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The Russian invasion The election in Russia
Analysis: Misjustin's short stature can save him

Next week, Vladimir Putin will be sworn in as president again, giving him an excuse to reshuffle his government. Is he changing the prime minister? That is what Mikhail Zygar asks in an analysis in Der Spiegel.

Current Prime Minister Michail Misjustin is a technocrat who only carries out orders, yet it is clear that he dislikes the war, has very little to do with it, and is actually more liberal. Despite his downsides, Misjustin has a decent chance of staying on, according to Zygar's sources, perhaps because Putin wants to maintain stability.

"And it is also not unimportant that he is shorter than Putin - in stature."

Putin now appears to be faced with a choice: a technocrat of the old school or the child of a close friend.

In the Foreign Affairs podcast, historian Stephen Kotkin talks about Russia's "murky" future. Kotkin admits that he does not "frequently have lunch with Putin" and therefore does not have all the answers. But Kotkin himself hopes for a new cold war with the West, even if it sounds "terrible" to many. There is no better alternative, he says.

- I'm okay with cold war. We know how to do it.

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The EU election|The electoral movement in Europe
German EU member in hospital - attacked in open street

German Social Democrat MEP Matthias Ecke is seriously injured after being attacked and badly beaten while putting up election posters in Dresden. The injuries are so severe that he has to undergo surgery. According to information to Bild, Ecke suffered a broken leg and was uncontactable for a period.

Three to four people carried out the attack, which occurred on Friday. A police spokesperson told Der Spiegel that the perpetrators were men, dressed in black, aged between 17 and 20, and that witnesses placed them on the far right. The initial assessment is that the attack was politically motivated.

In a press release, the party writes that the attack is a "warning signal to all people in this country" and that democratic values are under attack.

"Violent actions and intimidation are the means of the fascists," writes the party.

The 41-year-old is the top candidate for the Social Democrats in the federal state of Saxony ahead of the EU elections in June.

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The election in the United States|The indictments against Trump
Ex-advisor: Trump hid papers from Melania

Donald Trump's former adviser Hope Hicks testified on Friday in the criminal case against her former boss.

She told, among other things, how the Trump campaign reacted to media reports about Trump's affairs with porn stars. Hicks was then instructed not to include the Wall Street Journal, where the information was published, in the daily newspaper delivery to Donald and Melania Trump.

"He was worried about how his wife would react," Hicks said.

She was also asked about the infamous "grab them by the pussy" revelation, which happened near the end of the 2016 election campaign. Prosecutors wanted to show that the comments were so damaging to Trump that his payments to Stormy Daniels were made to protect the presidential campaign.

Hicks acknowledged that the revelation represented a crisis for the campaign, but added that Trump did not seem overly concerned.

- Trump felt that it was not good, but also that it was just two guys having a private conversation. He thought it was pretty normal stuff for two guys talking to each other.