Catalonia, Saudi Arabia, Hugh Hefner: Your Thursday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/briefing/catalonia-saudi-arabia-amazon-echo.html

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• “We are witnessing the worst democratic regression since the death of Franco.”

That’s Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Catalonia, in an interview on the measures the Spanish central government has taken to stop his regional administration’s independence referendum on Sunday.

For Catalan mayors, taking sides has become a Catch-22. “Whatever you do, you will be punished,” either by constituents or the state, a local politician said.

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• The end of an era: Wolfgang Schäuble, a dominant figure in European Union politics, will not stay on as Germany’s finance minister in the next government, his party, the Christian Democrats, said.

Their lackluster results in last Sunday’s election turned the job he has held since 2009 into an important bargaining chip in coalition negotiations.

Loved or hated for his insistence of budgetary austerity, he played a leading role in keeping the eurozone from disintegrating amid financial crises. His departure is a blow to French efforts to strengthen the E.U.’s financial governance.

The bloc’s leaders gather in Tallinn, Estonia, today for a summit meeting.

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• The votes have been counted in Iraqi Kurdistan’s nonbinding independence referendum. An overwhelming majority — 92.7 percent — voted in favor of the region’s secession from Iraq.

Iraqi lawmakers asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to deploy troops to the contested city of Kirkuk and seize oil fields from Kurdish control. Iraq and its neighbors Turkey and Iran carried out military exercises near Iraqi Kurdistan this week.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is in Ankara today for talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, which will probably include discussions on the vote.

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• In Moscow, Mr. Putin presided over the destruction of his country’s last declared chemical weapons in a choreographed event meant to cast him as a peacemaker. He faulted the U.S. for not having yet complied with its commitment to destroy its stockpile.

Meanwhile, the Russian campaign to influence the American presidential election last year may have used Twitter more extensively than Facebook. And such efforts are not over. Hundreds of accounts suspected of links to Russia have stoked furor over recent N.F.L. protests.

Separately, Facebook said it had deleted “tens of thousands” of accounts to combat misinformation before Germany’s election.

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• In Washington, President Trump unveiled a plan that would cut individual and corporate rates, amounting to the most sweeping tax overhaul in decades. Democrats lambasted it as a boon for the rich, including for Mr. Trump.

We surveyed the hurricane damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Maria drowned what Irma couldn’t destroy. Islanders wait for doctors, medicine, fuel and manpower to rebuild.

And workers have begun constructing eight prototypes of Mr. Trump’s promised border wall on a dusty patch of land in California.

• Ryanair said it would cut 18,000 more flights over staff shortages that have already led to 2,100 cancellations. The low-cost Irish airline also scrapped its bid to buy Alitalia, the troubled Italian carrier.

• Google is changing how it operates its online shopping service, giving competitors a better chance of attracting business. The overhaul comes after a record antitrust fine of 2.4 billion euros by the European Commission in June.

• The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri will take control of STX France under a shared ownership deal aimed toward the creation of a European naval defense conglomerate.

• Amazon introduced a wide collection of new Echo devices that are smaller and cheaper.

• Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

• A top Ukrainian official said a drone could have been used to start a fire this week at one of the country’s largest ammunition depots, setting off gigantic explosions and the evacuation of 30,000 people on Wednesday. [The New York Times]

• Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it will finally let women drive starting next June has led to a debate in the kingdom on what other relaxations may be next. [The New York Times]

• A visit to Kabul by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, coincided with a barrage of rocket attacks, underscoring Afghanistan’s fragile security. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State claimed responsibility. [The New York Times]

• In Britain, Jeremy Corbyn concluded a Labour Party conference by saying that the party was on “the threshold of power” under his leadership. [The New York Times]

• The resettlement of 50,000 refugees is the target of the European Commission’s new two-year plan. Its last plan relocated 29,000 people, far below its target of 160,000. [Politico]

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

• Smartphone apps can make your vacation more memorable.

• What happens to that data your new car collects about you?

• Recipe of the day: Braised halibut with potatoes and saffron involves a simple sear and simmer.

• Hugh Hefner, who created and spun Playboy magazine into a media giant, has died at 91. In his “The Last Word” video interview, recorded in 2008, he discussed his lifestyle and legacy.

• Champions League: Paris St.-Germain beat Bayern Munich, the five-time champion, 3-0.

• The American ski racer Lindsey Vonn has long wanted to compete against men in a World Cup Alpine race. She may get her chance, if ski racing officials approve a proposal next week.

• Science: Astronomers recorded a collision of black holes for the fourth time, this time with help from Europe’s new Virgo detector.

• Our fashion editors compiled a guide to Paris, for taking a break from haute couture during fashion week.

• Viral toddler videos may be weird, but they are also increasingly lucrative.

Early this morning at Confucian temples across Taiwan, robed officials performed elaborate ceremonies. The reason: Teacher’s Day, a day of honors for those who impart knowledge on what is believed to be the 2,567th birthday of Confucius, the Chinese sage.

Many other countries designate a special day to celebrate the teaching profession. India commemorates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher and the country’s president in the 1960s.

The U.S. celebrates National Teacher Appreciation Week in May.

Many countries have their Teacher’s Day next Thursday, thanks to a global effort started in 1994 by Unesco, the United Nations cultural organization, meant to spread respect for the profession.

The world body says that teachers remain underappreciated: “Strangely one of the most central, vital professionals to society does not receive the respect it deserves in some parts of the world.”

So here’s a timeless essay by an American teacher with tips on how to thank a teacher. The gesture won’t be forgotten, she wrote.

To her, her students’ cards and letters are “tangible evidence that the work we do truly matters.”

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