C.I.A., International Women’s Day, Barcelona: Your Thursday Briefing
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Version 0 of 1. Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • The C.I.A. is scrambling to contain the damage from WikiLeaks’ release of documents on its hacking programs, temporarily halting work on some projects. The F.B.I., which suspects a disaffected insider was behind the leak, is preparing to interview hundreds of people. Want to shield your tech products — such as iPhones, Android devices, Wi-Fi routers and Samsung televisions — from the C.I.A.’s newly revealed hacking tools? Here are some tips. _____ • E.U. leaders are gathering in Brussels today and tomorrow for a summit meeting of the European Council. On the agenda: the future of Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland, whose reappointment as president of the Council is opposed by his own country in an unprecedented situation. The Polish prime minister, Beata Szydlo, is expected to propose that Mr. Tusk be replaced by Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a Polish member of the European Parliament since 2004. _____ • International Women’s Day events in Europe included a strike in France starting at 3:40 p.m. — symbolically the time of day when Frenchwomen stop being paid because of wage inequality. In Russia, the holiday ranks as the country’s largest single sales day for flowers. Women in Spain, where sexism and machismo are still deeply entrenched in the political establishment, were urged to halt their work for 30 minutes. In New York, a Wall Street firm put up a statue of a girl in front of Lower Manhattan’s bronze bull, fearlessly staring it down. _____ • A senior American general told Congress that Russia has deployed a prohibited cruise missile, the first public confirmation by the U.S. that the Kremlin had violated a landmark arms control agreement. Russia had denounced as “fake news” a New York Times article last month that first reported the violation. _____ • Russia’s RT network is regarded by many Western countries as the heart of a disinformation campaign designed to sow doubt about democratic institutions. But Russia insists the network is simply offering “alternative views” to the Western-dominated news media. While U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters, “There is no reason that we have to think the president is the target of any investigation whatsoever.” _____ • In his budget statement, Philip Hammond, above, the chancellor of the Exchequer, raised his growth forecast for the British economy, but said there was “no room for complacency” as Britain leaves the E.U. • Britain may have to pay the E.U. 2 billion euros in lost customs duties on Chinese clothing and shoes that were imported at artificially low prices. • Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told lawmakers that she learned about the Volkswagen emissions fraud from the news media, and that she doesn’t consider it “a gigantic scandal.” • Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, could face calls to end quantitative easing at the bank’s monetary policy meeting today. • Christie’s, the international auction house, plans to close its secondary salesroom in London and scale back its operation in Amsterdam as part of a companywide review. • Here’s a snapshot of global markets. • The Azure Window, a limestone arch in Malta, collapsed into the Mediterranean Sea after being battered by a storm. [The New York Times] • Some leaders of the Islamic State are fleeing Raqqa, their self-declared capital, as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters close in, the U.S. military says. [The New York Times] • A Danish father and son discovered the wreckage of a German plane from World War II, along with the remains of a man who might have been its pilot. [The New York Times] • António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, is proposing to stop paying countries that fail to investigate sexual abuse claims against their peacekeepers “in a timely manner.” [The New York Times] • Barcelona pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in soccer history, overcoming a 4-0 deficit after its first game against Paris St.-Germain to secure a berth in the Champions League quarterfinals. [The New York Times] • Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan novels will be made into a 32-part Italian television series. [The New York Times] • More than 330 readers responded to our question on Monday about their morning routines. The top themes: meditation/prayer, exercise, breakfast and, of course, coffee. We’d like to help power these routines, so here are our guides to meditation, running and, yes, brewing a better cup of coffee. And we’d encourage those who start the day with a healthy breakfast to stick to it — but the rest of us need not worry. As our health care writer has explained, “There’s nothing magical about breakfast.” • Recipe of the day: Spicy tofu and Swiss chard make for delicious vegetarian tacos. • The architect who designed the Dubai Frame, a landmark building set to open this year, is suing the municipality over copyright infringement. • “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” a 19th-century African-American spiritual that evokes the darkness of slavery, has become an English rugby anthem. • In memoriam: Gustav Metzger, a German-born artist and political radical who inspired Pete Townshend to smash his guitars and amps, has died at 90. Good night and good luck. The journalist Edward R. Murrow often ended his reports this way, but the signoff is usually remembered in connection to his CBS broadcast on this day in 1954. Murrow dedicated the entire episode of his show, “See It Now,” to analyzing Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s hunt for Communists within America’s borders and the spectacle of his nationally televised hearings. “And upon what meat doth Senator McCarthy feed?” Murrow asked. “Two of the staples of his diet are the investigation, protected by immunity, and the half-truth.” One of Murrow’s more memorable quotes was, “We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason.” The senator was condemned by his colleagues later that year. The Times called the program “crusading journalism of high responsibility and genuine courage.” The episode was depicted in a 2005 film directed by George Clooney. McCarthy responded to Murrow on his program a month later, calling him “the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors.” Remy Tumin contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Read the latest edition of the U.S. briefing here and the latest for Asia and Australia here. What would you like to see here? Contact us at europebriefing@nytimes.com. |