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Under the proposal, Britain would quit the actual customs union, but seek to temporarily join an almost identical accord. That would allow the country to sign but not put into effect trade deals with other partners. (Heres the full text.)

The British government hopes the proposal will bring two years of stability for businesses post-Brexit, but theres concern about additional red tape. Today, the government is set to unveil a plan for the delicate subject of the Irish border.

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Our Cairo bureau chief delves into the strange twists, betrayals and secrets in the case of Giulio Regeni, an Italian graduate student who was tortured and murdered in Egypt last year.

Former U.S. officials said that the U.S. had informed the Italian government of incontrovertible evidence that an Egyptian security agency, which they did not name, was behind Mr. Regenis murder and that the leadership in Cairo was fully aware of the circumstances around his death.

This morning, several Italian newspapers carried Italian government denials that evidence had been passed on to Rome.

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Hundreds of people remain missing after deadly flooding and mudslides in Sierra Leone. At a morgue in Freetown, the capital, a resident said he was given a mask and led past hundreds of bodies to look for his 10 missing relatives. He could not find them.

Separately, suicide bombers killed at least 20 people in Nigeria, some at a camp for people displaced by the fight against the Boko Haram militant group.

Meanwhile, mayhem among armed militias is spreading in the Central African Republic. Aid groups warned that they may be forced to leave amid attacks on civilians.

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Finally, our correspondent in Spain talked to ranchers in Galicia, who since medieval times have ritually rounded up their horses in the summer, letting them roam wild in the green forests and hills of northwestern Spain for the rest of the year.

But tougher regulations and higher costs have forced some to abandon keeping horses in the wild. Animal rights activists say the roundups cause unnecessary stress to the wild animals, and should end.

Modern society is losing a way of life that has kept us and animals in harmony, one rancher said.

As talks begin on the renegotiatiation of Nafta, heres a look at how the agreement changed trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. (For one, the cross-border supply chain made U.S. carmakers competitive with European manufacturers.) And heres a look at Canadas negotiating strategy.

The German government provided Air Berlin with a transitional loan to keep the carrier, the countrys second-largest, running after it had filed for insolvency. Ryanair, the budget airline, claimed that Air Berlin was being set up for a takeover by Lufthansa.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

At least 13 people were killed in Madeira, Portugal, when a tree fell on a crowd that had gathered for a religious festival. [The New York Times]

Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, warned that the countrys nuclear program could be restarted in a matter of hours, if the U.S. government imposes further sanctions on Tehran. [The New York Times]

Italys government seeks tougher punishments for the promotion of fascism amid a resurgence of nativist sentiment. [Politico]

The British government said that its inquiry into the deadly Grenfell Tower in June would also look into the conduct of the local authorities in London. Yesterday, our correspondent explored the disconnect between the citys elite and its poor residents, which the tragedy highlighted. [The New York Times]

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

Recipe of the day: Put your pressure cooker to work with this excellent black bean soup recipe.

Maybe dont buy that iodized salt.

How much should you invest in stocks?

Sam Sifton, our food editor, considers it a nearly sacred process: the slow, deliberative steps in the making of a pizza. And whether you call it a kaiser or a Vienna, heres an ode to the buttered bread roll, a distinctly New York City phenomenon with Central European roots.

Soccer: Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrids coach, was hopeful that Cristiano Ronaldos five-game ban would be overturned before a match against Barcelona today.

Maria Sharapova has been granted a wild-card entry into the U.S. Open, her first Grand Slam appearance since serving a 15-month suspension for doping.

In memoriam: Dr. Ruth Pfau, a German-born medical missionary who was hailed as the Mother Teresa of Pakistan, died at 87.

Children who sleep less may be at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, researchers say.

Today in 1930, a dancing frog set a new standard in animation.

Fiddlesticks, featuring Flip the Frog, above, was a stand-alone cartoon with synchronized sound. (Watch it here.)

By that year, music had been widely used to accompany animations. Some of the more laborious animations were even in color. Then around 1930, those two features were combined.

In Germany, Lotte Reinigers character silhouettes of the 1920s used changing background colors to create atmospheric scenes. In the U.S., King of Jazz in 1930 featured a short color animation with synchronized sound.

In Fiddlesticks, Flip the Frog tap-dances his way through a world of merry animals, but then is moved to tears as he plays the piano alongside a violin-playing rodent that resembles Mickey Mouse.

The animation was released by Ub Iwerks, who had helped produce Mickey Mouse, shortly after he left Walt Disneys growing enterprise. The Flip franchise ended in 1933, and Mr. Iwerks returned to work at Disney.

But he never stopped innovating.

His obituary noted that he invented a panoramic camera arrangement. Imagine his excitement if he could see todays 360-degree cartoons.

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This briefing was prepared for the European morning. You can browse through past briefings here.

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Donald Trump, 'Brexit,' Madeira: Your Wednesday Briefing - New York Times