Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Good morning.
• Kim Jong-un today will become the first North Korean leader to cross the border into South Korea, starting a historic summit meeting with President Moon Jae-in that will demonstrate to the world his willingness to trade away his nuclear weapons.
The talks, which will be the third summit meeting between the Koreas, could produce a peace agreement to formally end the Korean War of the 1950s. But they’re mostly seen by experts as a prelude to a meeting between Mr. Kim and President Trump. (A potential wrench: The parents of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died after being jailed by North Korea, filed a suit again st Pyongyang .)
From dessert to décor, we looked at the symbolism of the meeting and of Panmunjom, the truce village where it’s taking place. And here’s a short history of the inter-Korean talks and a visual guide to the Korean War.
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• In another meeting of global importance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will be in China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
Officially, Mr. Modi, who requested the meeting, wants to “reset” relations after a period of strain between the nations, often described as “frenemies.” Unofficially, he will be seeking assurances from Mr. Xi that will help strengthen him domestically. Above, the leaders in 2017.
Mr. Modi is up for re-election next year, and though his political party is still India’s most formidable, missteps in recent weeks, including a delayed response to two highly publicized rapes, have brought an avalanche of criticism.
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• Bill Cosby was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a young woman at his home 14 years ago, capping the shocking downfall of one of the world’s best-known entertainers.
The jury found the actor and comedian guilty of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The quick verdict, in contrast to the hung jury last year, suggests the momentum from the #MeToo movement has had an effect.
In recent years, Mr. Cosby, 80, had admitted to decades of philandering, smashing the image he created as the upstanding paterfamilias in the sitcom “The Cosby Show.”
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• Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany arrives at the White House today, but don’t expect a sequel to the buddy movie between President Trump and Emmanuel Macron, the French president.
The lack of chemistry between Ms. Merkel, a scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, and Mr. Trump is not new. What is new is the apparent indifference in the White House to the German chancellor, at a time when Ms. Merkel’s global position has weakened.
Also in Washington, Mr. Trump said that the investigation of his lawyer, Michael Cohen, above, had nothing to do with him. And the Senate confirmed the hawkish C. I. A. director, Mike Pompeo, as secretary of state .
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• History matters.
That’s what our Sydney bureau chief was thinking as he toured Port Arthur this week on a brisk Tasmanian morning .
He was imagining a young prisoner, under the boot of harsh British soldiers. He’d gain a skill — Port Arthur was basically an industrial labor camp — but also probably a deep disgust for class distinctions and authority.
At settlements like Port Arthur, he writes, “lie the roots of Australia’s egalitarian ethos,” traced back to a rejection of the old prison power structure.
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• Is that really you? Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to clean up Facebook, but the company has failed to stop even Zuckerberg impersonators who swindle people.
• Walmart is close to acquiring a majority stake in Flipkart, India’s top online retailer, a bold move in its escalating war with Amazon. Insiders said that the deal would value Flipkart at about $20 billion.
• Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, offered to buy London’s iconic Wembley Stadium — perhaps the clearest signal yet that the N.F.L. wants a franchise in Britain.
• Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire called the “King of Africa” for his business dealings there, is being investigated over bribery allegations.
• A Japanese robotics engineer built a 12-foot, Transformers-style, humanoid robot that can morph into a sports car.
• U. S. stocks were up across the board. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.
• The Philippine ambassador to Kuwait was expelled after his staff members attempted a rescue of Filipino domestic workers there. The effort, which critics called a stunt, was recorded and posted online, embarrassing Kuwait. [ The New York Times]
• Mohamed Noor, the U. S. police officer charged with the murder of Justine Damond, an Australian life coach, appears set to claim self-defense. [ AAP via The Age]
• In Melbourne, the head of one of Australia’s biggest financial planning networks collapsed on the witness stand after being accused of lying by the royal banking commission. [ ABC]
• In India, 13 children died when a school bus driver listening to music on earphones drove onto tracks and was hit by a train. [ The New York Times]
• A U. S. military attaché has been barred from leaving Pakistan after his sport utility vehicle hit a motorcycle and killed a rider. [ The New York Times]
• “If I die, please tell my family.” A doctor on a rescue boat describes the harrowing ordeal refugees go through trying to cross the Mediterranean. [ The New York Times]
• A Chinese entomologist discovered what he insists is the world’s biggest mosquito, with a 2-inch-long body and a 4.3-inch wingspan. [ South China Morning Post]
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
• Help someone living with cancer through imaginative care .
• Recipe of the day: Even if you don’t feel like roasting a chicken this weekend, the salsa verde goes with everything.
• The Re Store in Perth is most often cited as the inventor of the continental, or conti, roll. Our Australia Fare columnist looks at the 81-year-old grocery store founded by the son of a Sicilian immigrant.
charged film about the threats to elephants in Thailand .
• In memoriam. Soon-Tek Oh, 85, a veteran actor who worked to broaden the range of dramatic roles available to Asian-Americans.
• And “Love & Bananas”: The actress Ashley Bell, best known for her work in horror movies, has produced an emotionally charged film about the threats to elephants in Thailand .
Mary Wollstonecraft — an English philosopher, author and feminist — was born into a financially unstable household with a violent alcoholic father at its helm in London on this day in 1759.
Wollstonecraft rejected the notion that women were incapable of reason, and promoted women’s education.
