Your Wednesday Briefing

North Korea, Iran, Sierra Leone | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 16, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press • President Moon Jae-in of [South Korea issued a blunt rebuke to the United States]( the latest sign that President Trump’s “fire-and-fury” approach to North Korea was putting new strain on the longstanding alliance. “No one should be allowed to decide on a military action on the Korean Peninsula without South Korean agreement,” Mr. Moon said in a nationally televised speech. [Pyongyang appeared to walk back its threat]( to launch ballistic missiles toward Guam, saying it would wait to assess “the foolish and stupid conduct” of the United States. Here are the key [questions about the North’s threat]( to Guam, where our correspondent found that many residents seem to be [taking things in stride](. _____ [Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's chief strategist, still embodies the defiant populism at the core of the president's agenda.]Al Drago/The New York Times • President Trump angrily defended himself against a torrent of bipartisan criticism for waiting several days [before naming]( and white supremacist groups]( and placing blame on “many sides” for the weekend’s deadly racial unrest in Virginia. Of the many [theories about the president’s reluctance]( to criticize far-right activists is that Stephen Bannon, above center, cautioned him against antagonizing the small but energetic part of his base. Mr. Bannon’s place at the White House, though, [is now in limbo](. More corporate leaders, including [executives from Walmart]( Intel and Under Armour, came forward [to condemn Mr.](. Here are [the C.E.O.’s on the president’s councils](. And three days after a driver rammed into a crowd in Virginia, Mr. Trump shared on Twitter a cartoon of a [train running over a person adorned with a CNN logo](. He deleted his retweet minutes later, and the White house said it had been posted inadvertently. _____ Abedin Taherkenareh/European Pressphoto Agency • Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, had strong words for the United States and warned that the country’s [nuclear program could be restarted]( in a matter of “hours,” if the American government imposes further sanctions on Tehran. Mr. Rouhani said that a reconstituted nuclear program would be “far more advanced,” a veiled threat that the country could start enriching uranium up to the level of 20 percent, a step toward building a nuclear weapon. _____ Jane Hahn for The New York Times • The West African nation of [Sierra Leone is grappling with the aftermath]( of flooding and mudslides that killed hundreds of people in Freetown, the capital. Red Cross said that 600 people were still missing and many residents were digging in the mud in search of family members. _____ Dan Himbrechts/European Pressphoto Agency • Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, above, accused New Zealand’s opposition party of trying to[“undermine the Australian government”]( after revelations emerged that Australia’s deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, was a New Zealander by descent. The Australian Constitution does not allow people with dual citizenship to be legislators. _____ [A SolarWorld Americas factory in Hillsboro, Ore. The company, a producer of crystalline-silicon solar panels, is asking the government to impose steep tariffs on imports of similar products.]Thomas Patterson for The New York Times • In a case that could be [a turning point for America’s solar industry]( two troubled manufacturers, including SolarWorld, above, say cheap Chinese products have undercut their own, but industry groups are urging a trade panel to reject sanctions. The decision may go all the way to President Trump. Business HBO • HBO should be riding high with [the success of “Game of Thrones,”]( but criticism over a coming series and a hack of its computer system have turned a triumphant summer into an exhausting one. • “No Moo Poo in Maha’ulepu.” That’s the slogan of those in Hawaii who oppose plans by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, to build a [dairy farm on the island of Kauai](. • Shares in Alibaba Group have surged 76 percent this year, and shares in Tencent Holdings are up 71 percent. Both [Chinese companies]( results]( this week. • U.S. stocks [were mixed](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Lam Chun Tung/The Initium, via Reuters • The police in Hong Kong said that Howard Lam, a pro-democracy activist, falsified his account of being abducted and beaten by men he said were mainland Chinese security officers. [[The New York Times]( • India and Pakistan became independent nations on Aug. 15, 1947. Here’s how some of the world’s major newspapers reported the event on that day. [[The Indian Express]( • In Yemen, more than 2,000 people have died and another 500,000 are infected with cholera since the outbreak began in April. [[The New York Times]( • China and South Korea called on Japan to face up to its wartime past after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to a war shrine on the anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. [[Reuters]( • President Trump’s threat to use the U.S. military against the government of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has united Latin American leaders against Washington. [[The New York Times]( • The charred remains of Grenfell Tower have become a potent symbol of inequality in London, our correspondent writes. [[The New York Times]( • In Myanmar, a coalition of 20 political parties called on the government to declare that there is “no Rohingya ethnicity” in the country. The Rohingya are widely labeled “Bengali,” implying they are immigrants from Bangladesh. [[T]( Irrawaddy]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Craig Lee for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Put your pressure cooker to work with this excellent [black bean soup recipe](. • How much should you [invest in stocks]( • Maybe don’t buy [that iodized salt](. Noteworthy An Rong Xu for The New York Times • Hong Kong’s cinematic style was the focus this [photo essay by A]( Rong Xu]( who cited Christopher Doyle, the Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer, and ’90s gangster movies as inspirations. • Our Cairo bureau chief delves into the strange twists, betrayals and secrets in [the case of]( Regeni]( an Italian graduate student who was tortured and murdered in Egypt. • In memoriam: [Dr. Ruth Pfau]( a German-born medical missionary who dedicated her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, at 87. Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi said Dr. Pfau would receive a state funeral. • And sharks, clowns or parents? What childhood memories scared today’s horror movie directors? Here are [remembrances from five directors]( with films out this year. Back Story  Today in 1930, a dancing frog set a new standard in animation. “Fiddlesticks,” featuring Flip the Frog, above, was a stand-alone cartoon with synchronized sound. ([Watch it here]( By that year, music had been widely used to accompany animations. Some of the more laborious animations were even in color. Then around 1930, those two features were combined. In Germany, [Lotte Reiniger’s character silhouettes]( of the 1920s used changing background colors to create atmospheric scenes. In the U.S., “King of Jazz” in 1930 featured a [short color animation]( with synchronized sound. In “Fiddlesticks,” Flip the Frog tap-dances his way through a world of merry animals, but then is moved to tears as he plays the piano alongside a violin-playing rodent that resembled Mickey Mouse. The animation was released by [Ub Iwerks]( who had helped produce Mickey Mouse, shortly after he left Walt Disney’s growing enterprise. The Flip franchise ended in 1933, and Mr. Iwerks returned to work at Disney. But he never stopped innovating. [His obituary]( noted that he invented “a panoramic camera arrangement.” Imagine his excitement if he could see today’s [360-degree cartoons](. 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)). ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Asia Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018