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Cities across Europe, like Frankfurt, above, are taking steps to protect pedestrians after a series of terrorist attacks using cars.

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Iraqi forces are advancing in their offensive to retake the stronghold of Tal Afar from the Islamic State.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, above left, is in Iraq for talks to address renewed political instability fueled by regional rivalries. In Erbil, he reiterated his request that a referendum next month on Kurdish independence be postponed.

Separately, YouTube inadvertently removed videos that could be used in potential war crimes prosecutions. It had intended to purge extremist propaganda from its site.

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Our Washington team looked at how President Trump developed his new strategy for Afghanistan, one that will require thousands more American troops.

Pakistan reacted with apprehension. And the Taliban, with the hard-line Haqqani Network in their top leadership, are gaining ground.

Heres a look at some of our photographers best work covering 16 years of war. And here are some notable reactions from the right and left to Mr. Trumps plan.

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On Capitol Hill, the presidents relationship with the top Republican senator, Mitch McConnell, has disintegrated to the point that they are no longer on speaking terms. The rupture threatens to stall the Republicans legislative agenda.

Mr. Trump, at a rally in Arizona, attacked the sick news media, which he said are trying to take away our history and our heritage.

And our most-read story in Europe today: Louise Linton, the Scottish actress married to the U.S. Treasury secretary, belittled a stranger on social media for having less money than she does.

European antitrust regulators opened an investigation into Bayers $56 billion takeover of Monsanto, its American agribusiness rival.

Apple scaled back its ambitions for a self-driving car project, code-named Titan, to focus on developing the underlying technology and testing it in an employee shuttle service.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

DNA results confirm that a torso found in Copenhagens harbor is that of the missing Swedish journalist Kim Wall, the Danish police said in a Twitter post. [The New York Times]

In Russia, the detention of Kirill Serebrennikov, the acclaimed theater director, has renewed fears of a crackdown on artists. [The New York Times]

President Emmanuel Macron will begin a tour of Central and Eastern Europe today. Notably, no meetings with the populist leaders of Hungary and Poland are said to be on the agenda. [Reuters]

Brawls between more than a hundred Afghan and Eritrean migrants in Calais, France, left 21 injured. Six police officers were also hurt. [Associated Press]

The Trump administration denied $96 million in aid to Egypt and delayed $195 million in military funding in part over Cairos ties to North Korea. [The New York Times]

Angolans are voting in a presidential election today. Outgoing President Jos Eduardo dos Santos, who led one of the worlds most corrupt nations for nearly four decades, is likely to remain influential. [Quartz]

The U.S. Navy is set to replace a top commander in Asia after two deadly collisions that raised questions among allies about American naval superiority. [The New York Times]

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

Who really needs to be gluten-free?

Your guide for dorm room essentials.

Recipe of the day: Embrace the meatless meal with roasted cauliflower and broccoli with salsa verde.

Salzburg, Austria, has become the Davos of classical music. There, we followed Anna Netrebko, above, the star soprano, as she navigates a changing classical music industry.

At the Womens Rugby World Cup, England beat France and New Zealand crushed the U.S. to advance to Saturdays final in Belfast.

Soccer: Barcelona is suing Neymar, the star player, for breach of contract over his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

In memoriam: Janusz Glowacki, the Polish writer of darkly humorous works on totalitarianism and the migr experience, died at 78.

The depths of the ocean are a lot brighter than you might think. Scientists are finding that bioluminescence is so common in the oceans that it is one of Earths dominant traits.

They were a dissatisfied group of Americans, determined to break away.

Not Californians in 2017. Or Texans for decades. But on this day in 1784, settlers in western North Carolina declared an independent state. They were concerned that the state and national governments, which were in a debate over debts related to the Revolutionary War, did not have their best interests at heart.

The State of Franklin, in what is now eastern Tennessee, adopted a constitution with power divided among three branches, like the national government that its leaders hoped one day to join.

The state made treaties, levied taxes and set salaries, but not in currency. Instead, those salaries included 1,000 deer skins a year for the governor, 500 raccoon skins for the governors secretary and a single mink skin for the constable for each warrant signed, according to one account published in The Times in 1852.

Officials sought the help of Benjamin Franklin, but hopes of national recognition were never realized. The state only lasted a few years because of internal dissent and external pressure.

But it had an impact. The State of Franklin was eventually absorbed into Tennessee, and its leader, John Sevier, became Tennessees first governor when it joined the union in 1796.

Sarah Anderson contributed reporting.

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Barcelona, Afghanistan, Kim Wall: Your Wednesday Briefing - New York Times