet to spend much of the $1.3 billion Congress approved for border security last year. The meeting was the first test of the new power dynamics in Washington, as Democrats prepare to take control of the House next year. _____ Adam Dean for The New York Times • A hotline eases burdens in a war-traumatized Sri Lanka. In the capital city of Colombo, [a phone counseling line is thriving]( with the help of citizens brought together by a deeply rooted culture of volunteerism. People call about relationships, loneliness, financial stress. And they start calling early: “We have people who start their day with us — they get up in the morning, call us and then go to work,” the hotline’s manager said. The service’s 90 or so volunteers, some of them pictured above, are helping a country grappling with [vast mental health problems]( after a three-decade civil war that ended in 2009. At the end of the day, the volunteers travel long distances to return to their homes. One holds a business card with a verse from the Quran on the back: “Saving one life is like saving the whole of humanity.” _____ Business Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai, above, testified on Capitol Hill, fielding questions on the company’s market power, whether it deliberately suppressed conservative content and its project in China. [Follow our live updates here](. • Unrest in France is hindering President Emmanuel Macron’s push to revive the economy, [our chief European business correspondent writes]( and the Yellow Vest protests have cost businesses billions of euros while hurting the country’s image with investors. • Movies with female leads earned more than male-led films from 2014 to 2017, [a study found](. • Business travelers accustomed to speedy service have prompted [hotels to offer grab-and-go food]( short workouts and express beauty treatments. In the News Adnan Abidi/Reuters • In India, Narendra Modi’s party suffered its worst election defeat in recent years, leaving many wondering whether the prime minister, pictured above, was in danger in next year’s national vote. [[The New York Times]( • Jamal Khashoggi, two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, a journalist under attack in the Philippines and the staff of the Capital Gazette in Maryland were named Time magazine’s person of the year for 2018. [[The New York Times]( • Five U.S. Marines have been declared dead, nearly a week after they went missing when two aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan. [[The New York Times]( • A Bahraini soccer star and political refugee who spoke out against his government is one step closer to being extradited to his home country from Thailand, where he is being held. [[The New York Times]( • Three church bells from the Philippines taken as war booty by American troops more than a century ago were returned on Tuesday, ending a contentious flash point between the two military allies. [[The New York Times]( • The Green Zone, a heavily fortified Baghdad neighborhood that was sealed off for 15 years and came to symbolize the American occupation, opened to the public on Monday. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Con Poulos for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Celebrate midweek with [an intense cookie recipe]( featuring molasses, chocolate and fresh ginger. • 15 gift ideas for the woman who’s [cooler than you are](. • Pro tip: [Save for college]( Noteworthy Reliance Industries, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The wedding of Isha Ambani, the daughter of India’s richest man, [has it all]( a glittering performance by Beyoncé, family drama — and a bill of at least $15 million, rivaling the extravagance of royal nuptials. Above, the bride, left, with a high-profile wedding guest: former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. • In Chandigarh, the shared capital city for the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, our 52 Places traveler found a rock garden teeming with giggling students and sculptures made with found materials. Both the city and the garden are products of the country’s painful partition, [she writes](. • A Slovenian rock group became the first Western band to perform in North Korea back in 2015. [Here’s what it was like]( to put on a show inside the insular, communist country. Back Story Reuters A heated session of British Parliament turned to chaos on Monday night when a member of the House of Commons [grabbed a five-foot, silver-gilt mace]( as seen above, and tried to leave the chamber. The mace represents the crown’s authority, and Parliament can’t sit or pass laws without it. Traditionally, the person in charge of guarding the mace — and restoring order in rare mace-snatchings — is the [sergeant-at-arms](. The sergeant’s role, which [dates back to 1415]( is to escort the speaker of the House before each sitting, [carrying the mace]( during the procession, and to maintain order during the sitting. You can’t miss the sergeant — the [traditional uniform]( sports a frilly lace collar and cuffs, silk stockings and black patent shoes. The [sword]( also comes in handy. After Monday’s breach of protocol, the troublemaking lawmaker [said]( “They stopped me before I got out of the chamber and I wasn’t going to struggle with someone wearing a huge sword on their hip.” Alisha Haridasani Gupta 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. 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