Your Wednesday Briefing

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, October 18, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By PATRICK BOEHLER Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Erik De Castro/Reuters • Celebratory gunfire erupted [in the streets of the Syrian city of Raqqa]( after a U.S.-backed militia composed of Kurdish and Arab fighters said they had seized the Islamic State’s de facto capital. [Here’s what our photographer saw]( when he entered the city with Kurdish fighters. Analysts say the militant group is preparing for a new phase: morphing back into the kind of underground insurgency it was at the start. Trying to defeat its ideology [will probably vex President Trump as it did his predecessors](. In Iraq, Kurdish independence aspirations appeared to stall — at least for now — [as government forces seized oil facilities near Kirkuk]( that supply most of Iraqi Kurdistan’s revenue. _____ Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • President Trump’s [latest attempt at a travel ban was blocked]( just hours before it was to take effect, by the same federal judge in Hawaii who blocked the second ban from taking effect in March. Above, a protest against the ban in Los Angeles on Sunday. [After falsely asserting]( that President Barack Obama and other presidents did not contact the families of fallen troops, Mr. Trump has turned the combat death of his chief of staff’s son in 2010 [into a political talking point](. The Times Magazine [took a close look at the inner workings of the State Department]( and found it adrift and demoralized under Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state. _____ Alberto Estevez/European Pressphoto Agency • Some 200,000 demonstrators gathered in Barcelona last night, according to the local police, [to protest the arrests of two of the main leaders]( of the separatist movement. The regional government said that the arrests had “dynamited” its proposal for negotiations, but officials in Madrid rejected accusations that the arrests were politically motivated. In contrast with Catalonia, the mood is much calmer in northern Italy, where [voters in the two regions of Lombardy and Veneto are deciding on Sunday]( whether they want to seek greater autonomy from Rome. The Emilia-Romagna region initiated its own autonomy talks. _____ Petr David Josek/Associated Press • Czech parliamentary elections later this week “may well determine whether a fissure between the more prosperous nations of Western Europe and the increasingly authoritarian countries of the East will widen into a chasm,” [writes our Central and Eastern European bureau chief](. Andrej Babis, a populist media tycoon, above, is leading in polls in part thanks to his anti-establishment message and his grip on the media. This month he was indicted on charges of misusing European Union subsidies — accusations that he calls politically motivated. _____ Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Do we believe women yet? The problem of sexual harassment, highlighted by allegations against Harvey Weinstein, is age-old. We look back at [how a growing sense of accountability has evolved]( since the term was coined in the 1970s. In France, the social media campaign #BalanceTonPorc, or Expose Your Pig, may push forward changes not only in the culture, [but also in the law](. Proposals are under discussion to fine men for aggressive catcalling. Above, Sandra Muller, the journalist who began the hashtag. Business Corinna Kern for The New York Times • A boom in renewable energy is reshaping the relationship between consumers and energy providers in Germany. We visited a firm in Bavaria that [redistributes electricity generated by a community of around 10,000 households]( among them. • Risky bonds issued by poorer countries like Ukraine and Egypt [are all the rage among investors](. Some bankers worry the frenzy will end badly. • Ride-hailing services are making traffic problems worse by drawing people away from public transit, [a new study suggests](. • Google’s new Pixel 2 phone is an impressive but costly extravagance, [according to our reviewer](. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press • Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, opened his first Communist Party congress since assuming power five years ago. He is expected to enshrine his authoritarian vision, which he sees as a guarantee of the party’s survival. [[The New York Times]( • Britain has a new problem in “Brexit” talks: Doubts among E.U. leaders are building on whether Prime Minister Theresa May can deliver a deal. [[The New York Times]( • In Portugal, Prime Minister Antonio Costa rejected calls for members of his cabinet to resign amid growing public anger over how deadly wildfires were handled. [[Associated Press]( • Israel’s government is trying to balance domestic demands to expand its settlements in the occupied West Bank with international opposition to new construction. [[The New York Times]( • The collision of a drone with a passenger plane in Canada has raised questions about how to better enforce regulations as drones become more commonplace. [[The New York Times]( • George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund manager, gave the bulk of his wealth to the Open Society Foundations, the network he founded to promote democracy and human rights. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Mark Conlan • Good relationships take commitment, compromise, forgiveness and most of all — effort. [Here is some advice](. • We see others’ failures as courageous. We see our own as shameful. [Why?]( • Recipe of the day: Midweek dinner can be as simple as [pasta with burst cherry tomatoes](. Noteworthy Chris Jackson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • George Saunders’s first novel, [“Lincoln in the Bardo,” won the Man Booker Prize]( making it the second year in a row that Britain’s most prestigious literary award has gone to an American. • Uprisings in ancient Egypt may have been tied to volcanic eruptions that triggered climatic changes, [according to a new study](. • Serious reporting about a new line of condoms available in 60 sizes [was a bit of a struggle, our reporter recalls](. • In the Champions League, Tottenham held Real Madrid to a 1-1 tie, and Manchester City beat Napoli 2-1. [Here are more results](. • Finally, our Frugal Traveler columnist [offers a budget-friendly guide to Addis Ababa]( the chaotic but fascinating Ethiopian capital. Back Story Associated Press As the U.S. national anthem played, they bowed their heads and [prayed they wouldn’t be shot](. It was this week in 1968 when [two African-American sprinters raised gloved fists]( in a black power salute during a medal presentation at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The demonstration by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter dash, drew a quick reaction. Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee — which wanted to avoid the politicization of the Games — [the U.S. team dropped the two runners]( who received death threats. The silver medalist, Peter Norman of Australia, knew of his fellow Olympians’ plans; on the podium, all three wore badges of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, which was organized to protest racism in sports. Mr. Norman [was ostracized after returning home](. [In a memoir published in 2011, Mr. Carlos wrote]( “If I shut my eyes, I can still feel the fire from those days. And if I open my eyes, I still see the fires all around me. I didn’t like the way the world was, and I believe that there need to be some changes about the way the world is.” Thomas Furse contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. This briefing was prepared for the European morning. [Browse past briefings here](. We also have briefings timed for the [Australian]( [Asian]( and [American]( mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app [from iTunes]( or [Google Play](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [europebriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:europebriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Europe)). ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYT [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Prefer a different send time? 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