Your Tuesday Briefing

France, North Korea, Afghanistan View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, April 25, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By PENN BULLOCK Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Kim In-Chul/Yonhap, via Associated Press • North Korea celebrates the 85th anniversary of the founding of its army today, amid signs that its sixth nuclear test could be imminent — and fears that a confrontation with the U.S. could spiral into a military conflict. [In a phone call with President Trump]( President Xi Jinping of China appealed for restraint. In a separate call with Mr. Trump, the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, endorsed the U.S. position that all options were “on the table.” Above, an American U-2 spy plane landing in South Korea. _____ Pool photo by Lionel Bonaventure • “This is deadly serious now.” That’s how one of the losing candidates described [France's presidential race]( after the far-right leader Marine Le Pen advanced to a runoff set for May 7 against the centrist Emmanuel Macron, above. Ms. Le Pen has tried to distance her National Front party from its racist, anti-Semitic roots, but the major parties, rebuked by the vote, are uniting against her, [our correspondent in Paris writes](. We look at [the European mainstream’s relief]( the [exuberant reaction in global markets and the euro's surge](. _____ Joshua Lott for The New York Times • The political forecast calls for a frenetic week in Washington. The White House, eager to project progress ahead of President Trump’s 100th day in office on Saturday, has [packed his schedule](. He said he would reveal [a proposal for a “massive” tax cut]( on Wednesday. And lawmakers must [fund the government by Friday]( or let it go into shutdown. [Former President Barack Obama held his first public event]( since leaving office, mentioning President Trump just once. [[Watch video highlights]( _____ Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times • President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is stepping into an international spotlight as host of [a meeting of Asean]( which begins Wednesday. In a stroke of awkward timing, a Filipino lawyer has asked the International Criminal Court to [charge Mr. Duterte with crimes against humanity]( as the “mastermind” behind thousands of killings, starting in 1988 when he was first elected mayor of Davao City and continuing with his countrywide war on drugs. Above, two victims of an antidrug operation in October. _____ • Our Australia bureau chief had some fun with the story of the [12-year-old boy who drove 800 miles]( in an S.U.V. — aiming for the other side of the country — before getting pulled over, safe and sound. “Let’s step back for a minute and consider the scale of this endeavor,” he writes. Check back for answers to lingering questions, including how he managed to pay for gas, and what compelled him to hit the road. Business  • Start-ups and big aerospace firms are working to address that frequent complaint of sci-fi fans: [Where’s my flying car already]( • The Malaysian government [agreed to make $1.2 billion in bond payments]( to an Abu Dhabi fund, part of an effort to clean up an embezzlement scandal swirling around Prime Minister Najib Razak. • The head of Lafarge SA, one of France’s largest industrial companies, is stepping down after an investigation found the [cement maker’s staff paid off armed groups in Syria]( for safe passage. • U.S. stocks [were up](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Pool photo by Jonathan Ernst • A security shake-up: Afghanistan’s minister of defense and the army chief of staff stepped down after a devastating Taliban attack on a base last week, just before the U.S. secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, above center, arrived in Kabul. [[The New York Times]( • Australia’s assistant minister for immigration defended plans for sweeping changes to the visa system and a tougher citizenship test. [[ABC]( • U.S. embassies posted an article touting President Trump’s private club Mar-a-Lago. [[The New York Times]( • Many Indians now see the U.S. as inhospitable because of recent attacks on people of Indian descent and the Trump administration’s reassessment of its policy on some work visas. [[The New York Times]( • A restaurant owner explained to Hong Kong’s High Court that he [threw entrails at the media mogul Jimmy Lai]( on his reflexes as a former soldier, meaning to defend the city from an instigator of pro-democracy protests. [[South China Morning Post]( • Maoist rebels who have been battling the Indian government since the 1960s attacked a police patrol in the east, killing at least 24 officers. [[BBC News]( Smarter Living J. David Ake/Associated Press • Exercising before breakfast might [prevent weight gain](. Just don’t gorge afterward. • Sell-by dates can be seen as mostly a suggestion for food’s peak freshness. For the most part, [trust your gut](. • Recipe of the day: For simplicity, you can’t beat [black bean and poblano tacos](. Noteworthy [Omar Havana/Getty Images. Technology by Samsung.]Omar Havana/Getty Images. Technology by Samsung. • At least 1.7 million people died when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. In [today’s 360 video]( tour a prison-turned-museum that explains the history of the Cambodian genocide. Caitlin Fares for The New York Times • A cactus bloom in the California desert may be [the most]( in decades](. Our science writer considers examples that range in size from grapes to five-story townhouses and can produce garlands of flowers — and warns of illegal cactus rustling, a big business in the southwest U.S. • Orson Welles, the legendary director who died in 1985, left [a revelatory trove of]( scripts]( including an adaptation of the famously difficult “Ulysses,” as well as teenage letters, postcards, diaries and even doodles that are now headed to an archive at the University of Michigan. Back Story Petersen Automotive Museum Modern vanity plates have nothing on the simplicity of the original license plate. Today in 1901, New York became the first state in the U.S. to require [registration of automobiles]( and with it the display of the owner’s initials. (Some countries in Europe introduced registration plates in the 1890s.) As [the number of automobiles grew]( at the turn of the 20th century, states needed an accountability system. Drivers painted their initials on wood, metal or leather, but with too many overlapping names and initials, the modern license plate was born. Massachusetts became the first state to issue plates, in 1903. License plates have chiefly been [produced by inmates]( in a number of states. New Jersey inmates make more than a [million aluminum plates]( annually. Designs have occasionally been controversial. In 1928, fishermen in Massachusetts [blamed their low catch]( on the Registry of Motor Vehicles after the image of a codfish was added to the state’s license plates. The image was deemed too small, and the fish was swimming away from the “MASS” lettering on the plate. It was changed to a more substantial codfish, swimming toward MASS, a year later. Its effect on the fortunes of fishermen is unknown. Remy Tumin contributed reporting. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. We also have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. 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