It could provide Kurdish leaders with leverage in talks with the central government in Baghdad, in particular over the contested status of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Syria, even some longtime rebel supporters have grown war-weary and started to embrace the inevitable: President Bashar al-Assad looks as though he is there to stay.
One of our editors spent some time with a group of Kurdish refugees who were resettled in County Leitrim, Ireland. The traditional Irish sport of hurling helped some integrate.
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• “A declaration of war.”
That’s what North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, said President Trump’s threats amounted to. Mr. Ri asserted the North’s right to shoot down U.S. warplanes “even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country.”
“We have not declared war,” the White House responded.
Some civilian airlines, including Lufthansa and Scandinavian, have changed their flight routes in the region in recent weeks amid concerns of an accidental strike.
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• In Washington, rights advocates immediately challenged President Trump’s new travel ban, which is set to go into effect Oct. 18. The Supreme Court canceled a hearing on Mr. Trump’s previous travel ban.
Remember Hillary Clinton’s emails? We learned that at least six close advisers of Mr. Trump occasionally used private email accounts to discuss White House matters. The content and the frequency of such email exchanges remain unknown.
And after Mr. Trump fueled a wave of football protests to shore up his base, we collected some of the best reactions from the right and left. Some entertainers including Pharrell Williams showed solidarity with the players.
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• Puerto Rico is on the brink of a “humanitarian crisis,” its governor said after the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria.
“Recognize that we Puerto Ricans are American citizens,” he said in a plea for help from Washington. The more than 3.4 million residents have little water and remain without power.
Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires: Natural disasters have struck our planet in quick succession over the last few months. In this video, a climate reporter explains what is usual and unusual this year.
We’ve answered readers’ questions on climate change, including on reasons some deny its existence.
Business
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• A 21-foot cactus. A war room. Nothing is too strange for American cities wooing Amazon to build its new headquarters there.
• Uber’s chief executive, reacting to the loss of the company’s ride-hailing license in London, issued an open-letter apology for the company’s “mistakes,” but it didn’t specify what they were.
• ABB Group, the Swiss engineering firm, said that it would buy General Electric’s industrial solutions business for $2.6 billion.
• Here’s a snapshot of global markets.
In the News
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• In Poland, President Andrzej Duda, above, offered his own draft versions of legislation meant to restructure the Polish court system. The compromise is likely to go too far for the government, but not far enough for its critics, who fear that judicial independence is undermined. [The New York Times]
• Russia has committed “multiple and grave” human rights abuses — including arbitrary detentions, torture and abductions — in Crimea since occupying the territory three years ago, U.N. investigators said. [The New York Times]
• A Palestinian man opened fire outside an Israeli settlement near Jerusalem, killing three Israeli men and critically wounding a fourth. The attacker was then shot dead. [The New York Times]
• Many police officers in Catalonia are caught between their oaths to Spain’s Constitution and their personal sympathies toward secession from the country. [Associated Press]
• A last-ditch attempt by Senate Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act appeared to collapse, as a pivotal senator declared her opposition. [The New York Times]
• Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former New York congressman, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for exchanging lewd texts with a 15-year-old girl. [The New York Times]
Smarter Living
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
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• How to find a qualified dog trainer. (Above, this writer’s dog, who is usually a good boy.)
• Recipe of the day: Try shaved brussels sprouts salad with pecorino and walnuts.
• Are your retirement savings on course? Here are some tips, and more in this week’s newsletter.
Noteworthy
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• In our latest magazine issue, we explored how families around the world spend their vacations and ask whether it’s really possible for tourists to experience a country as locals do. Above, sunbathers in Odessa, Ukraine.
• Napoli’s San Paolo stadium is among the most menacing stops in the Champions League, in part thanks to a local radio D.J.’s thunderous announcements.
• The internet is abuzz with photos of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the actress, making their first official public appearance as a couple.
• José Carreras, the Catalan tenor, reflects on his plan to retire: “I realize that the end is very close — so I enjoy it more and more.”
• Our fashion editors brought back five styling tips from London Fashion Week, including, controversially, that it’s O.K. to wear socks with sandals.
Back Story
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Thirty-four years ago today, a faulty missile warning took the world close to its first nuclear exchange. But life as we know it continued thanks to one Soviet officer’s cool head.
In the early hours of Sept. 26, 1983, a Soviet computer system reported the launch of five Minuteman missiles. There were only minutes to counterattack before the missiles could strike Soviet cities.
Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov was in charge of the system that day. He was skeptical, partly because the attack seemed too small. After tense analysis, and a report by satellite radar operators registering no missiles, he alerted his superiors to a false alarm. He later recalled it as a 50-50 decision.
He was right. One of the Soviet satellites that informed the early warning system had misinterpreted the sun’s reflection off clouds.
Colonel Petrov faded into obscurity until a memoir in the late 1990s highlighted his role. His death in May was widely reported only last week.
In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2010 (published in German), he expounded on his decision: “We are wiser than the computers,” he said. “We created them.”
“Believe me,” he added. “I’m not a hero. I just did my job.”
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