Istanbul, Republican Party, Syria: Your Wednesday Briefing

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/04/briefing/europe-briefing.html

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The first day of business for the new American Congress turned into a showdown between President-elect Donald J. Trump and members of his own party.

Mr. Trump won, securing the reversal of a plan to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics and undercutting the unity Republicans had hoped to project. They begin assailing the Affordable Care Act today.

Mr. Trump also named his choice for U.S. trade representative: Robert Lighthizer, a trade lawyer who has argued in favor of protectionist policies and has been harshly critical of China.

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• Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, called for consolidating intelligence and security powers to respond to Islamic terrorism and other threats.

But the proposal has been met with fierce opposition in a country whose totalitarian past has left it wary of centralized power.

Prosecutors added six counts of murder and war crimes to the charges against Harry Sarfo, above, an imprisoned Islamic State member from Germany.

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• The unexpected resignation of Britain’s top diplomat in Brussels, Ivan Rogers, deprives the country of one of its most knowledgeable officials as it tries to form a coherent “Brexit” strategy less than three months before negotiations are to start.

“I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking,” Mr. Rogers wrote in a farewell letter to colleagues.

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• Syria’s main rebel groups accused government forces of violating a five-day-old cease-fire and threatened to pull out of peace talks brokered by Russia and Turkey.

The rebels told the news media that fighter jets continued to hammer rebel-held areas across the country.

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• Turkey remains on high alert as the authorities hunt for the gunman who killed 39 people at a nightclub in Istanbul on New Year’s Day.

Turkish officials arrested two foreign nationals they described as suspects and released a “selfie” video, above, of the man thought to be the attacker.

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• Some Italian pasta makers are capitalizing on national pride by using only domestic wheat.

• Bitcoin has been swept up in a speculative frenzy, pushing its price toward the peak it last reached in late 2013.

• Megyn Kelly, the popular Fox News host, is leaving the network for NBC, at an undisclosed salary.

• German inflation surprised economists by rising to 1.7 percent in December, the highest level in three years. Eurostat will release preliminary inflation figures for the eurozone today.

• The dollar index hit a 14-year high after construction spending rose to levels not seen in more than a decade. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Catholic bishops announced a deal in which President Joseph Kabila, who has overstayed his term in office, would step down by the end of 2017. But Mr. Kabila has yet to sign it. [The New York Times]

• In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies and enemies alike say a criminal investigation of graft allegations against the prime minister is more serious than scandals he has faced in the past. [The New York Times]

• The costs of limiting workdays to six hours outweigh the benefits, a Swedish experiment suggests. [Bloomberg]

• The French newspaper Le Parisien said it would stop commissioning opinion surveys about this year’s presidential election, citing pollsters’ failure to predict the outcomes of the “Brexit” vote and the U.S. presidential race. [France 24]

• The Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal was attacked at Istanbul’s airport — then arrested on charges of “inciting hatred” — after he decried “filthiness” in Turkey on social media. [Hurriyet]

• An Indian official said women who were groped and harassed by an unruly crowd on New Year’s Eve were themselves to blame because of their dress and behavior. [The New York Times]

• An annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s reviled manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” is going into a sixth printing as one of Germany’s best-selling works of nonfiction. [The New York Times]

• Antonio Conte’s arduous training sessions have transformed Chelsea, which will be playing for a record 14th consecutive Premier League victory today.

• Titanic news: A coal fire in the ship’s hull played a central role in the legendary sinking, a journalist contends.

• Big changes are coming for travelers in 2017, to airplane cabins, hotel loyalty programs and theme parks.

• Inmates in an Italian prison can be trained as sommeliers, to help them prepare for life after release.

• Want to be a “superager”? Work hard at something, says a psychologist who has studied older people with the mental acuity of 25-year-olds.

• And here’s a retired Russian cook on the excitement of forging new friendships in old age.

This month, Melania Trump — born Melanija Knavs in Slovenia — will become the second first lady to have been born outside the U.S.

Louisa Adams, above, the wife of John Quincy Adams (president from 1825 to 1829), was the first.

She was born in London in 1775. Her mother was English, her father the American consul. Their home became an essential stop for American visitors, including John Quincy, who met Louisa in 1795 and married her in 1797.

Louisa arrived in the U.S. in 1801 when President John Adams brought his diplomat son home for a time. Wherever the couple was posted, her engaging personality stood out. Louisa dazzled imperial courts overseas, and her soirees were the heart of Washington’s social life when John Quincy was secretary of state, proving critical to his ascension to the presidency.

The question of her “Americanness” became an issue during his tumultuous term in office. Her efforts to dispute rumors that she was British only drew more attention to her background.

Louisa continued to be John Quincy’s political partner as he served in Congress after leaving the White House, supporting his antislavery efforts.

When she died in 1852, both Houses adjourned. A Washington publication wrote that hers was one of the “longest funeral processions ever witnessed in this city.”

Adeel Hassan contributed reporting.

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