Friday Briefing: A suspect is charged in Slovakia

Plus, the latest from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

View in browser|nytimes.com May 17, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Slovakia's divided politics and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Plus: The return of "Bridgerton." Outside the hospital where Robert Fico, the Slovakian leader, was treated after he was shot. Martin Divisek/EPA, via Shutterstock A suspect is charged in Slovakia An assassination attempt by a "lone wolf" who fired at least four bullets into Robert Fico, the leader of Slovakia, has put a spotlight on the Central European nation's troubled politics. The suspect was promptly arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempted premeditated murder, but the authorities have not named him publicly. Slovakian news outlets, citing police sources, identified him as a 71-year-old retiree with a yen for poetry and protests who the authorities said had acted alone. Fico, the prime minister, is pushing to overhaul the judiciary to limit the scope of corruption investigations, to reshape the national broadcasting system to purge what the government calls liberal bias and to crack down on foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations. He opposes military aid to Ukraine, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and the E.U. Context: Slovakian society and political culture are so bitterly divided that the violence has become yet another club with which each side can beat the other, amid what onlookers say is extreme polarization, exacerbated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. E.U. elections: Calls are growing in Slovakia for political parties to suspend campaigning in the wake of the attack. Quotable: "We are on the doorstep of a civil war," the interior minister, Matus Sutaj Estok, said. "The assassination attempt on the prime minister is a confirmation of that." A convoy of military vehicles, part of a NATO exercise, traveling from Germany to Poland.  Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times NATO is considering sending military trainers to Ukraine NATO allies are inching closer to sending military trainers into Ukraine at the request of Ukrainian officials. The move could draw the U.S. and Europe more directly into the war with Russia. So far the U.S. has been adamant that it will not put U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, and it has urged NATO allies not to do so, either. But yesterday, Gen. Charles Brown, a top U.S. military official, said that a NATO deployment of trainers seemed inevitable, even if, for now, such a move would put the trainers at risk. "We'll get there eventually, over time," he told reporters. At the front: Ukraine's position has worsened as Russia has stepped up attacks, in particular in the northeast. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the Kharkiv region and acknowledged that the situation there "remains extremely difficult." "We are strengthening our units," he added. Displaced people in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Israel said it would send more troops to Rafah Defying international pressure, Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, said that the country would send more troops to support its ground invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. More than a million displaced people had been sheltering there, and hundreds of thousands of civilians have already fled in recent days. Until now, Israeli troops and tanks have made only a limited incursion into eastern Rafah, and on May 7 they seized the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, a vital entry point for aid. The crossing remains shuttered, leaving wounded and ill people who need treatment abroad with no way out, and hundreds of aid trucks piling up in Egypt. U.S. politics: The House passed a largely symbolic bipartisan bill to rebuke President Biden for pausing an arms shipment to Israel. ADVERTISEMENT MORE TOP NEWS Andres Kudacki/Associated Press Donald Trump: In a Manhattan court, lawyers for the former president sought to cast Michael Cohen as a fabricator who had lied under oath to exact revenge on his former boss. (Read about the litigants' lunch menu.) Mpox: A deadlier version of the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo, the C.D.C. warned. Caribbean: As the world's coral reefs suffer a fourth global bleaching event, heat stress in the region is accumulating earlier than in previous years, according to new data. TikTok: The billionaire Frank McCourt, a critic of how tech companies use data, mounted a bid to buy the app. Campus protests: Around 550 students, professors and clergy members gathered near Columbia University for an "alternative" graduation ceremony, featuring pro-Palestinian speeches. Boston: A woman was accused of murdering her boyfriend, a police officer. The city is transfixed by the trial. From Europe Serbia: The government approved a contract with Jared Kushner to build a luxury hotel, drawing criticism from opposition leaders. Diplomacy: The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was expelling Britain's defense attaché after the British government threw out his Russian counterpart last week. Lucy Letby: Why a 13,000-word New Yorker article about a murder case is blocked in Britain. Paris dispatch: The Louvre is joining in the celebration for the Olympics by opening up for early-morning dance and exercise classes. Tickets sold out in a flash. MORNING READ For decades, Israel has systematically ignored ultranationalist Jewish violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories. A Times Magazine investigation shows how a radical ideology in Israeli society moved from the fringes to the heart of power. In a video, the writer Ronen Bergman explains how the failure to stop crimes by Jewish settlers and ultranationalists threatens Israeli democracy. Here are takeaways from the investigation. Lives Lived: The photojournalist Daniel Kramer planned a one-hour shoot with Bob Dylan. It turned into a 366-day odyssey, producing rare images of Dylan at home, behind the scenes on tour and in the studio. Kramer died at 91. CONVERSATION STARTERS Take charge: We chatted with a psychologist about how to avoid kneejerk decisions. Dogs at dinner: Their presence in restaurants can be a scourge or a delight. Who's asking? In your villain era: TikTok has spawned a curious new way of understanding ordinary life — as if it's part of a television series. Caring for the caregivers: For those who look after aging family members, there are more realistic tools for self-care than yoga or weekend escapes. ADVERTISEMENT SPORTS NEWS Changes afoot: Premier League clubs will vote on a proposal to abolish the video assistant referee system. P.G.A. Championship: How Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and other contenders stack up. FIFA: A corruption scandal brought changes to soccer. Less than a decade later, the appetite for reform appears to have waned. ARTS AND IDEAS Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times 'Bridgerton' is back Shonda Rhimes's period costume drama "Bridgerton," which follows eight siblings as they reckon with relationships in early-19th-century London, is now back for its third season on Netflix. Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton, above, has stepped up as co-lead, or chief hunk, and Nicola Coughlan was also promoted from supporting player to lead. For more: With its vision of a Regency England ruled by a Black queen and an anachronistically diverse royal court, Bridgerton is among a spate of films and TV shows reimagining history as a multiracial dream world, our critic writes. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Linda Xiao for The New York Times Bake: Celebrate the weekend with a regal strawberry cake. Read: "Henry Henry" retells Shakespeare's Henry V as the modern story of a gay man grappling with abuse and guilt. Save: Nine tips to stretch your food budget. Travel: How to spend 36 hours on the island of Minorca. Watch: Hong Sang-soo's "In Our Day" is a tender film about simple pleasures. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. Have a fabulous weekend. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018