The vote was a blow to the pro-independence Catalan parties, though they still have Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez locked into a controversial amnesty deal, Mark Nayler writes.

Belousov is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former economic advisors. He assumes command of the Defense Ministry during a time of record expenditure as Russia’s war against Ukraine plows into its third year, FP’s Amy Mackinnon reports.

The decision was made in response to Israel’s ongoing offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which numerous foreign leaders and humanitarian organizations have condemned, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.

If she wins the presidency, Sheinbaum will have to combat fraying unity within the Morena party and accusations of being outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “puppet,” Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert writes.

The attack came a month after Fico ally and pro-Kremlin candidate Peter Pellegrini won Slovakia’s presidential election, cementing Bratislava as a pro-Russian thorn in the European Union’s side, Paul Hockenos wrote at the time.

Wong takes over the city-state at a precarious geopolitical moment, Joseph Rachman writes.

The meeting was meant to reassert the strength of the Russia-China relationship as Western tensions with the two authoritarian states spiral, FP’s James Palmer writes in China Brief.

The pier’s completion comes as international pressure mounts against Israel to allow greater levels of aid into the besieged Palestinian territory, FP’s Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer write in Situation Report.

Each round of the competition featured two men sitting on opposite sides of a table, hooking a finger through a small leather loop, and trying to pull their opponent across the table, The Associated Press reports.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Nemo broke their award almost immediately, saying, “I lift it and when I put it down, it just shattered,” the BBC reports.