In this video, we followed a Rohingya family over four days as they fled to Bangladesh, where hope turned to tragedy. And here’s a closer look at the Rohingya exodus — one of the most rapid mass departures in modern history.
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• A Pakistani film about a rape victim who brings her politically powerful attacker to justice has inspired Pakistani women to expose sexual harassment in a country where the discussion of such topics is often discouraged.
“Verna,” starring Pakistan’s most popular and highest-paid actress, Mahira Khan, above, was banned by state censors, but a public outcry, fueled by a social media campaign tapping into the spirit of the global #MeToo movement, helped overturn the ruling.
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• President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has threatened to phase out jeepneys, the brashly painted passenger trucks that are emblems of Manila’s clogged streets.
Critics contend that jeepneys, above, are not safe. Twenty people were killed on Monday in the country’s north when a jeepney collided with a bus on the way to Christmas Mass.
Still, banning jeepneys would pit the populist president against the working poor, who ride and drive them every day.
Separately, Mr. Duterte’s eldest son resigned as the vice mayor of Davao City after his teenage daughter implied he had beaten her.
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• Christmas is more popular than ever in India, but tensions have dampened celebrations.
The local police in central India recently detained 32 carolers and the priests who went to help them. A politician’s wife was excoriated for endorsing a Christmas charity event, and this month, a Hindu right-wing group warned schools that celebrating Christmas would do so “at their own risk.”
It’s all part of a broader ideological battle across India based on religious identity.
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• Pope Francis used his annual Christmas Day address to warn that the “winds of war” and an “outdated model of development” were taking a toll on humanity, society and the environment.
But Francis also used the opportunity to pray for a positive turn of events: a resuscitation of a two-state solution in the Middle East, the healing of war-torn Syria and Ukraine; the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula; and a return to dialogue in Venezuela.
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Business
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• Rupert Murdoch and President Trump have traveled in the same circles since the 1970s, but they became close only recently. Here’s a look at this new friendship of convenience.
• Vice Media built itself from a fringe magazine into a nearly $6 billion global company. But its boundary-pushing culture created a workplace that was degrading for women, current and former employees say.
• In this Times video, check out the military-grade crowd-control system developed by China-based Norinco, with water cannons and tear gas launchers. Experts say it’s overkill, but at least one customer — Venezuela — disagrees.
• Bitcoin is huge in Asia, which accounts for the bulk of trading in the cryptocurrency. But some worry the bubble could harm financial stability.
• U.S. markets were closed for Christmas. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.
In the News
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• Typhoon Tembin is expected to reach Vietnam later today after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people. [Reuters]
• In Peru, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned Alberto Fujimori, who was ousted as Peru’s leader in a corruption scandal and later imprisoned for human rights abuses. [The New York Times]
• Beijing’s migrant crackdown has driven 15,000 students out of their classrooms, depriving many of a chance at an education. [The New York Times]
• “If we don’t unite, we will be looked down upon,” Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said at a rally to condemn President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. [The New York Times]
• Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister, expected the royal treatment when he was summoned to Saudi Arabia. Instead, he was told to resign. Here is the back story. [The New York Times]
• In Myanmar, an unexpected cold spell forced the caretakers of orphaned elephants to pull out giant blankets knitted especially for them. [The New York Times]
Smarter Living
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
• Learn how to to be happier, safer, healthier and smarter in 2018.
• Here are some tips to winterize your dog.
• Recipe of the day: crisp chicken schnitzel with a lemony herb salad.
Noteworthy
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• Postcards from foreign correspondents. “Journals” are a longstanding Times feature that try to take readers to new places. These were some of our favorites from the year.
• In memoriam. Hiep Thi Le, 46, a Vietnamese refugee who was cast in Oliver Stone’s 1993 film “Heaven and Earth”; Jerry Yellin, 93, who flew the last World War II combat mission over Japan and later fought post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Finally, themed mugs and nightclub tours. Britain’s monarchy can be big money. And with Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle next year, tour groups and other companies are ready to capitalize.
Back Story
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It’s a mystery that still endures in Australia.
Fifty years ago this month, Prime Minister Harold Holt went swimming at a beach near Melbourne. Mr. Holt, 59, was undeterred by high surf and a minor shoulder injury. He told friends, “I know this beach like the back of my hand.”
A friend later said the water around Mr. Holt “appeared to boil” and conditions seemed to “swamp on him.”
He was never seen again, and his body was never recovered.
A police inquiry the next year determined that it was nothing more than an accident. An inquest in 2005 officially ruled Mr. Holt’s death an accidental drowning.
But his disappearance spurred a wealth of conspiracy theories, including that the prime minister had committed suicide or was assassinated by the C.I.A. One even claimed that Mr. Holt was a lifelong spy for China and had faked his death by boarding a Chinese submarine.
Those close to him say the sensational manner of his disappearance has overshadowed his legacy. Mr. Holt strengthened Australia’s alliance with the U.S., among others, and he is credited with being the country’s “first 20th century prime minister.”
His legacy also lives on in another, if slightly macabre, way: at the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Center in Melbourne.
Isabella Kwai contributed reporting.
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Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Browse past briefings here.
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