Tuesday: A coming showdown in Venezuela

Labour Party, Huawei, a dialect quiz View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, February 19, 2019 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By PENN BULLOCK Good morning. Venezuela’s opposition plans a dramatic next move, Chinese and Iranian hackers step up anti-U.S. efforts and Facebook is excoriated in a British report. Here’s the latest: [Colombian security forces standing guard in front of a blockade of shipping containers placed by Venezuelan security forces at the border.]Colombian security forces standing guard in front of a blockade of shipping containers placed by Venezuelan security forces at the border. Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Venezuela’s crisis is headed for a climax The Trump administration and the Venezuelan opposition have a plan to weaken President Nicolás Maduro: getting desperately needed food and medicine into the country. On Saturday, the two forces are set to unleash [an ambitious, coordinated land-and-sea effort]( to move supplies through Colombia, Brazil and Curaçao and into the hands of thousands of Venezuelans. At a rally in Florida, President Trump contentiously framed the struggle as against socialism broadly. “In Venezuela, and across the Western Hemisphere, socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn,” he said. “We seek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open.” Ahead: The opposition has not said how it will break past Mr. Maduro’s blockade, saying that releasing plans would allow him to stymie the effort. Some activists have suggested simply smuggling the aid in. Others say protesters from Venezuela could overrun soldiers. Risk: Mr. Maduro has sent troops to the border, and tensions over the aid are high. One analyst warned of the possibility of “a hair-trigger moment.” And embracing Mr. Trump could make the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, look like a U.S. puppet. ______ [Last year, the Department of Justice charged nine Iranian citizens with hacking hundreds of companies and academic institutions in the U.S.]Last year, the Department of Justice charged nine Iranian citizens with hacking hundreds of companies and academic institutions in the U.S. Zach Gibson/Bloomberg Chinese and Iranian hackers target U.S. companies Dozens of American corporations and government agencies have been [hit by attacks that have been attributed to Iran]( according to analysts at the National Security Agency and the private security firm FireEye. Those cyberattacks coincide with a renewed effort by China to steal trade and military secrets from U.S. military contractors and technology companies that include Boeing, General Electric and T-Mobile, according to nine intelligence officials, private security researchers and lawyers familiar with the attacks. Context: Cyberespionage from both Iran and China had cooled under former President Barack Obama, who reached landmark agreements with both in 2015. The attacks spiked again after President Trump opened a trade war with Beijing and reneged on the Iran nuclear deal last year. ______ [Yellow Vest protesters in Paris on Sunday.]Yellow Vest protesters in Paris on Sunday. Thibault Camus/Associated Press Anti-Semitism among Yellow Vests prompts French soul-searching France is having a crisis of conscience about its perennial and growing problem of anti-Semitism after Alain Finkielkraut, one of the country’s leading essayists and critics from the right, was mobbed by Yellow Vest protesters near his Paris home over the weekend and [assailed with anti-Semitic insults](. The son of an Auschwitz survivor, he was told to “Go home to Israel!” Mr. Finkielkraut renounced his support for the Yellow Vest movement last week, attracting the ire of its members. Fueled by economic and class resentments, the protesters have previously given off whiffs of anti-Semitism, with coded conspiracy theories about Jewish influence circulating at the edges of the movement. The police are investigating the invective against Mr. Finkielkraut, who has been accused of prejudice himself over his views on immigration. By the numbers: Episodes of anti-Semitism in France [jumped 74 percent last year]( to 541, up from 311 in 2017, according to government data. (There has also been an [uptick in New York]( In Britain: Seven lawmakers [resigned from the Labour Party]( to become independents, one of them accusing Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, of tolerating anti-Semitism in the party, and others denouncing him for refusing to call for a new referendum on Brexit. ______ [Survivors of clerical sex abuse outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.]Survivors of clerical sex abuse outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press Vatican prepares for sex abuse meeting amid widening scandals Decades after the crisis of clerical sexual abuse of minors first exploded into public view, victims of sexual abuse have arrived in Rome for [a landmark meeting]( Pope Francis is holding with representatives of the world’s bishops’ conferences. The victims will speak of their experiences during evening prayers. Context: The meeting comes as more instances of sexual abuse emerge, including [the long-overshadowed abuse of nuns]( by priests. A Times investigation found that the crisis even goes beyond abuse to [the suppression and shaming of homosexual priests](. And the Vatican revealed to The Times that it has general guidelines for what to do [when clerics break celibacy vows and father children](. Some of those children will be at the meeting. Over the weekend: Pope Francis [expelled a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington from the priesthood]( after the