Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was said to be fighting for his life after being shot multiple times from close range in a brazen assassination attempt on Wednesday (May 15), but by Thursday morning, it appeared the doctors who fought for him had successfully put his life out of danger. "I guess in the end he will survive," Tomas Taraba, deputy prime minister, told reporters, adding: "He's not in a life threatening situation at this moment."

The pro-Russian leader, 59, had been greeting supporters at an event outside a cultural centre in the town of Handlova, nearly 140 kilometres northeast of the capital, when the attempted assassination took place, shocking the small country and reverberating across Europe weeks before an election. An initial investigation found "a clear political motivation" behind the assassination attempt, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said. Most often described as left-populist, in recent years Fico has also been considered close to right-wing politicians like Viktor Orbán, prime minister of neighbouring Hungary.

China's leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russia's President Vladimir Putin on a two-day state visit, underscoring the close relationship between the two leaders. Following Putin's dawn arrival, he was greeted by Xi with full military honours at the Great Hall of the People, the massive seat of the ceremonial legislature sitting aside Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing. The visit was taking place while Moscow pressed forward with a new, potentially decisive offensive in north-eastern Ukraine.

Xi also congratulated Putin on his election to a fifth term in office, before they celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between their two nations. For many people, Putin and Xi have come to symbolise a more state-led, authoritarian paradigm in international politics as an alternative to Western free market democracy. Xi said the two countries were furthering their relationship as "good neighbours, good friends, good partners," according to state broadcaster CCTV, echoing their commitment to the "no limits" relationship they signed in 2022.

India and Iran signed a long-term contract for the development of Chabahar Port after years of negotiations. A high-level delegation led by the Indian minister for shipping Sarbananda Sonowal visited Iran to sign the contract, which will pave the way for the full use of this strategic port in southeastern Iran, developed with Indian aid. The long-term bilateral contract was signed between Indian Ports Global Limited and the Port and Maritime Organisation of Iran, enabling the operation of the Shahid Beheshti terminal at the Chabahar Port for 10 years.

Located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province on Iran's southwestern coast, Chabahar Port is at an important point on the Arabian Sea, with easy access from India's west coast. The port also offers an alternative route from the Strait of Hormuz for cargo traffic between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. However India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had to urge the US not to take a "narrow view" of the deal, after Washington warned that countries doing business deals with Tehran risked sanctions.

The number of US fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted this week. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. It would be only the second annual decline since the current national drug death epidemic began more than three decades ago.

About 107,500 people died of overdoses in the US last year, including both American citizens and non-citizens who were in the country at the time they died, the CDC estimated. That's down 3% from 2022, when there were an estimated 111,000 such deaths, the agency said.Experts reacted cautiously. One described the decline as relatively small, and said it should be thought more as part of a levelling off than a decrease. Another noted that the last time a decline occurred - in 2018 - drug deaths shot up in the years that followed.