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A gunman shot Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, who is known for defying his fellow leaders in the European Union, multiple times at close range on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on a European leader in decades. Mr. Fico was shot after emerging from the House of Culture in Handlova, a town in central Slovakia, as he greeted a small crowd in Banikov Square. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, then airlifted to another hospital for emergency surgery. Hours later, the deputy prime minister, Tomas Taraba, told the BBC that Mr. Fico’s situation was no longer life-threatening, and he expected the prime minister to survive. The gunman, identified by Slovak news outlets as a 71-year-old poet, was immediately wrestled to the ground by security officers.

Persons: Robert Fico of, Fico, Tomas Taraba Organizations: European Union, Culture, BBC Locations: Robert Fico of Slovakia, Handlova, Slovakia, Slovak

Israel was mere moments away from an airstrike on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders at Iran’s embassy complex in Syria when it told the United States what was about to happen. Aides quickly alerted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser; Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser; Brett McGurk, Mr. Biden’s Middle East coordinator; and others, who saw that the strike could have serious consequences, a U.S. official said. Publicly, U.S. officials voiced support for Israel, but privately, they expressed anger that it would take such aggressive action against Iran without consulting Washington. On Saturday, Iran launched a retaliatory barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, an unexpectedly large-scale response, if one that did minimal damage. The events made clear that the unwritten rules of engagement in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran have changed drastically in recent months, making it harder than ever for each side to gauge the other’s intentions and reactions.

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed across the Middle East, mostly in countries with close ties to the United States. There were more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007, during the war that followed the U.S. invasion. Image Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in 2019. Credit... Nasser Nasser/Associated PressWhy are so many troops there? A military coalition led by the United States, including forces in Syria and Iraq, defeated it. President Biden has retaliated with attacks on Iran-aligned militants, hitting groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Persons: Jan, Al, Nasser Nasser, Biden, Israel —, Al Tanf, ” Gen, Hossein Organizations: U.S, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Hezbollah, Army, Air Force, Washington, Operations, Navy’s, U.S . Central Command, Associated, Islamic, U.S ., Pentagon, ”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Jordan, Iraq, United States, State, U.S, Al Asad Air, Iraq’s, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Azraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, American, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Israel, Yemen

Among Israeli and Palestinian leaders, reactions to Biden administration sanctions against West Bank settlers fell predictably along ethnic and ideological lines, from far-right Jewish nationalists who denounced the penalties as unjust to Arabs who said they did not go far enough. The sanctions announced on Thursday came in response to violence by Jewish settler extremists, which has increased sharply in recent months. “4 settlers?! Pathetic,” Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, wrote on X. “The ‘settler violence’ campaign is an anti-Semitic lie spread by Israel’s enemies,” Mr. Smotrich wrote on X, though such violence has been amply documented.

Persons: Biden, ” Ahmad Tibi, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben, ” Mr, Smotrich, Yossi Dagan, “ Organizations: West Bank Locations: West

☆ What to Know About the U.N. Aid Agency for Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | Richard Pérez-Peña | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians has been a vital lifeline in the Gaza Strip for generations — and it was a point of contention with Israel long before some of the agency’s employees were accused of involvement in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel. The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The claim was acted on by both the United Nations, which said on Friday that it had fired the accused workers and was investigating, and the United States, which said it was suspending some funding for the agency. The agency looms especially large in Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million people are registered as refugees. Gaza has been under a longstanding Israeli blockade, and Hamas — considered a terrorist group by much of the world — wields control.

Persons: Here’s, — Organizations: Israel, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Palestinian Authority Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, denouncing Russia’s “unprovoked aggression,” told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that if it did not break the grip of Russian veto power, it would be powerless to resolve conflicts around the world, adding his voice to the rising calls to reform how the body works. “Ukrainian soldiers are doing with their blood what the U.N. Security Council should do by its voting,” Mr. Zelensky said on Wednesday, arguing that “veto power in the hands of the aggressor is what has pushed the U.N. into deadlock.”Mr. Zelensky’s appearance before the council helped make it the highest-level direct confrontation over the invasion of Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia and his American counterpart, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, taking the seats normally occupied by their ambassadors and stating their countries’ cases. Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Zelensky did not cross paths — the Russian did not enter the hall until after the Ukrainian had spoken and left — in a bit of choreography that reflected a session in which the two talked past each other.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s, ”, ” Mr, Zelensky, Mr, Sergey Lavrov, Russia, Antony J, Blinken, Lavrov Organizations: . Security Locations: Ukraine

The General Assembly has undergone tremendous changes as its influence has waned. What does the General Assembly do? Unlike the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force, the General Assembly is purely deliberative. The General Assembly also appoints the U.N. secretary general, currently António Guterres, for five-year terms and the Security Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a searing rebuke of the Russian invasion of his country in a recorded address to the General Assembly.

