Önder Özar Diplomasi Sevgisi: The New York Times Morning Briefing - MAy 16, 2024 by Natasha Frost : covering an attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister and Russia’s growing momentum in Ukraine. Plus: The Netherlands’ next government.

May 16, 2024

	By Natasha Frost

Good morning. We’re covering an attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister and Russia’s growing momentum in Ukraine.

Plus: The Netherlands’ next government.

Slovakian security officers in suits run around a black sedan.

Security officers moved Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after the shooting. Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters

Slovakia’s leader was attacked

Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister, was shot five times and critically wounded yesterday, the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Officials said the attack appeared to have been an assassination attempt and was politically motivated. The police said a suspect had been detained.

Fico was rushed to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to another hospital for emergency surgery. Hours later, the deputy prime minister, Tomas Taraba, told reporters that Fico’s life was no longer in danger and that he expected the prime minister to survive.

Videos from the scene showed the gunman shooting Fico in Banikov Square, in the center of the town of Handlova. The attacker stood with other people behind a barrier before shooting Fico at close range as he greeted them.

Who is Robert Fico? The 59-year-old politician is serving his third term. He has aligned with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, in opposing aid to Ukraine and has strong ties to Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin.

Men wearing camouflage using a large piece of artillery.

Currently, the Ukrainians are firing one shell for every 10 the Russians fire. Nicole Tung for The New York Times

Russia’s momentum in Ukraine has U.S. worried

The White House is watching as Russia’s new offensive picks up speed in Ukraine’s northeast. U.S. officials are privately concerned that it could change the trajectory of the war, perhaps even reversing Russia’s once-bleak prospects. See maps of Russia’s advances.

Moscow’s electronic warfare techniques — which came to the battlefield late — have taken out artillery and drones provided by the U.S. and NATO. And the delay in U.S. aid allowed Russia to gain a huge artillery advantage. Ukraine’s lack of air defense ammunition meant Russia could use its air power with more impunity.

Analysis: Some experts say that Moscow’s true goal in taking territory around Kharkiv is to force Ukraine to reinforce the city, weakening front lines elsewhere. A thinly spread Ukrainian military could give Russia the chance for another push in June.

In Russia: Putin is selling victory to the public, and many people are buying it.

Geert Wilders, who is wearing a suit and holding papers under one arm, uses his other arm to gesture as he speaks to members of the news media.

The agreement excluded Geert Wilders, right, from becoming prime minister. Koen Van Weel/EPA, via Shutterstock

Dutch right-wing parties made a preliminary deal

After nearly six months of negotiations, four right-wing parties in the Netherlands said that they had reached a preliminary agreement to form a government that would exclude Geert Wilders, a populist politician, from becoming prime minister.

If the agreement is approved, the four parties would work together in a form slightly different from what the Netherlands is used to: with a cabinet that includes political outsiders and a prime minister who is not the leader of one of the governing parties.

MORE TOP NEWS

Several small wooden boats moving through the water, with grass and hills in the background.

Francis R Malasig/EPA, via Shutterstock

South China Sea: China has deployed dozens of coast guard and maritime militia ships toward a disputed atoll to block a fleet of about 100 small Filipino fishing boats.
France: An ambush that killed two prison guards and freed a prisoner has shaken the country.
Singapore: The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, stepped down after 20 years. He oversaw an increase in prosperity — and discontent.
Hong Kong: YouTube said it would block access in Hong Kong to the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong,” complying with a court order.
New Caledonia: After deadly riots broke out, France moved to declare a state of emergency in the South Pacific territory, which has long tried to gain independence.

War in Gaza

Rafah: Israel directed many Palestinians to a “humanitarian zone.” Satellite imagery shows an overcrowded area that has been damaged by strikes and is lacking medical care.
Warning: Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said that recent gains in getting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip risked being undone by Israel’s attack on Rafah.
Arms: The Biden administration told Congress that it intended to sell Israel more than $1 billion in new weapons.

From the U.S.

U.S. election: President Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to debates in June and September, which would be their first onstage clashes in more than three years.
Drugs: Overdose deaths in the U.S. declined slightly last year, the first decrease in five years. Synthetic opioids — mainly fentanyl — remained the primary cause of the deaths.
Wall Street: The S&P 500 stock index reached a new high, adding to three straight weeks of gains.

MORNING READ

Kei Kobayashi, wearing a white chef’s coat, stands in the dining room of a restaurant, his arms crossed.

Noriko Hayashi for The New York Times

Kei Kobayashi was the first Japanese chef to earn three Michelin stars in Paris. Now he has returned to Japan to try to build an empire.

Lives lived: A.T. Ariyaratne, a Sri Lankan who fought to alleviate poverty in his country, has died at 92.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The Bridgerton glow-up: Characters receive makeovers as they move from the sidelines of the plot into the spotlight.
Eurovision: Precisely why the act from the Netherlands was disqualified remains elusive. But many Dutch fans have already made up their minds.
Making music: New research offers clues on the evolution of how we came to sing.
The reading room: OpenAI’s office is home to a wood-paneled, old-fashioned library.

SPORTS NEWS

Manchester City 2, Tottenham 0: Is the Premier League title race over?

Scottie Scheffler: How a ‘venomous’ trash talker became the world’s best golfer.

ARTS AND IDEAS

King Charles III stands in front of a large red portrait of himself. Another person, in a purple suit, stands nearby, looking at the painting.

Pool photo by Aaron Chown

King Charles III’s red portrait

Royal portraits tend to be predictable affairs. But a new official portrait of King Charles III, painted by Jonathan Yeo, has surprised even its subject — and has created something of a controversy.

Some onlookers said the king looked as if he were “burning in hell” or “bathing in blood,” while others compared it to a possessed portrait in “Ghostbusters II.” A reference to “colonial bloodshed” rounded out the theme.

This is not the first polarizing royal portrait. Take a spin through some other surprising or contentious paintings of royals.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A white bowl holds coconut-miso salmon curry with rice.

Julia Gartland for The New York Times

Cook: Make a light coconut-miso salmon curry.

Read: In “Chasing Hope,” Nicholas Kristof recounts the highs and lows of his career as a Times correspondent.

Block: Replace ineffective citronella candles with mosquito repellers that work.

Style: These bright yellow bags enliven any outfit.

Heal: I was prescribed a long-term antibiotic. Is that safe?

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. See you tomorrow. — Natasha

Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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