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Europe Edition

Catalonia, Ukraine, Turkey: Your Thursday Briefing

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

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Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times

The Catalan Parliament will meet today to review a possible declaration of independence, a day before the Spanish Senate is expected to approve a raft of emergency measures to give Madrid direct control over the region.

Journalists have played their part in reinforcing the divergent views of the standoff, our correspondent writes, in a look at the parallel universes of supporters and opponents of Catalan independence in the Spanish media. (Above, the newsroom of TV3, the Catalan public broadcaster.)

Meanwhile, a reporter visited Llivia, a Catalan enclave in France where residents have long maintained a strong sense of independence.

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Credit...Stepan Franko/European Pressphoto Agency

• In Kiev, a bomb wounded Ihor Mosiychuk, a populist member of Parliament with the far-right Radical Party, and killed his bodyguard in the latest in a series of elaborate assassination plots in the Ukrainian capital.

Separately, Russia released two Crimean Tatar leaders who had been jailed for protesting the annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula. They were flown to Turkey, Ukraine said.

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Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

• In the United States, President Trump’s brand of hard-edge nationalism is increasingly taking root within the Republican Party. Those uneasy with grievance politics are either giving in or giving up the fight.

“There’s no constituency for open borders, endless war and these international trade deals that are skewed against the United States,” a pro-Trump talk show host said.

Most congressional Republicans are reluctant to upset Mr. Trump as they are trying to piece together a once-in-a-generation bill to cut taxes.

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Credit...Yasin Akgul/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• A court in Istanbul ordered the release on bail of a group of leading Turkish human rights campaigners and two foreign activists — a German and a Swede — in a surprise softening in the Turkish government’s purge of critics.

But the case will continue, and two of the released Turkish citizens will remain under a travel ban. Above, a protest outside the court.

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Credit...Adam Ferguson for The New York Times

• Scores of Nigerian girls have been sent on suicide missions by Boko Haram. But 18, including Fatima, above, managed to survive to tell their stories.

When they were sent to kill themselves and others, they refused to follow orders and begged bystanders or the authorities for help.

“I came away thinking they were heroes,” our correspondent said. Their full names and images of their faces were withheld out of concern for their security.

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Credit...Sam Falk/The New York Times

• More than 56 years after a plane crash killed Dag Hammarskjold, the United Nations secretary general, a new report suggested that it appeared plausible that the crash in what is now Zambia was no accident.

And in the U.S., the final trove of sealed government records on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 is expected to be released starting today.

President Trump resisted pressure from intelligence agencies to block the release. Here’s a look back at decades of unanswered questions. “So interesting!” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter.

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Credit...Tom Jamieson for The New York Times

• Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, warned that the fallout from uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union could hurt its operations. Above, an assembly line in Derbyshire.

• Saudi Arabia is throwing an economic coming-out party of sorts as it seeks to move away from dependence on oil. It remains unclear to what extent recent top-down decrees will be able to drive change.

• Surprisingly, young Generation Y and Z buyers are driving growth in luxury sales.

• New stadiums are turning to advanced technology and events like e-sports to lure fans who increasingly prefer streaming events at home.

Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

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Credit...Yasuyoshi Chiba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• Kenya’s Supreme Court did not postpone today’s presidential election after only one of six judges showed up to a last-minute hearing on a request to delay it. Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, urged his supporters to boycott the vote. [The New York Times]

• An unexpected political thaw in Uzbekistan represents rare positive political news out of Central Asia. [The New York Times]

• The #MeToo movement reached the European Parliament, where several lawmakers spoke about their experiences with sexual harassment in the “Brussels bubble.” [The New York Times]

• A former Guatemalan judge became the first of scores of convicted soccer officials and businessmen to be sentenced in the U.S. in a wide-ranging FIFA corruption case. [The New York Times]

• In Russia, journalists tied extensive assets to people close to President Vladimir Putin, including a cousin and old friends. [Novaya Gazeta/OCCRP]

• “Matilda,” a Russian movie released today about an affair between the country’s last czar and a ballerina, drew protests from some Orthodox Christians but mostly giggles at a prerelease screening. [The New York Times]

• Thailand will cremate King Bhumibol Adulyadej today in an elaborate ceremony, capping a year of national mourning. [The New York Times]

• Today, the European Parliament will select the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize, the E.U.’s top human rights award. The finalists are a missing Swedish-Eritrean writer and activists from Guatemala and Venezuela. [European Parliament]

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

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Credit...Michael Kraus for The New York Times

• Recipe of the day: Citrus salmon with herb salsa is perhaps one of the best ways to make salmon.

• New security measures take effect today on all U.S.-bound flights. Here is some advice to help minimize stress.

• Here are six travel destinations for the Halloween season, including, of course, Transylvania.

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Follow the Frugal Traveler for a memorable 26-hour train ride from Johannesburg to Cape Town.CreditCredit...Alexia Webster for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

• Join our Frugal Traveler columnist on a scenic train ride through South Africa in our latest 360 video.

• In memoriam: Fats Domino, the rhythm-and-blues singer who was one of the biggest stars of early rock ’n’ roll, died at 89. Listen to 12 essential tracks here.

• Scientists matched alabaster stone in statues across Europe to a quarry in the French Alps, reconstructing a medieval art trade route.

• There’s a tradition of strong female detectives in Scandinavian crime dramas. Here are three series worth binge-watching.

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Credit...Rockstar Games

“Do I look like a gangster? I’m a businessman!”

Such is life in the world of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, an installment in the long-running video game series that was originally released 13 years ago today.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise, an action-adventure series in which players pursue a life of crime, has stretched over 20 years and more than a dozen titles.

With 250 million units sold, it’s one of the most successful franchises in video game history, falling behind only famous names like Mario and Pokémon.

The games are known for their nonlinear, open-world style, which allows players to cause random mayhem in fictionalized versions of U.S. cities.

As such, the series has long been accused of glamorizing violence. (In 2009, Guinness World Records labeled it the most controversial video game series ever, citing more than 4,000 news articles.)

Even so, the series has been a critical success — several titles are among the most well-reviewed games of all time — and celebrated for its soundtracks, voice acting and the sly sense of humor it applies to American culture.

As one character notes, guns blazing, “Ain’t the American dream grand!”

Thomas Furse contributed reporting.

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Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online.

This briefing was prepared for the European morning. Browse past briefings here.

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A correction was made on 
Oct. 26, 2017

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this briefing mischaracterized the sales of the Grand Theft Auto series of video games. The series has sold 250 million units, not made $250 million.

How we handle corrections

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