Author: NY TIMES

Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was shot five times on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Officials said the act was a politically motivated assassination attempt, stoking fears that Europe’s increasingly polarized and vitriolic politics could tip into violence.Mr. Fico, a veteran politician, underwent hours of emergency surgery after being critically wounded in a town in central Slovakia. Hospital and government officials said Thursday that Mr. Fico’s condition had stabilized overnight but remained serious.Here is what we know about the shooting.How did it happen?Videos from the scene indicate that Mr. Fico was shot…

Leave it to the Parisians to ace the “Canadian tuxedo.” Taking to Instagram recently with a series of street-style posts, the French photographer Ludovic Pieterson (@thestylearchivist) posted a reel titled “How people style total denim in Paris” and proved beyond any reasonable doubt that a style last in favor during the Rolling Stones’ “Voodoo Lounge” tour was back.Fashion savants, of course, have been proclaiming the return of “double denim” for some time, predicting, with the bland assurance of carnival fortune tellers, that the future lies ahead. Yet, suddenly, in look after look, there was the proof: full denim outfits worn…

More than 5,000 Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama are voting this week on whether to join the United Automobile Workers union, a decision both supporters and opponents say will have consequences far beyond two factories near Tuscaloosa where the German carmaker churns out luxury sport utility vehicles and batteries for electric cars.Conservative political leaders have portrayed the union campaign to organize Mercedes workers as an assault by outsiders on the region’s economy and way of life. The vote tally is expected to be released by federal officials on Friday.Six Southern governors, including Kay Ivey, an Alabama Republican, issued a statement last…

European Union regulators on Thursday opened investigations into the American tech giant Meta for the potentially addictive effects Instagram and Facebook have on children, an action with far-reaching implications because it cuts to the core of how the company’s products are designed.Meta’s products may “exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors” to create behavioral dependencies that threaten their mental well-being, the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member bloc, said in a statement. E.U. regulators could ultimately fine Meta up to 6 percent of its global revenue, which was $135 billion last year, as well force other product changes.The…

At noon on Tuesday, some church bells and carillons in the Netherlands didn’t sound like they usually do. Rather than solemnly tolling, they played the melody of “Europapa,” the song that was supposed to be the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest final this past Saturday.Dutch radio stations are also regularly playing the three-minute pop song, and some fans have added the hashtag “JusticeforJoost” to their social media accounts.Support is strong in the Netherlands for Joost Klein, the singer behind “Europapa,” who was a preshow favorite among Eurovision fans and bookmakers until he was disqualified just hours before the…

Sasson’s report took special note of Avi Maoz, who ran the Construction and Housing Ministry during most of this period. A political activist who early in his career spoke openly of pushing all Arabs out of the West Bank, Maoz helped found a settlement south of Jerusalem during the 1990s and began building a professional alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and would soon go on to his first term as prime minister. Years later, Maoz would be instrumental in ensuring Netanyahu’s political survival.“The picture that emerges in the eye of the…

With his army making advances in Ukraine and his political grip tightened at home after securing an unprecedented fifth term as president, Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Beijing on Thursday in search of another win: more support from his “dear friend,” Xi Jinping.Mr. Putin, whose economy remains largely isolated because of Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine, relies on Mr. Xi, China’s leader, for diplomatic cover and a financial lifeline, including huge purchases of Russian oil. But Mr. Putin will need more help to sustain his war machine, especially now as his military makes a push near…

So, on May 14, 2024, the modern Premier League takes its logical next step: Tottenham Hotspur fans support their team when facing Manchester City as they would rather lose than concede to rivals Arsenal Win the championship.First of all, this is in no way a criticism of fans who choose to do this. It was entirely their choice to do so, and to anyone who thinks their behavior is unreasonable: well, have you ever seen a football fan? Given the schadenfreude within fans, this could happen in any era.But while much of the pregame discussion on the topic focuses on…

The text came through on Michael D. Cohen’s iPhone on Monday morning, shortly before he took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom as the star witness in the criminal case against his former boss, Donald J. Trump: “breathe – relax – tell the truth – u got this – i love u.”An hour later, another text came in from the same person: “Ur doing great.”“Thank you and truly love you,” Mr. Cohen wrote back to the sender, who was not his wife, either of his children or another family member, but the comedian and actress Rosie O’Donnell.Politics, the cliché goes,…

The driver of a waste disposal truck was rushed to a hospital on Wednesday following an incident at the Phoenix campus of the Taiwanese chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which is under construction.Local media reported that an explosion had occurred that, the company said in a statement, did not damage the facility. The truck driver is a contractor, and no TSMC employees or construction workers were injured, the statement said. Fire officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.TSMC makes the majority of the world’s advanced semiconductors. Last month, the Biden administration awarded the company a $6.6 billion grant…