church found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians. The former cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, was the first Catholic leader at that level to be defrocked for sexual abuse. In the Southern Baptist church: The largest evangelical denomination in the U.S. [announced initial recommendations]( for addressing revelations of rife sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches across the country. ______ Here’s what else is happening Facebook: After an 18-month investigation, a British parliamentary committee [issued a scathing report]( accusing the social media company of breaking data privacy and competition laws. Trump vs. Europe: At a security conference in Munich last week, the rift between Europe and the Trump administration became open, angry and concrete, diplomats and analysts say. Leaders and officials from across the continent, particularly Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, [laced into the Trump administration’s foreign policy]( and warned that U.S. isolationism would embolden Russia and China. Brexit: Wall Street’s biggest banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are [shifting their operations from London to European capitals]( reshaping the financial industry across the continent. And Honda said it would [close its plant in Swindon]( which employs 3,500 workers, by 2021. [Saleh Raken, who is around 10 years old, was playing with friends when a land mine blew off his leg.]Saleh Raken, who is around 10 years old, was playing with friends when a land mine blew off his leg. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times Yemen: Houthi fighters have left [a million unmarked land mines across much of the country]( stalling the onslaught of Saudi-backed forces but also killing and maiming civilians. U.S.: A coalition of 16 states, including California and New York, [challenged President Trump in court]( over his plan to use emergency powers to spend billions of dollars on his border wall. Poland: After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Thursday that “the Poles cooperated with the Nazis” in the Holocaust, [Poland’s president withdrew]( on Monday from a trip to Israel that was planned with the leaders of three other East European countries. Kashmir: Militants in the disputed region [killed an Indian Army major and at least three other soldiers]( just days after carrying out a bombing that left more than 40 Indian paramilitary officers dead. The attacks have unleashed jingoism across India and raised the specter of conflict with Pakistan. Transportation: Virgin Hyperloop One, a company based in Los Angeles and partly backed by Sir Richard Branson, is testing a mass transit system that would [put passengers in pods speeding through vacuum tubes at more than 600 miles per hour](. While such visions are a distant dream, hyperloop companies have attracted key talent and enthusiastic municipalities. Technology: The founder of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, breaking from the company’s previous silence about U.S. criminal charges against the company and his daughter, a top executive, [called the case against her politically motivated](. Is the game called “tag,” “tig,” “tick” or “it”? Dive into our [British-Irish dialect quiz](. ______ Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. David Malosh for The New York Times. Recipe of the day: Leave the measuring spoons aside for a simple roast [fish with ginger, scallions and soy](. (Our [Five Weeknight Dishes]( newsletter has more recipe recommendations.) Jogging for 15 minutes a day, or walking or gardening for somewhat longer periods, could help [fend off depression.]( We get it, we’re all busy. But real, meaningful relationships thrive when they’re face-to-face. It’s as simple as [making time for them](. Back Story Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is one of the most popular operas ever written. It would have been pretty amazing to be at its premiere, which was given this week in 1904, right? Undoubtedly — because it was one of the great fiascos in opera history. The premiere, at the storied Teatro alla Scala in Milan, was often drowned out by what one critic described as “groans, roars, moos, laughs, bellows, sneers.”[The New York Times reported]( that the opera had been “received rather coldly.” [“Madama Butterfly” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2017.]“Madama Butterfly” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2017. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Puccini compared the experience to a lynching. Some believed rivals had organized claques to embarrass him. Others cited the opera’s difficult subject matter: An unsympathetic American naval lieutenant impregnates and abandons a Japanese teenager, later driving her to suicide. After several revisions — including a new remorseful aria to soften the lieutenant — “Butterfly” became a hit. (The challenge in staging it these days has more to do with avoiding Orientalism and cultural appropriation.) And in 2016, La Scala[staged the rarely seen original version]( in a symbolic act of contrition. Michael Cooper, a Times reporter who covers classical music and dance, wrote today’s Back Story. ______ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and [here’s our full range of free newsletters](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [europebriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:europebriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Europe)). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. FOLLOW NYT [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Prefer a different send time? 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