Around 10,000 people filled Bratislava's Freedom Square on Tuesday evening to protest the policies of Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, with rallies also taking place in several other cities across Slovakia. The turnout was smaller than last week when 16,000 gathered in the capital. On that occasion, demonstrators also heard four liberal opposition parties announce a cooperation deal. The protests are an extension of the series of demonstrations that began after Fico returned as prime minister in late 2023.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was caught chatting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping - about the light topic of organ transplants, and how they could let "us live younger and younger, and perhaps even achieve immortality." As ABC News reports, the comments were overheard on a hot mic attached to Putin's interpreter, who was translating his words into Mandarin at a parade in Beijing this week commemorating the end of World War II and showing off fearsome new Chinese military might.