Your Wednesday News Briefing

Britain, Amazon, Russia View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, September 5, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Wednesday News Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA Good morning. Britain’s Labour Party makes a U-turn, Amazon joins the $1 trillion club and President Vladimir Putin of Russia goes vintage. Here’s the latest: Peter Nicholls/Reuters • Britain’s Labour Party redefines itself. For months, the opposition party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, above, have come under fire for leaving out parts of an internationally recognized definition of anti-Semitism from its code of conduct. [One line in particular]( which the party said would have prevented criticism of the Israeli government and its treatment of Palestinians, was most controversial. The entire crisis [came close to tearing the party apart]( prompting Labour to make a U-turn on Tuesday and adopt the full definition set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance — but with the caveat that this should not prevent criticism of the Israeli government. Separately, a report by a committee that includes the Most Rev. Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, [presents a grim picture of Britain’s economy]( which it says is “not working for most people.” Higher taxes on the rich, an increased minimum wage and more affordable housing are among the report’s recommendations. _____ Zein Al Rifai/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Deadly airstrikes in Syria’s last major rebel stronghold. Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes in Idlib Province, [killing 12 people]( despite warnings from the U.S. that the fighting could set off a “humanitarian catastrophe.” This could be [the last battle]( between the Syrian government and the rebel groups that rose up against it in 2011. It comes days before the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are set to meet to discuss the civil war. Elsewhere in the region, fighting between rival factions in Libya over the past week have left at least 47 people dead. The bloodshed is reported to have widened a rift between Italy and France. Italy worries that an unstable Libya would mean more migrants at its border and blames France, the mediator in the crisis, for the recent flare-up, according to [France24.]( Amid the fighting in Libya, [Facebook has been used to add fuel to the fire]( Military-grade weapons are being openly traded on the platform, human traffickers drum up business online and armed groups even use it to find opponents and critics. _____ Giannis Papanikos/Associated Press • A Russian hacker wanted in the U.S. may head back to Moscow, Greece’s Supreme Court ruled. Aleksandr Vinnik, above, was arrested in Greece last year on an American warrant accusing him of operating a Bitcoin exchange that prosecutors say helped fund hackers break into Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential election. He would have been a key witness in the Russia investigation in the U.S. But the Russian authorities countered with their own extradition request, claiming Mr. Vinnik also committed crimes at home. [The strange legal maneuver worked](. Mr. Vinnik could go home at a time when President Vladimir Putin’s popularity is at its lowest level in years. In an apparent attempt to lift his image, Mr. Putin is the subject of a new TV show that praises the leader as he picks berries, hikes and stares at goats. Our reporter calls it [“vintage Putin.”]( Meanwhile, Russia’s vast security apparatus is returning to its Soviet strategies: recruiting informants by wooing them [with flowers and coffee](. _____ T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times • Another day, another exposé of President Trump’s White House. A new book by the journalist Bob Woodward, “Fear,” [paints a]( picture]( of the inner workings of a president so impulsive and undisciplined that he has exasperated many of his closest aides, forcing them to find unusual workarounds that Mr. Woodward describes as “an administrative coup d’état.” Examples include the chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, apparently resorting to removing papers from Mr. Trump’s desk so that he couldn’t sign them. And Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who apparently compared the president to “a fifth or sixth grader,” reportedly ignored an order to assassinate President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Business Bobby Yip/Reuters • More details have emerged in the case against JD.com’s founder, Richard Liu, above, who was arrested Friday in the U.S. on [a rape allegation]( that the authorities had previously described vaguely as “criminal sexual conduct.” • Amazon joined Apple in the [$1 trillion club]( after shares rose as high as $2,050.50 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in India, the e-commerce giant is [speaking]( new language](. • Facebook and Twitter executives head to Washington today to testify about disinformation on their platforms and foreign manipulation. They’re expected to try to strike a conciliatory tone, according to [prepared remarks reviewed by The Times.]( • Airports around the world are offering [more retail and dining options]( for travelers. The result? Lower airport fees for airlines. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Ichiro Banno/Kyodo News, via Associated Press • The strongest typhoon in 25 years hit Japan with powerful winds and widespread flooding, killing at least nine people and shutting down a major airport. [[The New York Times]( • U.S. Open: Serena Williams has [reached]( the semifinals. And Rafael Nadal takes on Dominic Thiem. [[The New York Times]( • Sea gulls have moved into Rome, lured by a smorgasbord of free food. But residents aren’t pleased with the avian troublemakers. [[The New York Times]( • Pakistan’s military, concerned by the country’s faltering economy and diplomatic isolation, has reached out to India to resume peace talks. But India probably won’t take up the offer until after its elections next year. [[The New York Times]( • A stray kangaroo has been spotted hopping around near a small town in northern Austria — far from its native homeland, Australia — and no one knows how it got there. [[BBC]( • France will impose a daily cap of 214 climbers on Mont Blanc next year to control overcrowding on the peak. [[The Guardian]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Alexandra Bowman • Scared to be a parent? There are [books and consultants]( who can help. • How to be a millionaire before you’re 30. [Then retire](. • Recipe of the day: Miso provides caramelization in this recipe for [baked cod in buttery bread crumbs](. Noteworthy Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images Europe • Cher is as Cher as ever, with a new album and a Broadway musical in the works and no plans to stop singing. “I set out to be Cinderella,” the 72-year-old [icon]( our reporter.]( • In memoriam: [James Mirrlees]( the British professor who won a Nobel award for research that found flat — not progressive — tax rates would increase government revenues. He was 82. • A looped keyboard melody, improvised rap and just one take is how Sheck Wes created “Mo Bamba.” Here’s how the track went from being [a SoundCloud obscurity to a viral party anthem.]( Back Story Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, via Getty Images One hundred years ago, the world was in the throes of World War I. The war weighed heavily on America, even on its favorite pastime: baseball. A [“work or fight”]( order for men in nonessential jobs was issued in July 1918, and the baseball season was cut short. On this day that year, the World Series began in Chicago. It was the earliest calendar date in the history of the series. And the game, between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, served another first. As the small crowd stood for the seventh-inning stretch, the military band began to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The Red Sox third baseman Fred Thomas, playing while on furlough from the Navy, stood at attention with a military salute. “First the song was taken up by a few, then others joined, and when the final notes came, a great volume of melody rolled across the field,” said a[spirited Times report](. The song was “an outburst of patriotism which caused every mother’s son in the stands to forget all about baseball.” It was the first time the anthem had been sung at a major American sporting event. The song was played for the rest of the series, and many more games to come. Remy Tumin wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. 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