Good morning.
Here’s what you need to know:
• President Trump arrives in Davos, Switzerland, setting the stage for one of the most intriguing encounters of his year-old presidency.
Mr. Trump will bring his protectionist, “America First” message to the center of globalization, among the elite he has cast as villains. But though some elites dislike him, they think he has been good for business. .
China’s delegation is already in Davos, promising to open its markets to foreign competition, and curb its soaring debt.
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“The wall offer’s off the table.”
That was Senator Chuck Schumer, pulling back the Democrats’ biggest bargaining chip: funding for President Trump’s proposed wall at the Mexican border.
That leaves the push for an immigration deal back at Square 1.
Separately, Washington’s mixed messages on Turkey’s attacks on Syria Kurds reflect competing pressures: Turkey is a NATO ally, but the Kurds have been crucial partners in the war against the Islamic State. Here’s an explainer on Turkey’s campaign.
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• In India, protests are erupting and rowdy mobs have vandalized movie theaters, tollbooths, road dividers, buses and cars — all over a movie.
“Padmaavat,” a lavish Bollywood epic opening Thursday is about a Hindu queen who commits suicide rather than submit to a Muslim ruler. Extremist Hindu groups claim that it distorts history and disrespects the legendary queen.
There are two issues: Few people have actually seen the film, and the queen, Padmavati, might never have existed.
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• When tsunami forecasters detect an earthquake, it’s shoot first and ask questions later.
Tuesday’s quake off the coast of Alaska shows how tsunami alerts often end up being canceled or scaled back, but also that a quick response is essential because a tsunami can strike within minutes.
Avalanche experts in Tibet have their own concerns.
A deadly 2016 glacier collapse shocked scientists — plummeting more than five miles in three minutes at speeds of nearly 200 miles per hour — and then it happened again.
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• The U.S. gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar, above, was sentenced to up to 140 years for sexually abusing athletes in his care.
The sentencing came after an extraordinary weeklong reading of impact statements from more than 150 women who accused him of molesting him.
In China, women are also trying to forge a #MeToo movement. But they face a male-dominated culture and censors who delete online petitions and scrub social media of phrases like “anti-sexual harassment.”
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• At the Australian Open, Hyeon Chung became the first South Korean man to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Can he now dispatch Roger Federer?
(Mr. Chung’s vanquished American opponent, Tennys Sandgren, is facing criticism for his social media activity.)
And today’s women’s semifinals pits a surging Angelique Kerber against the No. 1 seed, Simona Halep.
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Business
• Smoking a joint is old hat, our columnist writes. Start-ups are rebranding marijuana — long associated with lazy stoners — as a “wellness” drug to be vaped, eaten, dipped or dabbed.
• SoftBank’s Vision Fund is pouring $865 million into Katerra, a California start-up taking on the $12 trillion construction industry.
• Courting the 0.0001 percent: Meet Steve Varsano, the owner of the world’s only walk-in jet dealership.
• Australia’s trade minister sees “big winners” from a revived 11-nation Asia-Pacific trade pact — the remnants of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — to be signed in March.
• Google’s Lunar X Prize competition — a $20 million prize for a mission to the moon — is over. Nobody won.
• U.S. stocks were flat. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.
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In the News
• In Afghanistan, Islamic State gunmen stormed the office of Save the Children, killing at least one person, prompting the aid agency suspended operations in the country . [The New York Times]
• Two car bombs killed at least 27 people as they left a mosque in the Libyan city of Benghazi. [Associated Press]
• Part of northern Australia may have been attached to North America about 1.6 billion years ago, according to an analysis of rocks on both continents. [The Guardian]
• The Sydney police were searching for the gunman who shot and killed a lawyer, Ho Le Dinh. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
• In Melbourne, a journalist is protecting a confidential source for a book about Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers who has been charged with sexual assault. [The Age]
• In Saudi Arabia, 12 camels were disqualified from a beauty contest after their owners used Botox on them. [The New York Times]
• In Indonesia, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis watched local troops demonstrate their skills, some by walking on fire, rolling in glass, drinking snake blood and breaking bricks with their heads. [Reuters]
• The payout for a Melbourne-purchased lottery ticket that hasn’t been claimed after two weeks: 55 million Australian dollars ($44 million). [The Age]
Smarter Living
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
• Grief is not a problem to be solved.
• Should you give back the engagement ring?
• Recipe of the day: Satisfy a sweet tooth with salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookies.
Noteworthy
• What’s wrong with democracy? In the first part of a new video series, our Interpreter columnists explore why some democratic countries have backslid, while others never quite made it.
• Cricket has long excluded Indigenous Australians. But the selection of D’Arcy Short for Australia’s Twenty20 international team heralds progress.
• In memoriam. Ursula K. Le Guin, 88, a feminist science fiction author known for books such as “The Left Hand of Darkness” and the Earthsea series.
• Finally, “I’ll Drink to That,” a podcast by a former sommelier, is an indispensable resource on wine and its history.
Back Story
In honor of Australia Day, Friday’s holiday marking the anniversary of Britain’s arrival Down Under in 1788, we’re looking at one of the country’s most recognizable exports: “G’day, mate!”
Australian National University points to an early use of the greeting in “The Romance of a Station,” a novel from 1889:
“He pulled up, nodding to Alec’s ‘Good-day, Tillidge’, and replying in a short, morose manner, running his words one into the other, as a bushman does, ‘G’d-day, sir.’”
A century later, the phrase was popularized the world over in a tourism ad campaign featuring Paul Hogan, the Australian actor who would later gain international fame as Crocodile Dundee.
Australians have a long tradition of abbreviating and slackening words and phrases, particularly by adding “ie” to the end.
“Aussie” appears in references from World War I. A book by Gertrude Moberly, recounting the experiences of a nurse, described a “farewell dance for the boys going home to ‘Aussie’ tomorrow.”
And Australians always have their “mates.” The nation’s unique camaraderie, known as mateship, is especially evident during commemorations of the Australian and New Zealand Armed Corps (or Anzacs), the World War I-era fighting force.
Adam Baidawi contributed reporting.
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Good luck today.
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