Good morning. We’re covering sweeping new restrictions in Europe, a post-lockdown Melbourne after three months and why Mesut Özil has had a lower profile these last few months. | |  By Melina Delkic | | | Nuremberg on Wednesday, where cultural activities and food and drink sectors will be shuttered for four weeks. Christof Stache/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images | | | President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that France would go into a second national lockdown starting on Friday and lasting one month. Most schools will remain open and visits in retirement homes will remain possible. Otherwise, people may not leave their homes other than for essential reasons. | | | “The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated,” Mr. Macron said in a televised address. “Like all our neighbors, we are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the virus.” | | | In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the closure of restaurants and bars, as well as gyms, theaters, museums and nail salons for a month. Schools will remain open. | | | European shares sank to their lowest levels in months as investors began to worry about the economic impact of the new restrictions. | | | For weeks, European countries have tried to slow the spread of a second wave of coronavirus infections through targeted restrictions and avoid the nationwide lockdowns that devastated economies. But the number of cases has exploded and hospitals are filling up, leaving them few options. “Within weeks we will reach the limits of our health system,” Ms. Merkel said. | | | Details: France reported 288 new virus-related deaths in hospitals in 24 hours Tuesday and 235 deaths in nursing homes over the previous four days, the biggest rise since May. In Germany, hospitals have seen the number of patients double in the past 10 days. | | | Shopping is open again in Melbourne, after months of lockdown. William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images | | | It took 111 days, but Melbourne and the surrounding state of Victoria recorded no new coronavirus infections on Monday, and on Wednesday stores, cafes, restaurants and beauty salons opened their doors for the first time in months. Many of Melbourne’s five million residents said they felt as if they had survived an emotional roller coaster with effects on the economy, education and mental health that they predicted would linger. | | | “It’s like this tiny little flower that’s just sticking out one petal at a time,” said Ryan Gribble, 37, who celebrated the start of a return to normal life at a bar, shortly after the lockdown lifted at midnight. | | | The turnaround: Infections in July were spiraling out of control, hitting a peak of more than 700 a day. | | | The flagship Tiffany & Company store in New York City. Mike Segar/Reuters | | | Tiffany and LVMH have discussed a revised share price that would bring the sale down to just under $16 billion — about $400 million less than before. Directors of Tiffany are scheduled to vote on the proposal on Wednesday. Both brands get about 40 percent of their revenues from Asian buyers. | | | Context: LVMH agreed to buy Tiffany nearly a year ago, but the pandemic almost made the conglomerate back out. | | | A year ago, Mesut Özil, the Arsenal midfielder, was one of the Premier League’s highest-paid players. But then he criticized China over its treatment of the Uighur Muslims on Twitter and in an Instagram post. | | | A lot changed after that moment — though it’s unclear how much of it can be traced back to his criticism of China. Our reporters looked at the fallout for Özil, who quickly disappeared from video games, merchandise and the Chinese internet, got his pay cut, and has not played since June. | | | PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR | | TEST: Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity | | A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. | | | Learn More | | | | Climate change: A radical proposal to combat climate change is gaining traction: artificially cooling the planet, in hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian government is funding research of one technique that scientists hope can save the Great Barrier Reef. | | | Anonymous Op-Ed: Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, revealed himself to be the author of an anonymous 2018 Op-Ed in The Times. In the article, he described President Trump as “petty and ineffective” and claimed he was part of a cadre of officials working against the administration’s agenda. | | | Patrick Meinhardt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images | | | Snapshot: Above, voting in Tanzania. The election on Wednesday is seen as a referendum on President John Magufuli, who is seeking a second five-year term, and on the governing Party of the Revolution, which has dominated Tanzanian politics under one name or another since independence in 1961. | | | What we’re reading: This Tampa Bay Times investigation, recommended by Matt Apuzzo, an international investigative correspondent. “There’s nothing safer than a bank vault or an armored truck, right?” Matt writes. “Think again. This remarkable piece shows how one company lost millions of dollars from some of the country’s biggest banks by moving money around to stay ahead of audits.” | | | Karsten Moran for The New York Times | | | Watch: “Barbarians” depicts the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, which has long been a rallying cry for German nationalists, including the Nazis. The series has been positively received in Germany. | | | Drive-through polling places. Candidates meeting voters on Zoom. Canvassers in masks and gloves knocking on doors and then scurrying six feet back. Just days before the Nov. 3 election, our reporters looked at how the coronavirus has upended the election season at nearly every turn. | | | The pandemic has emerged as the dominant issue among candidates up and down the ballot, scrambled American campaign traditions and complicated the way votes are cast. The collision of an election and a pandemic has thrown campaigns and early voting efforts into a last-minute frenzy. | | | A ballot drop box in Washington on Wednesday. Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times | | | Voters who had never considered mailing their ballots are doing that for the first time rather than braving their usual indoor polling places. And some in the nation’s army of Election Day workers are weighing what levels of protective equipment to wear — if they go to the polls again this year at all. | | | The share of cases reported in Republican counties has grown every month, from 20 percent in March to 56 percent now, a Times analysis of virus data shows. Much of it is occurring in counties that represent President Trump’s base within battleground states that could decide the election. | | That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. — Melina | | Thank you
Carole Landry helped write this briefing. Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | | P.S.
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