Your Wednesday Briefing

ISIS, Viktor Orban, Prague | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, September 12, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Wednesday News Briefing: ISIS, Viktor Orban, Prague]( By MATTHEW SEDACCA Good morning. An assault on ISIS begins, politicians hope to rein in Viktor Orban and our 52 Places Traveler explores Prague. Here’s the latest: Ivor Prickett for The New York Times • Closing in on ISIS. The militant Islamic group has lost all but 1 percent of the territory it held in Iraq and Syria. Now, American-backed forces are [moving to reclaim the last sliver of ISIS-held territory]( in Syria, the town of Hajin. The struggle has taken more than four years, over 29,000 airstrikes and thousands of soldiers’ lives. But the group remains a potent threat: It still has thousands of fighters worldwide and a vast online reach. Above, Iraqi guards on the border with Syria in April. _____ Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press • As Prime Minister Viktor Orban, above, built an “illiberal state” in Hungary that has served as a template for other far-right leaders, fellow members of the European People’s Party, a powerful coalition of center-right European politicians, did little to stop him. Today, members of the coalition hope to rein in Mr. Orban with a [vote on whether to suspend Hungary’s voting rights]( within the E.U., a first step in a showdown with Mr. Orban. But it may be too late, as Mr. Orban, who has expanded his agenda by scorning Germany’s migration policies and drawing closer to Russia, increasingly seems out of anyone’s control. “He wants to change us rather than us changing him,” an E.P.P. lawmaker said. _____ Tom Brenner/The New York Times • Will he or won’t he? President Trump surprised Irish officials with the announcement that he would visit their nation in November. Now, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s office has announced that [the White House has postponed the visit]( “for scheduling reasons.” Above, Mr. Trump with Mr. Varadkar at the White House in March. With a socially liberal populace that backs multinational institutions like the E.U. and U.N., both of which Mr. Trump has criticized, the Irish government might welcome a rescheduling. Separately, as Americans commemorated the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, [Mr. Trump visited Shanksville, Pa.]( to honor the passengers and crew members who brought down United Airlines Flight 93 in a field to prevent it from being used as a weapon. “We remember the moment when America fought back,” he said. _____ Lena Mucha for The New York Times • Germany’s colonial past is not over. From 1884 to 1918, colonizers killed tens of thousands of Namibians in concentration camps, as well as over 100,000 East African resistance fighters. In Berlin’s African Quarter, above, the names of streets honoring German colonizers will be renamed to honor Africans, and this year, Germany’s federal governing coalition called for an examination of the country’s colonial history for the first time. But negotiations with the African nation of Namibia and minorities affected by colonizers have lagged, prompting skepticism as to whether Germany, which has worked to confront its Nazi era, can [come to terms with a different brutal chapter](. Business Phil Noble/Reuters • Mark Carney, above, the Bank of England governor who has been sharply criticized by Brexit supporters, will stay on in his role [until January 2020]( keeping him in control of the country’s financial industry for almost a year after Brexit. • Emerging economies are making investors jumpy again, with Argentina, Russia, South Africa and Turkey all on the brink of a bust. Our markets reporter [explains how high-growth economies unravel](. • A top Goldman Sachs banker called a whistle-blower hotline with ethics concerns. He later decided to leave the firm after his bosses — including the incoming chief executive — [urged him to let the complaints go](. • Apple is expected to [unveil new iPhones today](. Here’s what you need to know. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Doctors Without Borders • Dozens of migrants — maybe even more than 100 — drowned in the Mediterranean as they attempted to reach Europe. Italy didn’t deploy a ship, deferring to Libya, which might have delayed the rescue operation by hours. Above, rescued migrants at a detention center in Libya. [[The New York Times]( • Max Zirngast, an Austrian journalist often critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, was detained by the Turkish police in Ankara. [[CNN]( • In Barcelona, hundreds of thousands of Catalan separatists rallied in their largest show of force since a botched declaration of independence from Spain last October. [[The New York Times]( • Hurricane Florence gained momentum as it churned toward America’s southeast coast and is expected to make landfall on Thursday. Evacuations have begun, with more than a million people expected to flee. [[The New York Times]( • A caricature of Serena Williams by an Australian newspaper cartoonist has been criticized as echoing a long history in comics of racist depictions of black people. [[The New York Times]( • Russia’s biggest military exercises since the Cold War are underway, involving 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft. [[BBC]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Illustration by Radio • How to [start a book club](. • If your phone just stops charging, [that doesn’t mean it’s time to shop]( for a new one. • Recipe of the day: It’s midweek, and takeout will be tempting. Make [beef and broccoli]( instead. Noteworthy Jada Yuan/The New York Times • Prague, above, can seem as though it has a Disneyland veneer. But our 52 Places Traveler scratched past the surface to [get a glimpse of the Czech capital’s true spirit]( embodied by its art and youth. • Marie Foulston [mixes work and play]( at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as the curator of video games. Her new exhibition shows how games can break new ground. • In memoriam: Henry Bawnik, 92, who [survived imprisonment in four concentration camps]( only to almost be killed by a British aerial attack near the end of World War II; and Jeff Lowe, 67, a mountain climber who [conquered more than 1,000 first ascents](. Back Story NASA Japan’s space agency, JAXA, is planning to launch a cargo rocket overnight Thursday to carry supplies, spare parts and experiments (including one related to [developing a space elevator]( rendering above) to the International Space Station. Scores of such missions have kept the space station stocked since Nov. 2, 2000, when astronauts first arrived. Never unstaffed, it’s been up there so long that most people forget about it. But your own eyes can remind you. The I.S.S. is easily spotted in the night sky (light pollution permitting). [NASA’s interactive map]( tells you when and where to look. Back to logistics. As long as people are living in space, they have to drink and eat — about 1.8 pounds of food a day. And while the station recycles water, it’s not a perfect system, so replacement water has to be shipped up too. Astronauts produce garbage as well. So the cargo ship, at the end of its stay at the space station, will be packed with all manner of refuse for a trip to the incinerator. The ship, along with its contents, will immolate on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere. Kenneth Chang wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. 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