Thursday: Prime Minister May promises to resign

India, China, Boeing View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, March 28, 2019 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA Good morning. India claims a new military advantage, Britain’s Parliament tries to pave a way forward on Brexit, and China wages a war on fun. Here’s the latest: [People watching a live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement that India had successfully shot down a satellite.]People watching a live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement that India had successfully shot down a satellite. Narinder Nanu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images India claims a space shot that shifts Asia’s power balance In a rare televised speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country had [successfully shot down a satellite in space]( in a ballistic missile test. If confirmed, the technological leap would put the country in an elite group of nations with such capacity, along with the U.S., Russia and China. “India stands tall as a space power!” Mr. Modi wrote on Twitter shortly after the announcement. The feat — which means India could blind another country by taking out its communication and surveillance satellites — would give India a significant military advantage in a region where China is the dominating force. Political calculations: Mr. Modi’s announcement came a little more than two weeks before a general election, prompting critics to question whether it was a stunt to bolster his chances of re-election. ______ [Prime Minister Theresa May during a tumultuous day in Parliament.]Prime Minister Theresa May during a tumultuous day in Parliament. Parliament Television Unit, via Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May sweetens her Brexit deal Hours before Parliament began voting on alternative Brexit options, Mrs. May [promised to step down if lawmakers approved her plan](. She told lawmakers from her party that she wouldn’t “stay for the next round of negotiations” but didn’t give a date for her resignation. The offer overshadowed an already momentous day, as lawmakers began voting on eight alternative plans. Some keep close ties to the European Union, some call for a second referendum and some for a no-deal Brexit. Timing: The European Union has given Britain until April 12, which is just over two weeks away, to agree on a strategy. If Mrs. May’s plan is approved — and momentum for reconsidering it had begun to build before her announcement — the European Union would push Brexit to May 22. ______ [Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash.]Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Congress grills the F.A.A. about Boeing Lawmakers pressed federal regulators about oversight of the aviation industry, including how the new Boeing 737 Max 8 jet, which has been involved in two deadly crashes, was certified. We’re bringing you [live updates here](. Wednesday kicked off with the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, being questioned about the relationship between the Federal Aviation Administration and the companies it regulates, including Boeing. Over two hours, she was pressed about the existence of optional safety features for the Max jet and why the F.A.A. hadn’t moved quickly to ground the jets after the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10. The F.A.A.’s acting administrator, Daniel Elwell, in his testimony defended the agency's certification procedures as "extensive" and "well-established." Software changes: Boeing appeared to acknowledge for the first time that its software played a role in two fatal crashes of its 737 Max 8, and said that a fix for the system was nearly ready. ______ [President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Italy last week.]President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Italy last week. Giuseppe Lami/EPA, via Shutterstock China’s painful history clouds trade talks Trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies have dragged on for more than a year, with one particular sticking point: an enforcement mechanism that would allow the U.S. to unilaterally impose tariffs if China reneges on its end of the deal. China’s resistance stems from [the country’s surrender after the first Opium War]( in the mid-1800s, and the one-sided trade treaties that sapped the country’s strength. “Every schoolchild in China and every educated Chinese person knows about the ‘century of humiliation,’” a historian said. Next: Today, top Trump administration officials will try to make headway toward a final deal in Beijing. Next week a delegation of officials from Beijing will head to Washington for additional negotiations. In other China news: The Communist Party [expelled the former chief of Interpol]( Meng Hongwei, accusing him of abusing his power to finance an extravagant lifestyle and committing “serious” violations of the law. New New World: Our columnist Li Yuan writes that China has started blurring out the earrings of some young male pop stars in television and internet appearances, and that it has banned soccer players from showing their tattoos, in a broad effort to [obscure anything that celebrates money worship, hedonism or individualism](. ______ Here’s what else is happening Facebook: The social media giant said that starting next week it would [ban white nationalist content on its platforms](. Users searching for that type of content will be redirected to a nonprofit that helps people leave hate groups. The new policy came weeks after a gunman in Christchurch who invoked white nationalist memes killed 50 people at two mosques and posted live video of the attack on Facebook. Nissan: An independent panel that was formed to address the failings of the Japanese carmaker’s corporate governance after the arrest of the company’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, recommended [an overhaul of the company’s board](. Algeria: After weeks of mass protests, the chief of staff of Algeria’s army called for the president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, incapacitated since a stroke in 2013, to be [declared unfit to rule](. The declaration would pave the way for an end to his 20 years in power. [The graves of the victims of a suicide bombing in a Hazara protest in 2016 in Afghanistan.]The graves of the victims of a suicide bombing in a Hazara protest in 2016 in Afghanistan. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Afghanistan: Members of the Hazara ethnic minority, most of whom are Shiite Muslims and are considered heretics by the Taliban, [fear they will once again be the target of a massacre]( if current peace talks bring the insurgents back into the country’s government. North Korea: An armed group [attacked the country’s embassy in Madrid last month and then ran off]( — a head-scratching incident about which few details have emerged. On Tuesday, the story got stranger when a Spanish judge revealed that the raid was led by a Mexican man who lives in the United States and offered material stolen from the embassy to the F.B.I. Mueller report: The special counsel’s decision to leave open the question of whether President Trump obstructed justice has eroded the unspoken rules limiting presidential powers that emerged after the Watergate scandal, [our chief White House correspondent writes](. The Philippines: [A former high-ranking police official has said]( he reported more than a year ago that two Chinese associates of President Rodrigo Duterte were involved in drug trafficking in the country, and that the president had taken no action against them despite his well-known crusade against illegal narcotics. The former official, who was fired over corruption allegations, has provided no compelling evidence to support the accusations, which Mr. Duterte denies. Baseball: [The American season is opening]( with a few players in startlingly large contracts and many more veterans making far less than players of their caliber once commanded. “Dog suicide bridge”: According to locals, anywhere from 300 to 600 pet dogs have suddenly jumped off a tiny bridge in Scotland, [inviting paranormal explanations](. ______ Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Michael Kraus for The New York Times Recipe of the day: There are many ways to adjust the seasonings of the Taiwanese [three-cup chicken]( dish to your taste. Women shared [tips on travel safety]( after reading a Times article about the dangers facing solo female travelers. “Precrastination” is like procrastination, just the other way around. Knowing that you’re likely to jump the gun is a first step. Next is blocking out time [for some unstructured thinking](. Back Story Batman turns[80 on Saturday](. He’s had countless adventures in comics, TV and film. In “[To Kill a Legend]( written by[Alan Brennert]( and drawn by [Dick Giordano]( for Detective Comics No. 500 (1980), the story is personal. The hero visits a parallel world and prevents the deaths of his parents, the cataclysmic event that makes Bruce Wayne become Batman. (Parallel earths were a favorite of your Back Story writer, since they imagined so many different paths for DC’s heroes.) [Panel from Detective Comics No. 500.]Panel from Detective Comics No. 500. DC Batman observes a bratty other-Bruce, but he is transfixed by Thomas and Martha Wayne: “Dear lord … it’s as if they’ve come alive again! As if I could … reach out and touch them.” Later, he neutralizes their would-be killer. The story’s epilogue is genius. The other-Bruce is changed. While our Batman was born of grief, guilt or vengeance, this one knows a tragedy was averted and is driven by awe, mystery and gratitude. George Gustines, a senior editor, has been writing about comics since 2002. ______ Corrections: A photograph in [Wednesday's Morning Briefing]( was published in error. The photograph was of linguine, not gnocchi. Wednesday's briefing also misstated an early name for the Boeing company. It was the Boeing Airplane, not Aircraft, Company. The briefing also misstated the year in which William Boeing started flying. It was around 1915, not around 1910. 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