Persons: ”, Peter J, Hoffman, that’s, Dr, “, it’s, Israel, António, Volodymyr Zelensky, Guterres, ’, ” Dr, Indira Gandhi of Organizations: United Nations, Assembly, Security Council, Social Council, BRICS, New School, . Security, United Nations ’, Pacific, General, Sustainable, General Assembly, Security, New Zealand —, Indira Gandhi of India Locations: Manhattan, New York City, United, New York, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Ukraine, “, South Sudan, Europe, Americas, Australia, North America, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New, ”, Oceania, America

The entire world has a vested interest in helping defeat the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, casting his appeal for more allies and aid as a matter of security — even survival — for many other nations. Delivering one of the most anticipated speeches of the annual gathering of world leaders, Mr. Zelensky painted Russia as a habitual aggressor, citing Moscow’s military interventions in Moldova, Georgia and Syria, its increased control over Belarus and its threats against the Baltic States. “The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources, into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order,” he said. Almost 19 months into a war with no end in sight, U.N. leaders had signaled that they wanted this year’s General Assembly, which began on Tuesday, to center on global warming and the sustainable development of poorer countries. They were hoping for less of a focus on Ukraine than last year, when Mr. Zelensky addressed the gathering by video.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, “, ” Organizations: General, Assembly Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic States

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden said as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine watched from the audience. I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Mr. Biden continued. “Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises.”Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Zelensky received strong applause from some of the delegations in the hall, but many others did not clap. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Jill Biden were to host a reception for other world leaders at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This is clearly a genocide,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir V, Moscow, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, “, Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, we’ve, Lloyd J, Austin III, Ukraine’s, Xi Jinping, Jill Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Netanyahu, “ Slava Ukraini Organizations: appeasing Moscow, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, United Nations, International Criminal Court, . Security, Mr, White, Pentagon, Capitol, Defense, General, appeasing, United, Soviet Union —, Turkmenistan —, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United Nations ’ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Russia’s, Germany, China, Beijing, Libya, “, United Nations, Soviet Union, Soviet Union — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, China’s, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic

Elon Musk foiled an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet last year by refusing to let Ukraine use his satellite network to guide its drones, Mr. Musk has acknowledged, provoking a furious response from a top official in Kyiv and renewing questions about the global power wielded by a multibillionaire businessman. But Mr. Musk would not allow the network to be used for an attack last September with maritime drones on the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia illegally seized in 2014 and then annexed. At the time of the attempted attack, Mr. Musk spoke with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly I. Antonov, who had told him an attack on Crimea “could lead to a nuclear response,” according to a biography of Mr. Musk by the historian and journalist Walter Isaacson. The account was included in an excerpt from the book published on Thursday by The Washington Post. Mr. Musk confirmed elements of the story, writing on his social network X, formerly Twitter, “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Anatoly I, Antonov, Walter Isaacson Organizations: Mr, SpaceX, Russian, The New York Times, The Washington Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russian, United States

☆ U.N. Accuses Taliban of Rights Violations Despite a Blanket Amnesty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Richard Pérez-Peña | More About Richard Pérez-Peña | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, hundreds of members of the U.S.-backed former government have been detained, tortured or killed under the new government, despite Taliban leaders’ declaration of amnesty for actions during the long civil war, the United Nations reported on Tuesday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a new report that it had documented “at least 218 extrajudicial killings of former government officials,” primarily police officers and soldiers, committed by members of the new government, though the pace had slowed greatly since the first months after the takeover. “In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed,” it said. “Some were taken to detention facilities and killed while in custody, others were taken to unknown locations and killed, their bodies either dumped or handed over to family members.”The killings were among some 800 documented human rights violations against members of the former government from the Taliban takeover on Aug. 15, 2021, until June 30, 2023, the U.N. mission said. The majority took place before the end of 2021, the report said.

Persons: ” Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Assistance, “ Locations: Afghanistan, U.S

Battles raged in southern Ukraine on Thursday, as Kyiv’s stepped-up offensive against the Russian occupation made small gains, according to Russian, Ukrainian and Western analysts and officials, but the scope of the assaults and their toll remained unclear. A day after U.S. officials said the main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive appeared to have begun, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said, “We confirm that hostilities have intensified and in a significant way.”But there was minimal, and sometimes contradictory, information about how many troops and armored vehicles Ukraine had committed so far to its attempt to punch holes through Russia’s daunting defensive network. Crucially, it was also unclear what kind of losses either side was suffering, in soldiers and weaponry. What is clear is that Ukraine has significantly ratcheted up its seven-week-old counteroffensive, along two southward thrusts apparently aimed at cities in the Zaporizhzhia region: Melitopol, near the Sea of Azov, and Berdiansk, to the east, on the Azov coast. In both cases, the Ukrainians have advanced only a few miles so far and have dozens of miles to go.

