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, March 1, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By PATRICK BOEHLER Good morning. The latest on Brexit talks, the mysterious man behind Italy’s largest party and new ethical questions for Jared Kushner. Here’s the news: Peter Morrison/Associated Press • Prime Minister Theresa May rejected a [draft E.U. proposal]( on the future status of Northern Ireland as a threat to Britain’s “constitutional integrity.” Brussels suggested that Northern Ireland will effectively remain in a customs union with the bloc after Brexit, unless other solutions are found. This would create a new economic frontier within the United Kingdom. Mrs. May is set to [meet]( the European Council president, Donald Tusk, today and give a policy speech on Friday. Our correspondent [looked at the possible scenarios](. _____ Andreas Solaro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Davide Casaleggio may be the most powerful man in Italy, [yet few people know who he is](. Critics say he controls the votes, the candidates and the policies of the Five Star Movement, the party that is leading in polls ahead of national elections on Sunday. Mr. Casaleggio runs the party’s web platform, meant to be a tool of direct democracy in which all clicks were created equal. But in addition to concerns about his influence, a hacker claimed to have manipulated votes on the platform. _____ Tom Brenner/The New York Times • President Trump stunned many Americans by [embracing elements of gun control]( expanded background checks, keeping guns from the mentally ill and restricting sales to some young adults. Two of the largest retailers said they [were stopping gun sales to anyone under 21]( regardless of local laws. Our reporters found that a private equity group and a bank [had meetings with Jared Kushner in the White House](. Both made large loans to his family’s real estate business, raising ethical questions. And Hope Hicks said [she would resign as White House communications director]( a day after acknowledging that she sometimes told white lies for Mr. Trump. _____ Mauricio Lima for The New York Times • The U.S.-led campaign to hunt down the last pockets of ISIS militants in Syria has lost its most effective fighters. The Kurdish leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces [have diverted to the northwestern city of Afrin]( to take on Turkish troops, leaving their Syrian Arab and U.S. allies to battle remnants of the Islamic State. _____ • Why do we identify with millions of strangers, just based on borders? In days of resurgent nationalism, it’s worth remembering that patriotism is a relatively new idea. In a video, our Interpreter columnists turn to social science and Sylvester Stallone to explain [why the myth of national identity was invented and where it’s headed](. And in an Op-Ed, a German journalist suggests revisiting [an alternative notion of belonging]( “Heimat.” It’s often translated as home, native land or homeland, but none of those words capture its true meaning. _____ Owen Humphreys/Press Association, via Associated Press • Expect disruptions to continue in some parts of Europe as a cold front from Siberia crosses the Continent. On [the streets of London]( our reporter met stranded commuters and at least one French tourist who was unimpressed by the snow. “These Brits are so dramatic,” she said. Business Michaela Rehle/Reuters • Germany is weighing whether to tighten the rules on [when an investor needs to disclose holdings]( after China’s Geely surprised markets by revealing its $9 billion stake in Daimler. • The U.S. is in talks with other countries about what it would take to [rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership](. Meanwhile, China has sent a high-level envoy to Washington [to pre-empt a trade war](. • Spotify, the music streaming service, filed to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It chose [an unusual process]( in which no new shares are issued. • Flying taxis may be years away, but much of the groundwork, laid in part by Airbus, [is accelerating](. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Sébastien Thibault • The Turkish writer Ahmet Altan, jailed for life over charges of involvement in a failed coup, [received yet another prison sentence]( this time related to an article he wrote. From his cell on the outskirts of Istanbul, he shared his thoughts in an Op-Ed: “I will never see the world again.” [[The New York Times]( • Most of the roughly 90 people who drowned when a boat capsized off Libya’s coast in February were Pakistani migrants. Our reporter visited a tiny Punjabi village that was rocked by the distant tragedy. [[The New York Times]( • Germany’s ministries of foreign affairs and defense were said to have been infiltrated by the same Russian hacking group that [breached]( Democratic Party servers in the U.S. [[Reuters]( • The publication of a last, unfinished article by the murdered Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak prompted the resignation of high-ranking government officials. [[The New York Times]( • A bill in Iceland that could make it a crime to circumcise infant boys for nonmedical reasons is drawing support from doctors, and criticism from religious leaders. [[The New York Times]( • A British tabloid cited a questionable “estimate” that U.N. personnel had sexually abused 60,000 people. It is a cautionary example of how flawed statistics can be. [[The New York Times]( • The police in Norway are investigating two forged Nobel Peace Prize nominations for President Trump. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Jim Wilson/The New York Times • Recipe of the day: Pair your morning tea with [maple scones](. • If your marriage is in a rut, [try these “love hacks.”]( • “Smart” items may have more features, but sometimes the [original is better.]( Noteworthy Stephane Mahe/Reuters • Paris Saint-Germain, the French soccer club, [confirmed]( that its star player Neymar will have surgery in Brazil on his fractured foot. Such injuries can lead to a lengthy absence. • There are now more tattooed women than men in the U.S. A [growing number of female tattoo artists]( cater to them. • The Danish city of Aarhus offers [all the hygge and Nordic cuisine]( you expect, along with one of the most exciting design scenes on the Continent. • Bordeaux may be known for its grandiose chateaus and aristocratic landowners, but small family farms in its sleepy village of Pomerol produce [equally magnificent wines](. • You may have heard that Barbra Streisand cloned her dogs. For $50,000, [you too can clone yours](. Back Story Abbie Rowe, via John F. Kennedy Presidential Library It has been called “[the toughest job you’ll ever love]( The Peace Corps got its start on this day in 1961, established under an executive order by President John F. Kennedy. The idea to send American volunteers around the world to assist with development projects and to promote the image of the United States existed in various forms after the end of World War II. But it was during a campaign stop at the University of Michigan a few weeks before he was elected president that [Kennedy asked a crowd of students]( “How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana?” Kennedy would repeat that call to service a few months later [during his inaugural address]( when he urged Americans to “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” The Peace Corps has not been without criticism: Richard Nixon said it was [a haven for draft dodgers]( and, more recently, the organization has faced [questions about the health and safety]( of its volunteers, particularly women. But after initially operating in only a handful of countries, the Peace Corps has sent [more than 230,000 volunteers to 141 nations](. Chris Stanford contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and [here’s our full range of free newsletters](. 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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