Your Tuesday Briefing

China, Russia, Israel | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, July 4, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By STEPHEN HILTNER Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Sergei Chirikov/European Pressphoto Agency • President Xi Jinping of China is in Moscow for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, their third this year. Up for discussion during the two-day visit: trade deals, their mutual unhappiness about a U.S. missile shield in South Korea — and possibly [President Trump’s series of acts angering China]( followed by his fresh appeal for help countering the “growing threat” posed by North Korea. _____ Goran Tomasevic/Reuters • American-backed forces have [nearly sealed the capital of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate](. Syrian Kurds and Arabs fighting as the Syrian Democratic Forces are trying to trap as many as 2,500 Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria. An American-led coalition supporting the S.D.F. has blown up bridges over the Euphrates and is even shooting boats. “If you want to get out of Raqqa right now,” the American commander said, “you’ve got to build a poncho raft.” _____ Kyodo, via Reuters • A “very severe judgment”: That’s what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called [voters’ resounding rejection of his party]( the Liberal Democrats, in Tokyo elections. All but one of the 50 municipal seats went to the upstart Tomin First Party, founded by Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike. She is widely believed to have ambitions to become Japan’s first female prime minister, possibly as Mr. Abe’s successor. _____ Abir Sultan/European Pressphoto Agency • Narendra Modi visits Israel, a first for an Indian prime minister. Three days of talks are expected to focus on defense deals and cyber security. But the visit is shadowed by fury among Israeli and diaspora Jews over moves by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that [follow the agenda of his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners](. His suspension of a plan for the sexes to pray together at the Western Wall and protection of the Orthodox monopoly over religious conversions reawakened a searing debate over identity and belonging. _____ Justin Chin/Bloomberg • Accounts of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley — and the tech industry around the world — [are mushrooming]( as women take strength from [stories]( in The Times]( and elsewhere. Repercussions include the resignation of a prominent investor, [Dave McClure of 500 Startups]( who admitted to having been “a creep.” The company [apologized]( LaunchVic]( its new Australian partner, for not revealing that Mr. McClure was under investigation. And [Australian tech leaders]( condemned predatory investor behavior and urged the industry to take “a long hard look” at itself. _____ • Our latest edition of [The Breakdown]( news and notes from Australia, asks who will pay for the trial of Cardinal George Pell, and examines the cracks in the gig economy. Check back at 3 p.m. Sydney [for a new edition](. Business Jean chung for The New York Times • Economists offered an unexpected explanation for why younger American men are working fewer hours than their counterparts did in 2000: [video games](. • Tesla’s first mass-market car, the Model 3, [goes into production]( on Friday, two weeks earlier than planned. • A pioneering engineer turned entrepreneur turned executive has founded a [community-based club in Silicon Valley]( one that aims to shape new ideas through conversation and shared experience. • U.S. markets are closed for the July 4 holiday. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times • In Central America, President Trump’s hard-line approach to immigration is stemming the flow of migrants bound for the U.S. [[The New York Times]( • A team of volunteers in the Philippines known as the Suicide Squad is enacting daring civilian rescues throughout the embattled city of Marawi. [[Reuters]( • Summer highway construction in Germany set the stage for a tour bus’s collision with a trailer truck that killed at least 18 people. [[The New York Times]( • In Thailand, newly implemented fines for hiring undocumented foreigners have caused tens of thousands of workers from countries like Cambodia and Myanmar to flee. [[ABC]( • “Have you misplaced a lazy $1.6 million in cash?” The Australian Federal Police took to Facebook to locate the owner of a briefcase stuffed with money. [[The Sydney Morning Herald]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times • Find out [what the internet knows about you]( and how to stop the surveillance, in our weekly newsletter. • Recipe of the day: If you’re looking for a meatless meal, [a soba salad]( is a great choice. Noteworthy Andrew Mills/NJ Advance Media, via Associated Press • An American governor, Chris Christie of New Jersey, was widely ridiculed after an aerial photographer captured him [sunning himself with his family]( on a beach closed to the public by a government shutdown. • Developing countries like Bangladesh are serving as an [“ideal testing ground” for hackers]( engaged in the newest, most creative and potentially most dangerous types of cyberattacks. • Think you’re too old to enjoy Walt Disney World? Millions of foreign tourists head there every year. Here’s our [guide to enjoying its theme parks as a grown-up](. Back Story Fiat, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Sixty years ago today, the Italian carmaker Fiat introduced its Nuova 500, a model now seen as a symbol of elegant Italian craftsmanship and the renewal of hope after World War II. The Fiat 500 had been around since 1936 in another design, nicknamed Topolino (Italian for Mickey Mouse). Then came the long years of war. But by 1957, Italy was in the middle of a rapid boom some even called a miracle. Italians started to have discretionary income, and many aspired to a new middle-class lifestyle, complete with personal car. [This 1960 video]( captures the excitement the new 500 inspired. In The Corriere della Sera, a leading newspaper, a reviewer recalled “looking at it with suspicion” but being won over by the ease with which the tiny car climbed an Alpine pass. (The New York Times later [described]( it as “midget Italian car with a sewing-machine-sized-air-cooled engine.”) The Corriere reviewer praised Fiat’s engineer, Dante Giacosa, for creating a “jewel” and predicted that it would not be long before Italian streets were filled with them. Indeed, over 3.6 million such cars had been sold by 1975, when [the model was discontinued](. Thousands remain in use. Patrick Boehler contributed reporting. _____ We have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). 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