Cyberattack, Donald Trump, Syria: Your Wednesday Briefing – New York Times

Paul Manafort, the onetime manager of the Trump presidential campaign, retroactively reported that his consulting firm had received more than $17 million in payments from a Ukrainian political party with ties to the Kremlin.

And in this weeks magazine, a Nixon biographer makes the case that President Trump has essentially misunderstood the F.B.I.s role. Since Watergate, the agency has come to view itself as an independent check on the president.

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Syrian and Russian officials rejected an American accusation that Syria was preparing for another chemical attack. Above, President Bashar al-Assad visiting troops at a Russian air base in western Syria.

President Trump conferred by phone with President Emmanuel Macron of France on finding a common response should the attack take place. Mr. Macron seized the opportunity to invite Mr. Trump to Paris for Bastille Day next month.

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Googles record 2.4 billion euro fine for violating European antitrust rules highlights the aggressive stance E.U. officials have taken in regulating many of the worlds largest technology companies.

Googles legal battle with the E.U. is far from over, but for now the focus will probably shift to changes the company will have to make to comply with the decision. Google is facing two separate antitrust charges related to Android, its mobile software.

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Its picnic season, and we have tips on how to make yours a success. (Two simple ones, often forgotten: Bring trash bags and enough water.)

Making a get-together a potluck, and moving it outside, instantly ensure things are more affordable and communal. Our food writer tagged along with a family that has perfected the art of the picnic in the park.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Wilbur Ross, the American commerce secretary, said they wanted to revive talks on a trans-Atlantic free trade deal.

Li Keqiang, Chinas premier, affirmed his countrys desire to be seen as the worlds new leader in free trade, in a speech at a World Economic Forum conference in Dalian, China.

Nestl said it was prepared to spend billions of dollars on stock buybacks and acquisitions. Heres a short history of the Swiss conglomerate, which sells more than 2,000 brands around the world.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Rogue police forces in Venezuela attacked the Supreme Court, dropping grenades from a helicopter, officials said. [The New York Times]

Few details have emerged in the car bombing in Kiev yesterday that killed a colonel in Ukraines military intelligence. [Kyiv Post]

The issue of same-sex marriage moved to the center of Germanys national election campaign. Martin Schulz, the left-wing candidate, demanded a parliamentary vote this week. [The New York Times]

Meanwhile, the Chaos Computer Club, a Hamburg collective, is working on hacker-proofing the German election in the fall. [Bloomberg Businessweek]

A court in the Netherlands ruled that the Dutch government was partly liable for the massacre of about 350 Muslim men in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995. [The New York Times]

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotlands first minister, postponed plans for a second independence referendum after her partys setback in Britains general election. [The Scotsman]

In Britain, the authorities identified more buildings with flammable facades, or cladding, similar to what was used on the London highrise that caught fire this month. The authorities in Germany evacuated a building with similar cladding. [The New York Times]

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

What prospective university students do online could have consequences in real life.

Ransomware is in the news. Heres how to protect yourself.

Recipe of the day: Somali-style rice, flavored by rich stock and an aromatic spice mixture.

Our photographer visited the charred countryside of Portugal, where survivors of the countrys worst wildfire in decades confronted anger and grief.

FIFA published an investigators top-secret report into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which was widely reported to have been tainted by corruption.

Our Interpreter columnist explains why right-wing populism has not upended politics in Canada. (Theres no mention of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus footwear, but our fashion team explored his sock diplomacy.)

In memoriam: Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish actor perhaps best known for the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, died at 56. And Alain Senderens, a founding father of nouvelle cuisine, died at 77.

Today is the 48th anniversary of the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a watershed moment in L.G.B.T. history.

The protests against a police raid helped galvanize the movement for gay rights. Former President Barack Obama made the bar an official U.S. monument last year, but Stonewall was already famous around the globe.

The name has come to be synonymous with gay pride. Among those invoking it: The Stonewall Hotel in Sydney, Australia, which is not actually a hotel, but a three-floor bar and club.

Theres also Stonewall in Britain, a charity that fights for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Stonewall Japan says it has 2,000 members. Stonewall Javeriano, a student group in Colombia, has attracted attention outside the country for its existence at a Catholic university.

In the U.S., Stonewall is the name of a museum and archive in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., because the riots gave visibility to a community that had previously faced a life in the shadows, its executive director said.

And to make sure future generations learn its history, theres a new effort to record the oral histories of those who took part in the 1969 uprising, announced this month, with funding from Google.org.

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.

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This briefing was prepared for the European morning. We also have briefings timed for the Australian, Asian and American mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters here.

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Cyberattack, Donald Trump, Syria: Your Wednesday Briefing - New York Times