Your Wednesday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/briefing/russia-bakhmut-avdiivka-europe.html

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In Avdiivka, a town in eastern Ukraine where just a few hundred people remain, the shelling barely stops. Residents hide in basements, as the thud of Russian artillery reverberates every minute or two. The assault is part of Russia’s effort to capture the area around Bakhmut.

Russian efforts to capture Avdiivka began over a year ago, but the attempt to take the areas near Donetsk, the Russian-held regional capital, has recently intensified. The monthslong advance has been slow — Russia has yet to capture any major towns — but devastating. It has killed tens of thousands and reduced places to ruins.

My colleagues visited Avdiivka just hours before the Ukrainian military declared it off-limits and found it a wasteland. The top official there called it “like a site from postapocalyptic movies.”

Other updates:

The former director of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant gave a harrowing account of the abuse of Ukrainian workers and careless practices by the Russians in charge.

The International Olympic Committee declined to decide whether Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to compete in the 2024 Games.

A day after Benjamin Netanyahu announced a delay in efforts to weaken Israel’s judiciary, his government and the opposition in Parliament began the first direct negotiations to reach a compromise since the plan was introduced. Emotions subsided after weeks of unrest.

Four government negotiators and eight opposition counterparts held a meeting hosted by Israel’s figurehead president, Isaac Herzog. Participants said the meeting was mainly procedural. But it was the first face-to-face negotiation between lawmakers from the two sides on a dispute that has divided Israeli society more bitterly than any in recent memory.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel said that President Biden would invite Netanyahu to Washington and grant him a long-sought meeting in the coming months. The Biden administration had avoided extending such an invitation in recent weeks, as officials grew increasingly concerned about the plan.

But even though the Biden administration signaled its support for the delay, it did not suggest a complete reset in relations. The U.S. ambassador said that no date had been fixed, leaving open the possibility of a delay if Netanyahu pushes ahead with the plan.

Global democracy: Netanyahu’s proposal is overshadowing a speech Biden plans to give today at the White House-led Summit for Democracy. The crisis is testing the U.S. stance on autocratic practices; opponents have called Israel’s proposal anti-democratic.

Other fears: Netanyahu promised Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister for national security, that he would consider creating a national guard under his control. Critics say that such a move would effectively place a paramilitary body under the control of a man convicted of racist incitement and support for a terrorist group.

Another round of strikes, street demonstrations and sometimes violent protests took place across France yesterday, as the fight against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul continues. The government rejected a call by labor unions to suspend changes to the retirement system.

The disturbances were familiar to many in France after three months of conflict: Roads were blocked, transit was interrupted, gas stations experienced shortages. But the protests were not as widely attended nor as violent as those last week. Authorities had deployed 13,000 officers before yesterday’s demonstrations, including more than 5,000 in Paris.

Neither Macron nor opponents of his pension overhaul are backing down, though tensions remain high and the standoff has grown increasingly bitter. Unions, almost all opposition parties and more than two-thirds of the French public disagree with his plan. The unions called for a new day of protest and strikes next week.

One consequence: King Charles III had planned to start a royal tour in France, but he postponed his trip. He will instead travel to Germany today for his first trip abroad as Britain’s monarch.

In other French news: Prosecutors raided major banks, including Société Générale and BNP Paribas, as part of a multicountry investigation into what authorities say is one of Europe’s biggest tax thefts.

Two people were killed in a knife attack at a Muslim center in Lisbon.

Myanmar’s regime disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, another blow to the country’s democracy.

The Nashville school shooter used three guns that had been purchased legally.

A federal judge ordered Mike Pence, the former U.S. vice president, to testify before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump.

A fire in a Mexican migrant detention center near the U.S. border killed at least 38 people.

The U.S. and Japan reached a trade deal over minerals used to make electric car batteries.

U.S. prosecutors charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced FTX founder, with bribing Chinese officials.

Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant, will split into six units. The move reflects Beijing’s concerns about tech giants.

China is providing loans to debt-ridden countries, including Argentina, Turkey and Sri Lanka, emerging as a potential alternative to the I.M.F.

Interest in Britain’s monarchy allows impersonators to build thriving careers. For years, that was especially true for those that imitate Queen Elizabeth II or Prince William.

Finally, after years on the sidelines, look-alikes of King Charles III are experiencing popularity, as his May coronation approaches: Some have doubled their rates as bookings requests soar.

The former soccer club owner who lives on a nuclear submarine: When Vladimir Romanov owned Hearts, there was a period when the club threatened Glasgow’s dominance of Scottish soccer. Then, just like that, it ended.

What does an N.W.S.L. star do on a day off? Ali Riley is a symbol, a team captain and someone who likes Chinese food and candles. Here are the spots she likes to visit in Los Angeles.

The Premier League player who must decide his future: Marcus Rashford is on a hot streak. Now he has a decision to make: Stick with his boyhood club or seek riches elsewhere.

Traveling with children is never painless and can be boring: Adults often want to see the sights but get stuck doing overpriced activities that are often optimistically billed as “family fun.”

If that sounds familiar, consider the Basque region in Spain. It offers contemporary art, scary medieval weapons and Gothic cloisters. More important, there’s also a lot of wide-open space.

Andrew Ferren, his husband and their 11-year-old twins did a three-day road trip in the region, driving from San Sebastián to Bilbao. In museums and cultural centers, the twins asked questions, looked at art and had space to run around. “By the second day, my kids didn’t want our adventure to end,” Andrew writes.

These breakfast burritos can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven.

“Grey Bees,” by the Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov, recently won a National Book Critics Circle Award.

Midday naps can be good. But they won’t make up for insufficient sleep at night.

Do you know how ChatGPT really works? If not, here’s an explanation.

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Snow day toy (four letters).

And here are today’s Wordle and the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. Thanks for joining me. — Amelia

P.S. The last U.S. troops left Vietnam 50 years ago.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is about the fight over a police training center in Atlanta.

You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.