Your Tuesday Briefing

Barcelona, North Korea, Singapore | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, August 22, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Brian Snyder/Reuters • Americans paused to observe the first total solar eclipse visible across the entire U.S. in nearly a century — and [we invite you to join them virtually](. Take a look at the images they sent in of kids, dogs, tents, special glasses and more. Scientists conducted [numerous experiments]( all the while to deepen the understanding of both Earth’s atmosphere and the sun itself. _____ Jonathan Ernst/Reuters • President Trump is preparing to set the “path forward for [America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia]( in his first nationally televised prime-time address since January. He is expected to boost troop levels while trying to differentiate his policies from those he sharply criticized in the Obama era. U.S. military officials say that Afghan forces are still unable [to defend their country alone](. Hours before Mr. Trump’s speech, [Taliban insurgents overran]( the government headquarters of a district in northern Afghanistan. Above, Mr. Trump last month with the U.S. defense secretary, James Mattis. Mr. Mattis is in Jordan and will travel to Turkey and Ukraine this week. _____ Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters • The U.S. and South Korea are going ahead with joint military exercises that [North Korea warned would be “throwing fuel onto fire.”]( [Our national security correspondent explains]( why the Trump administration is discussing “preventive war.” [In the South, talk of a “pre-emptive strike”]( is a nonstarter, but the nation’s leaders are grappling with what options that leaves them. Above, an anti-terror drill in South Korea. _____ Roslan Rahman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Ten U.S. Navy sailors are still being sought after a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, the [John S. McCain, above, collided with an oil tanker]( off the coast of Singapore. The crash has raised questions about the safety record of Navy ships, coming just two months after another [Navy destroyer collided with a freighter]( off Japan, killing seven American sailors. [And there were other such collisions]( this year. _____ Lluis Gene/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The Spanish police shot and killed a [22-year-old man they believed to have driven a van]( into crowds in Barcelona last week, killing 13 people. He was found in Subirats, a collection of villages about 20 miles west of the city, after a Europe-wide manhunt. The authorities said that after the initial attack, he had stolen a car, killed its driver and fled with the body still inside. Above, a bomb squad in Subirats. The attack — paired with a second that killed a 15th person — added to fears of vehicular attacks elsewhere. [Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia]( has introduced a counterterrorism strategy to protect crowded public spaces. _____ [Sue Ding for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.]Sue Ding for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung. • Finally, a climate report from Sapa, a town in northwest Vietnam famous for its stunning rice terraces. In [this Daily 360 video]( learn from Mái, a Hmong farmer, about how the colder winters and hotter, drier summers are damaging the critical yearly harvest. Business Andy Wong/Associated Press • China’s Great Wall Motor Company said it [wanted]( buy the Jeep brand]( sending shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Italian-controlled company that owns Jeep — as well as Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati — up [almost 7 percent](. • Total, the French energy giant, is buying the [oil and gas business of]( the Danish shipping company, for $4.95 billion. • Prodigy Finance, an online lender that helps “students from emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India” study in the U.S., [won $40 million in new financing]( and secured a $200 million in credit line. • The latest option in [China’s sharing economy]( baby strollers. • U.S. stocks [were flat](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Ted Aljibe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines acknowledged the possibility of abuses in his war on drugs, apparently bowing to public anger over the killing of a high school student last week. [[Reuters]( • The U.S. is sharply reducing visa services to Russia because of Moscow’s order to cut its staff. [[The New York Times]( • In Finland, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker accused of killing two women and injuring half a dozen other people in the country’s first jihadist terrorist attack appears in court by videolink. [[The N]( York]( • A Danish inventor who had denied involvement in the disappearance of a Swedish journalist now says that she died on his submarine and he buried her at sea. [[The New York Times]( • Malaysia’s foreign minister apologized after the Indonesian flag was shown upside down in materials for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. [[Jakarta Globe]( • Cambridge University Press abruptly reversed its decision to bow to censorship of a leading journal on contemporary China. [[The New York Times]( • Archaeologists from China and Mongolia discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old inscription carved into a mountain that recounts a key military victory of the Han dynasty over a marauding army of Huns. [[South China Morning Post]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Todd Heisler/The New York Times • The case for a [big breakfast and a tiny dinner]( New research strongly suggests that watching the clock, not just the calories, can help control weight. • Wondering how to become a writer? [Start writing](. • Recipe of the day: Keep dinner fast and simple with [chicken breasts and lemon](. Noteworthy Nancy Borowick for The New York Times • Guam’s fate may be decided by distant world leaders, but [its future lies in much younger, more local hands](. “I hope we get more recognition,” said one local student we spoke to. • Our best-sourced White House reporters constructed [the definitive account of Stephen Bannon’s less-than-graceful departure]( from the Trump administration. And we looked at the showdown over [how we define norms]( Who gets to be part of civil society, and whose views belong on the fringe? • It. Is. On. The latest episode of “Game of Thrones” was a thrillfest of dragon fury, undead hordes, flaming swords and even a few spinoff ideas. [Here’s our recap.]( Back Story Museum of Modern Art, via Reuters The Times has recently been reporting on new waves of fiction that are published on — and inspired by — digital storytelling platforms. We’ve seen a [video series]( where internet celebrities take the online fan fiction written about them and bring it to life; a novel set in the world of the [video game Minecraft]( and an [interactive spy tale]( that uses augmented reality technology to overlay a mystery atop New York City landmarks. Our colleague Amanda Hess recently researched a piece on artists [who tell stories]( through emoji. Above, the set of 176 original emoji characters. “I was most taken by ‘[Book From the Ground]( a 2012 novel by the Chinese artist Xu Bing,” she said. “I can understand Mr. Bing’s story without translation, because it’s told completely through universally understood glyphs — a pastiche of emoji, corporate logos, and scientific symbols, among other images.” Ms. Hess continued: “Mr. Bing has [cited the experience of ‘living between cultures’]( as an inspiration for his work, and his novel mines the connections of an increasingly global culture in both its content and its structure. “It can sometimes be hard to tell whether experimental storytelling forms represent a passing trend or an enduring innovation. ‘Book From the Ground’ strikes the reader as both: a fascinating artifact of our moment that’s built to last.” _____ This briefing was made for the Asian morning. We also 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