Brigitte García, Ecuador’s youngest mayor, has been shot dead. The 27-year-old, along with her press officer, was discovered deceased in a car on Sunday in the town of San Vicente, where she had triumphed in the mayoral election just last year.

Russian state media is squarely pointing fingers at Ukraine and Western powers for the deadly assault on the Crocus Hall, mirroring narratives propagated by the Kremlin while ignoring Ukraine’s denial of involvement.

Israel has opted to cancel a scheduled meeting in Washington following the United States’ decision not to veto a UN Security Council resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza.

Japan’s cabinet has given its nod for the export of newly developed fighter jets, a joint endeavour with the UK and Italy, signalling a departure from its longstanding pacifist stance.

The EU will launch an investigation into three of the biggest tech firms in the world over uncompetitive practices – Meta, Apple and Alphabet (which owns Google). 

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has said that Israel had definitively barred it from delivering aid to northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest.