Your Tuesday Briefing

> ISIS leader resurfaces. [The New York Times]( [nytimes.com]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, April 30, 2019 | [View in browser]( Supported by Good morning, We start today with a growing list of ignored warnings in Sri Lanka, Japan’s imperial shift and the bitter reality behind the hazelnuts in Nutella. By Alisha Haridasani Gupta Residents at a prayer house near St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, Sri Lanka, over a week after the Easter Sunday blasts. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Unheeded warnings pile up in Sri Lanka A newly revealed memo [from the country’s national intelligence chief]( dated 12 days before the Easter Sunday bombings, [warned the police chief of an imminent suicide terrorist attack](. Several Sri Lankan officials said it would have gone against standard practice for the national intelligence chief to share such classified information with the police without first sharing it with the president, casting doubt on President Maithripala Sirisena’s claims that he did not know the attack was coming. Fallout: Anti-Muslim sentiment has been rising across Sri Lanka after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. On Monday, Mr. Sirisena banned “all forms of clothing that cover a person’s face and prevents them from being identified,” an order seen as directed at niqabs and burqas. Another angle: On social media, Sri Lankans focused their anger and rage at a doctor with Tamil heritage living in London, who had [simply given a brief interview to the BBC](. Go deeper: Until the Easter bombings, Sri Lanka’s youngest generation had been expected to be spared the horrors of war that older generations know all too well. But [the attacks killed as many as 50 children]( and dozens more were badly injured and traumatized. A video released by the Islamic State is said to show the group’s reclusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. SITE Intelligence Group ISIS releases video of reclusive leader The Islamic State released an 18-minute video of [the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi](. It is the first time he has shown his face since 2014, when he gave a sermon in Mosul, Iraq, at the peak of the terrorist group’s power. In the video, Mr. al-Baghdadi praised the bombers who killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka and said the battle with the West was far from over, despite the loss of the group’s so-called caliphate. On the ground: Snatching back the final piece of territory from the Islamic State in Syria was hailed as a milestone victory. But our reporter found that [the territory remains in shambles]( overwhelmed by rubble, still under attack from ISIS and the focus of domestic and international power struggles. ‘996,’ once China’s hustle philosophy, takes its toll China’s technology industry once embraced [working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week](. Exhausted and discouraged by a weakened job market, workers are now turning on that cultural flagpole. Some are naming and shaming employers that demand late nights. Others are withholding their creations. Impact: Unusually for China, where independent labor unions are banned, the movement is gaining traction. An open letter, sent on Monday to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and signed by 74 lawyers from around the country, urged the government to properly enforce labor laws. Even Chinese state media has called on employers to ease back. Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo last week. Pool photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon Japan’s Emperor Akihito abdicates the throne Today, Akihito will become [the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than 200 years]( making way for his son, Naruhito, to take the imperial throne. And for the first time in the modern era, a woman will be present at the sacred ceremony marking the beginning of the ascension of a new emperor. But it will be Satsuki Katayama, the sole woman in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, not the new empress, Naruhito’s wife of 26 years. Under the Imperial Household Law, women in the royal family are not permitted to be in the room when the new emperor receives the sacred regalia. They are also not allowed to reign on the throne, which puts Japan out of step with other monarchies around the world. Bigger picture: The ancient custom highlights the diminished status of women not just in the imperial family but also in Japanese society. Mr. Abe’s government, which has tried to promote gender equality (to mixed success), promised to open discussions about women in the imperial family, but change is likely to come slowly. If you have 20 minutes, this is worth it Behind sweet treats, a bitter truth Hazelnuts drying in the sun in northern Turkey. Omer Urer/Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images Turkey grows about 70 percent of [the world’s supply of hazelnuts]( much of which winds up in the world-famous Nutella spread or in Nestlé and Godiva candies. But hazelnut farmers say they’re underpaid for grueling, hazardous work. And because a growing number of farmers are Syrian refugees, they lack legal protections. PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. [Learn More]( Here’s what else is happening Pakistan: Officials had hoped to declare victory against polio this year, but attacks on health workers and mistrust of vaccinations [make that goal unlikely](. Spotify: The music streaming platform announced that it had [100 million paying users]( and that revenue in the last quarter climbed to about $1.7 billion. But the company has hit a few roadblocks in India — one of the most coveted new markets for the company and its rival, Apple. Spain: The Socialist Party [strengthened its hold on the country’s government]( in the third national election since 2015, while an anti-immigration, ultranationalist party, Vox, won its first seats in Parliament. Perspective: Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was shot at in a synagogue in California where a gunman opened fire on Saturday, wrote about [his experience for our Opinion section](. “All I can do is try to find meaning in what has happened,” he writes. Anna Maria Antoinette D’Addario for The New York Times Snapshot: Above, surfers paddling out at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The gathering was part of a series of [protests against oil and gas drilling in the Great Australian Bight]( home to some of the world’s most unusual marine life. Measles: The outbreak in the U.S. is getting worse, federal health officials said, with [704 cases reported this year](. The virus has been found in 22 states. Apology from Times Opinion: The editors said they were “deeply sorry” for publishing [an anti-Semitic cartoon last week in the Opinion pages]( of the international edition, saying they expected to make significant changes to a process that left “a single editor, working without adequate oversight,” to choose among syndicated editorial cartoons. What we’re reading: [This essay from Polygon.]( “Like many of us, Shawn Kittelsen was fed up with the effect on his health from long hours spent sitting,” says Jennifer Jett, our Hong Kong-based digital editor. “He got results with virtual-reality exercise games like archery, boxing, rock-climbing and, his favorite, light sabers.” ADVERTISEMENT Now, a break from the news Linda Xiao for The New York Times Cook: For big flavor in record time, [herby pork larb with chile]( is just the dinner. Go: From Bushwick to Harlem, [our art critics take stock of the best shows in New York](. Listen: For some time, Bruce Springsteen has been mentioning an album that harks back to 1970s Southern California. “[Hello Sunshine]( is [the first sample of that album](. Read: Our television editor [recapped “Game of Thrones,”]( Episode 3, Season 8. We’ll say no more. Smarter Living: If you have a running injury, take a cue from the writer of our Running newsletter, who suffered a stress fracture. Revise your training and performance goals to allow yourself the time to heal, and make avoiding re-injury a priority. And remember that [some workout is better than no workout]( so reward yourself for riding the stationary bike or otherwise keeping fit. And we have guidance on how to [declutter and speed up your smartphone](. And now for the Back Story on … A colorful British pastime [The World Snooker Championship]( is underway in Sheffield, England. A variation of billiards, snooker is a mass-audience sport in Britain, thanks in part to a quirk of television history. In 1969, the country’s first color channel, BBC2, seized on the game, with its green table and colored balls, as [a supremely effective way]( to get hours of programming from its [few color cameras](. The final of the Embassy World Snooker Championships in 2000. Tom Shaw /Allsport, via Getty Images And gripping programs they were, too, full of soft[speaking announcers]( and[occasionally hard-drinking players](. Plus, tracking the balls made you want a color TV set. (“For those of you watching in black and white,” ran one famous line of commentary, “the pink is next to the green.”) Regular broadcasts grew in popularity [even]( when color TV became routine. Britain’s record TV audience after midnight remains the 18.5 million who stayed up to see the 1985 world championship [come down to a single ball](. Snooker has never been quite as exciting since, but this year’s final is on May 6. In the United States, it will be [broadcast via an online subscription service]( in several other countries, you can [watch on Facebook](. That’s it for this briefing. Student loan debt has become a hot-button issue in the U.S., and we’d like to understand how paying for university varies around the world. Tell us your story [here](. — Alisha Thank you Chris Stanford helped compile this briefing. Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen provided the break from the news. Peter Robins, an editor in our London newsroom, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing+pm@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback&te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_MBAE_p_20190429§ion=endNote;section=endNote). P.S. • We’re listening to “[The Daily]( Our latest episode is about the census case before the U.S. Supreme Court. • Here’s our [mini crossword puzzle]( and a clue: Butterfingers (5 letters). [You can find all our puzzles here](. • [Wirecutter]( is a New York Times company that reviews appliances, tech, and gear for the home based on research and hands-on testing. Were you sent this briefing by a friend? [Sign up here]( to get the Morning Briefing. [Today's Front Page]( [nytimes.com]( [Subscribe to The Times]( You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing newsletter. Want to change the time you receive your briefing? Click the time zone more relevant to you: [New York]( [London]( [Sydney]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018 ADVERTISEMENT