Your Tuesday Briefing

What you need to know today. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, February 27, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Tuesday Briefing]( By PATRICK BOEHLER Good morning. The world tilts toward authoritarianism, Angela Merkel grooms a successor and the Colosseum gets snow. Here’s the news: Thomas Peter/Reuters • Are we in the era of the strongman? Our Beijing correspondent, a veteran of both Washington and Russia, details how China’s move to extend the rule of President Xi Jinping fits into [a global shift toward unabashed authoritarianism]( unchecked by the U.S. Some critics fear that the U.S. has diminished moral authority — and inclination — to oppose the world’s slide toward more hard-line control. Above, memorabilia showing Mr. Xi and his wife, and Mao Zedong. _____ [People receiving medical treatment in eastern Ghouta, Syria, where dozens have died even in the day since the cease-fire resolution was passed.]Mohammed Badra/European Pressphoto Agency • There is no end to the horror in Syria. The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, [appealed for a cease-fire decision to]( respected]( to allow relief aid for 400,000 people trapped in eastern Ghouta, a besieged suburb of Damascus. One resident called it “an uninhabitable hell.” Russia ordered a daily humanitarian truce, but it was unclear if the Syrian government would respect it. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey is facing a backlash for bringing [a weeping, saluting 6-year-old girl on stage]( and telling her of the honors if she were to be killed fighting Kurdish militias in Syria. _____ Stefanie Loos/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to be grooming a successor. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a former state governor called “mini-Merkel” by the German news media, was elected general secretary of the governing Christian Democrats. She is widely seen as having the necessary mix of liberalism and conservatism to unite a restive party base, [our correspondents write](. The party also approved Mrs. Merkel’s coalition deal with the Social Democrats. That party’s results are expected by Sunday. _____ Dan Kitwood/Getty Images • Is there a good road map for congestion pricing? As New York City debates charging drivers for using crowded streets, [we look at how it has and hasn’t worked out in London, above, Stockholm and Singapore](. Commonalities: eased traffic, lowered pollution. Obstacles: outrage and skepticism from commuters and civic and business leaders. Many in Silicon Valley [are enamored of ideas of]( perfect cities from scratch](. But to planners and architects, all of this sounds like newcomers mistaking political problems for engineering puzzles. _____ Michel deGroot for The New York Times • In art news, we may soon know more about the life of “Girl With a Pearl Earring.” That 1665 painting by Johannes Vermeer is the subject of [an ambitious and public research project at the Mauritshuis museum]( in The Hague. Above, an X-ray photo of the painting. One mystery that will remain: the identity of the real-life girl, if there even was one. Business Matt Chase • Tech companies are tracking social media users’ posts, calls, scrolls and clicks in search of behavioral changes that could correlate with disease symptoms. Health insurers are [watching the]( field, digital phenotyping,]( closely. • The French government [unveiled a plan to overhaul]( the state-owned railway operator, SNCF. Unions called for a strike over the scrapping of some employment benefits. • United Parcel Service [has sued the E.U.’s antitrust regulators]( for a decision they made five years ago that blocked its takeover of TNT Express, the Dutch delivery company. • “Black Panther” may soon join the $1 billion club. The Marvel superhero movie [has earned more than $700 million]( in global ticket sales in 12 days, far outshining the current competition. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Shannon Stapleton/Reuters • In the U.S., the Supreme Court kept the “Dreamers” program alive for now, dealing a temporary setback to President Trump’s efforts to scrap the Obama-era program that shields about 700,000 young immigrants from deportation. [[The New York Times]( • Mr. Trump asserted that he would have rushed in to stop the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida, even if he were unarmed at the time of the massacre. [[The New York Times]( • In Nigeria, horrifying details are still emerging of a kidnapping last week by Boko Haram Islamist militants. As many as 110 girls have been missing since the raid. [[The New York Times]( • European diplomats are creating an add-on agreement to the Iran nuclear deal in the hope that its tighter restrictions would appease U.S. calls for the deal to be scrapped. [[The New York Times]( • The leader of Britain’s main opposition party, Jeremy Corbyn, tried to position Labour as the standard-bearer of a “soft” Brexit, narrowing the maneuvering room for Prime Minister Theresa May. [[The New York Times]( • A test of populism in government: Austria’s far-right vice chancellor is being sued by the country’s public broadcaster for defamation. [[Reuters]( • In South Africa, Nhlanhla Nene makes a comeback as finance minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first cabinet to lead efforts to revive the country's economy. [[The New York Times]( • Major international music festivals have pledged to split their lineups evenly by gender. [[Rolling Stone]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press • Whether you’re finishing winter or heading into it, simple changes can lower [your heating bill](. • One powerful bit of advice for opportunities that come your way: [If you don’t love it, don’t do it](. • Change up fish night by [pan-roasting salmon with jalapeño](. Noteworthy Angelo Carconi/European Pressphoto Agency • Many Romans [took rare snow in cheerful stride](. (Above, a snowball fight at the Colosseum.) But the unexpected cold also caused disruptions. As in other parts of Europe, train transport has been disrupted and many schools remain closed. • King penguins are threatened as warming seas force them to swim farther to find food, [a new study found](. • Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose “Loveless” is an Oscar nominee for best foreign film, is the [rare director in Russia who tackles social and political issues](. (The awards ceremony is on Sunday.) • In Ireland, creating trails like the Great Western Greenway meant persuading farmers [to let people traipse through their land](. The effort paid off: The routes are increasingly popular and have even created jobs. Back Story Fabio Muzzi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Leaning Tower of Pisa has had its distinctive tilt since shortly after construction began in the 12th century, but it was on this day in 1964 that the Italian government decided things had gone too far. Despite its location in the Piazza dei Miracoli (the Square of Miracles), the tower had become one miracle that needed a little human help to survive. To prevent the loss of a national treasure — and tourism gold mine — the authorities in Italy asked for suggestions on how to correct the tower’s 13- to 14-foot lean from perpendicular. But people had been offering advice long before that. [The Times reported in 1972]( that, in the previous 60 years, more than 200,000 people had sent letters to the mayor of Pisa with their thoughts on how to save the monument. And previous attempts had gone awry, most notably one from Benito Mussolini in 1934. The Italian dictator decided a leaning tower wasn’t a fitting symbol for his country, so he had holes drilled through the floor and 80 tons of concrete poured into the foundations. It promptly lurched another few inches toward the ground. [The tower was finally stabilized]( in 2001, after an 11-year, $26 million restoration project. Anna Schaverien contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [europebriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:europebriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Europe)). _____ Correction: [Monday’s briefing]( misidentified the source of an article about a memorial for Boris Nemtsov, the Kremlin critic killed in 2015.​ It is from [The Moscow Times]( not The New York Times. ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. FOLLOW NYT [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Prefer a different send time? 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