Persons: Kyiv’s, Vladimir V, Putin, “ Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Azov

On a day of turbulence in the streets and in the halls of power alike, Israeli lawmakers on Monday enacted a major change in law to weaken the judiciary, capping a monthslong campaign by the right-wing governing coalition that is pitting Israelis against one another with rare ferocity. Throngs of protesters outside the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, and opposition lawmakers inside shouted that the change was a grievous blow to the rule of law, to the rights of citizens and to democracy itself. Coalition members countered that it was the judiciary that posed a threat to democracy, and said that they planned to take further steps to curb it. The measure strips Israel’s Supreme Court of the power to overturn government actions and appointments it deems “unreasonable,” a practice that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition says has effectively given the court veto power over the will of the majority. Still on the coalition’s agenda are plans to give the government more power over the selection of Supreme Court justices, among other changes.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s Organizations: Coalition Locations: Israel

Russia barraged Ukrainian ports for the fourth night in a row on Friday, striking granaries in Odesa and mounting a show of naval force on the Black Sea in a deepening showdown that imperils a vital part of the global food supply. The Kremlin this week withdrew from a year-old agreement that allows ships carrying food from Ukrainian ports to bypass a Russian blockade, and began a concentrated bombardment of facilities used to ship grain and cooking oil across the Black Sea. The Russian military warned that any vessels attempting to reach Ukraine would be treated as hostile, and their nations “will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime.”On Friday, Russia conducted naval exercises in the northwestern Black Sea — the part near the coastline Ukraine still holds — backing up the suggestion that it could seize or destroy cargo ships of noncombatant nations. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that a missile boat fired anti-ship cruise missiles and destroyed a “mock target” vessel, while ships and planes of the Black Sea Fleet “practiced isolating an area temporarily closed to navigation” and conducted a drill “to apprehend a mock intruder ship.”Missile strikes around dawn destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley at the port in Odesa, according to Oleg Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. That came two days after an attack on a port just outside Odesa destroyed 60,000 tons of grain to be loaded onto ships, the government said — enough to feed more than 270,000 people for a year, according to the World Food Program.

Persons: ”, Oleg Kiper Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry, Black, ”, World Food Locations: Russia, Odesa, Russian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Black

☆ Opinion | Amanda Gorman: In Memory of Those Still in the Water
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Gorman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Panicking people stepped on each other in the dark, desperately using each other to come up for air, to stay alive. At the water’s surface, some clung to pieces of wood, surrounded by drowned friends, relatives and strangers. As the headline on another Times story, by Richard Pérez-Peña, put it: “5 Deaths at Sea Gripped the World. Hundreds of Others Got a Shrug.”Refugees and migrants dying while trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of safety is not new. The United Nations estimates that more than 27,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.

Persons: Adriana, torturous, Richard Pérez Organizations: BBC, The New York Times, Coast Guard, ”, The United Nations Locations: Greece, African

☆ 5 Deaths at Sea Gripped the World. Hundreds of Others Got a Shrug.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Richard Pérez-Peña | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On one vessel, five people died on a very expensive excursion that was supposed to return them to the lives they knew. On the other, perhaps 500 people died just days earlier on a squalid and perilous voyage, fleeing poverty and violence in search of new lives. After contact was lost with the five inside a submersible descending to the Titanic, multiple countries and private entities sent ships, planes and underwater drones to pursue a faint hope of rescue. That was far more effort than was made on behalf of the hundreds aboard a dangerously overcrowded, disabled fishing trawler off the Greek coast while there were still ample chances for rescue. The submersible accident, at the site of a shipwreck that has fascinated the public for more than a century, would have captivated people no matter what.

A deliberate explosion inside the Kakhovka dam, on the front line of the war in Ukraine, most likely caused its collapse on Tuesday, according to engineering and munitions experts, who said that structural failure or an attack from outside the dam were possible but less plausible explanations. Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for the failure, noting that Moscow’s military forces — which have repeatedly struck Ukrainian infrastructure since invading last year — controlled the dam spanning the Dnipro River in the city of Nova Kakhovka, putting them in a position to detonate explosives from within. Russian officials, in turn, blamed Ukraine, but did not elaborate on how it might have been done. For months, each side in the war has repeatedly accused the other of plotting to sabotage the hydroelectric dam, without offering evidence — allegations that rarely rose above the wartime fog of claims and counterclaims, both real and fabricated. Just last week, both said an attack on the dam was imminent; Ukrainian officials said the Russians wanted to create an emergency at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which uses river water for cooling, to stall an expected Ukrainian offensive.

Organizations: Nova Kakhovka Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Dnipro, Nova

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