U.S. Shutdown, Brexit, Huawei: Your Wednesday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/briefing/us-shutdown-brexit-huawei-your-wednesday-briefing.html

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Good morning.

A bipartisan push to end the U.S. shutdown, France and Germany renew their vows, and the White House backs Venezuela’s opposition. Here’s the latest:

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, announced a bipartisan effort that could reopen the government for a few weeks and allow President Trump to deliver his State of the Union address. Chances of success: slim.

Details: The Senate will vote on two competing bills on Thursday: a measure backed by Mr. Trump that includes funding for his wall, and a short-term spending bill favored by Democrats that would fund shuttered agencies through Feb. 8 without a wall. Neither measure is likely to get the needed votes, but there was hope that they could augur more cooperation.

Behind the scenes: In single-minded pursuit of a border wall, Mr. Trump has virtually pressed pause on the rest of his agenda.

Go deeper: The shutdown has forced some of the unpaid 800,000 federal workers to enter the gig economy to make ends meet. Here’s a roundup of all our other shutdown coverage.

Two and a half years ago, 52 percent of British voters expressed support for leaving the E.U. But public opinion has flipped, with a slight majority now in favor of remaining, and a second referendum is thought likelier than ever. But would it do any good?

Analysis: Experts say that referendums tend to be highly imperfect measures of public opinion. Illustrating this, many of the voters who selected “leave” in 2016 had very different, and mutually exclusive, ideas about how that would work, leaving Parliament to try to sort it out.

Effects: A second referendum could deepen the chaos created by the first, our columnist argues. Whatever the result, half the public would probably feel cheated, undercutting an already shaky faith in British democracy. And then there’s the problem of getting a divided Parliament to agree to a ballot and decide which options to include.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France — representing countries that for ages waged ruinous wars against each other — met in a German city to renew the Élysée Treaty of 1963 that established comity between the two countries as the bedrock for a united Europe.

But the ceremony was a reminder of the Continent’s current instability. “Seventy-four years after the end of World War II — a lifetime — things considered self-evident are again being called into question,” Ms. Merkel said.

Breakdown: The new accord pledges to deepen Franco-German economic integration and diplomatic coordination as well as military cooperation, with an eye toward making Europe less dependent on the U.S. Critics said that the agreement was relatively weak, and many smaller E.U. countries looked askance at the renewed friendship, seeing it as domineering. Moreover, Mr. Macron is largely reviled at home and Ms. Merkel is on her way out, threatening to open a void at the center of the European project.

In Britain, the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei donated to top schools, held parties for political leaders and sponsored a charity founded by Prince Charles. In Germany, it sponsored the recent convention of the governing Christian Democratic Union.

Europe is now Huawei’s biggest market outside China, generating $20 billion in revenue together with the Middle East and Africa in 2017 — about a quarter of its total business. That’s the result of a 15-year campaign to cultivate closer ties with European governments.

Why it matters: Europe, like the U.S., is now beginning to turn on Huawei over concerns that its technology is being used for espionage. The U.S. plans to ask Canada to extradite a top Huawei executive within the next week. European officials are considering restrictions, companies are reassessing deals and organizations are returning donations.

But untangling may be difficult, as Huawei’s equipment plays a crucial role in Europe’s wireless infrastructure. Severing ties could delay hyperfast 5G networks.

Huawei’s response: The company has consistently denied wrongdoing. But as criticism mounts, it is working to ease concerns, including by allowing German officials to inspect its engineering and code.

Venezuela: Vice President Mike Pence offered the most explicit American backing yet for the opposition movement trying to unseat President Nicolás Maduro, declaring “unwavering support” for planned mass protests.

Chris Brown: The R&B singer was released without charges after being questioned in Paris over accusations of rape, according to the authorities there. Mr. Brown has been involved in a string of violent episodes over the past few years.

Russia: In a surprise move, an escort from Belarus who once claimed to have information about Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was released from detention in Moscow, her lawyer said.

Davos: With President Trump a no-show at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Brazil’s new leader, Jair Bolsonaro, the so-called Trump of the Tropics, has taken up the populist mantle at the event.

U.S. Supreme Court: The justices voted 5 to 4 to allow President Trump’s policy barring transgender people from serving in the military to go into effect temporarily while court challenges proceeded.

The Oscars: Netflix received its first best picture Oscar nomination for “Roma,” which will be competing against “Black Panther” and “A Star Is Born,” among others. Here’s a complete list of nominees and a look at all the snubs and surprises.

Climate change: A record number of Americans now believe that global warming is a real threat, according to a new survey.

Soccer: Emiliano Sala, a player who recently moved to the English Premier League, and a pilot are feared dead after the small airplane they were on disappeared over the English Channel.

New Zealand: The unruly behavior of a British family touring the country — from refusing to pick up garbage left on a beach to throwing food on a cafe floor — captured locals’ unease about a boom in tourism.

Tips for a more fulfilling life.

Recipe of the day: Pick up some harissa, a North African chile paste, and make spicy chickpea soup.

How to handle the dreaded “Reply All moment.”

Athletes’ strategies can prepare you for life’s discomforts — and open your mind.

World leaders and chief executives are converging in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

The global elite come to discuss the world’s problems — and maybe squeeze in some skiing.

Long before the forum existed, Davos was linked to Europe’s bourgeoisie as the setting of “The Magic Mountain,” the 1924 novel by Thomas Mann. It’s regarded as one of the greatest works in modern literature.

We asked Pamela Paul, the editor of the Book Review, what today’s readers should know about the book, which follows a wealthy young German through seven years in a tuberculosis sanitarium just ahead of World War I.

“Many people read it as a metaphor for the sickness of Europe on the brink of war,” she answered. “Well-heeled invalids gather indefinitely, for a cure that doesn’t necessarily come — perhaps deliberately. The longer they stay, the greater the owner’s profits.

“They spend their days gossiping, pursuing love affairs and having abstract arguments that never reach any decisive resolution.”

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