Your Thursday Briefing

What you need to know today. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, November 23, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By JENNIFER JETT Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Europe closed what may be its most shameful chapter of bloodletting since World War II. After a trial that lasted years, [the Bosnian Serb warlord Ratko Mladic]( 75, was sentenced to life in prison by a U.N. tribunal. He was convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Above, celebrating the sentence in Srebrenica, where 8,000 men and boys were executed by Mr. Mladic’s forces. Our reporters note that European nationalist passions are once again on the rise. [In an Op-Ed]( a journalist who covered the Bosnian war says Mr. Mladic’s conviction was too long in coming and sends a discouraging message to victims of conflicts in Syria, Zimbabwe, Yemen and elsewhere: “Will Mr. Mladic’s verdict, 22 years in the making, inspire hope that justice can be delivered fairly and without delay? I think not.” _____ Jung Yeon-Je/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • The U.N. Command is demanding to meet with officials of the North Korean People’s Army, accusing [its troops of violating the truce]( that halted the Korean War when they fired on and chased a defecting comrade across the border last week. [South Korean cameras recorded the escape](. And North Korea called the Trump administration’s imposition of new punishments — restoring the North to the U.S. list of terrorism sponsors and yet more sanctions — [a “serious provocation.”]( In the U.S., [the death of an American]( who had been held in harsh conditions by the North in 2010 raised concerns that he had committed suicide. _____ • Security forces in Papua New Guinea [stormed a controversial detention center on Manus Island]( in an attempt to end a standoff that has drawn international scrutiny to Australia’s refugee policy. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Above, a photo taken by a refugee on Manus Island and released by an Australian activist group. The authorities destroyed belongings in the men’s shelters and announced that the men had to leave for alternative facilities on the island. The camp was officially closed on Oct. 31, with electricity, food and water being cut off as hundreds of asylum seekers refused to leave. The Times recently [sent journalists to visit the Manus Island camp]( as well as the new facilities the men are supposed to move to. Damien Cave, our Australia bureau chief, [shared more photos and stories]( from that trip. _____ Associated Press • The Trump administration formally declared that Myanmar’s brutal crackdown on its [Rohingya Muslim minority]( constituted “ethnic cleansing.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the designation was made “after careful and thorough analysis of the facts.” The move opens the door to sanctions against the country’s military and intensifies pressure on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, its embattled civilian leader. The Rohingya crisis will come under additional scrutiny next week, when Pope Francis visits Myanmar and Bangladesh. _____ Business Toby Melville/Reuters • Affordable housing featured prominently in [Britain’s annual budget presentation](. In his address, Philip Hammond, above, chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced lower growth forecasts and promised 3 billion pounds for Brexit preparations. • The Trump Organization is [exiting a luxury condominium-hotel in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan]( that has struggled to attract guests. • Facebook is introducing a tool to help users figure out whether pages or accounts they followed or liked were [secretly run by Russian agents](. • Twitter should scrap its anything-goes founding principle and [create a new system that rewards positive contributions]( our technology columnist writes. • U.S. markets are closed. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters • In eastern Ukraine, armed men occupied the center of the city of Luhansk amid a showdown between rival Moscow-backed political leaders. [[The New York Times]( • A U.S. Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed southeast of Okinawa, Japan, the fifth accident this year for the Seventh Fleet. Eight were rescued and three are missing. [[The New York Times]( • In Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president whose allies ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule, will be sworn in as the new president on Friday. [[The New York Times]( • Saad Hariri, who announced his resignation as prime minister of Lebanon while in Saudi Arabia, now says he will stay in his post to allow for political dialogue. [[The New York Times]( • Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran have agreed to sponsor a conference aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement of the war in Syria. [[The New York Times]( • A Pakistani court has ordered the release from house arrest of Hafiz Saeed, who is believed to have planned the 2008 attacks in Mumbai in which almost 170 people were killed. [[The New York Times]( • Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, accused two banks of “persecution” after they closed her personal account and the accounts of her National Front party. [[Politico]( • UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, will decide early next month whether to grant A.C. Milan a waiver from so-called financial fair play rules. A [recent Times article]( raised doubts about the financial resources of the club’s Chinese owner. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Michael Waraksa • Business travelers, [beware](. • Experts offer advice on how to help your [child not be an assault victim](. • Recipe of the day: [Parsnips, pasta and bacon]( make for a delicious weeknight meal. Noteworthy Olimpia Zagnoli • 100 notable books: From the extraordinary novel “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee, to the nonfiction “Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London,” by Lauren Elkin, here are [this year’s top choices]( from our Book Review editors. • New musicals on London’s stages include a merciless and compassionate “Follies,” a revitalized “Young Frankenstein” and a [timely saga of an aspiring drag queen](. • In memoriam: [Naim Suleymanoglu]( 50, a Turkish weight lifter who won three consecutive Olympic gold medals; and [Dmitri Hvorostovsky]( the acclaimed Siberian baritone (Here are [11 of our favorite clips](. Back Story Yuri Kochetkov/European Pressphoto Agency “I love a parade” goes a tune from 1932. Today, one of the biggest in the world — [the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade]( — makes its way through New York City, as it has for more than 90 years. Last year, [more than 3.5 million spectators lined the route]( and an additional 22 million watched on TV. This year, there will be more than [8,000 participants]( including many performers and clowns. But the act of parading, a ceremony that dates to the earliest human civilizations, isn’t always about fun. The Romans celebrated their military triumphs with parades — all chariots, plundered loot and captured slaves. As an expression of raw imperial power, it’s tough to beat the Prussians, who introduced [the goose step to parades in the 17th century](. That same martial precision can be found in modern military parades in Russia, China and North Korea. These days, parades around the world inspire exuberance, pride — and often eccentricity. Aside from the wild parades of [Mardi Gras]( and [Carnival]( there’s the annual [Pikachu parade in Yokohama, Japan]( and the [Vienna Love Parade in Austria](. One of the oddest events of recent years: a parade in the Netherlands in which enthusiasts recreate [the phantasmagorical paintings of Hieronymus Bosch]( the 15th-century Dutch artist. Charles McDermid 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 LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. FOLLOW NYT [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Prefer a different send time? 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