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Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. Sergei Grits / AP  

 

The gas leak in the Gulf of Finland  

Estonian commander: Something that has "torn" the pipe  

 

The damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline appears to have been caused by something "tearing" on one side of the pipe, says Cdre Jüri Saska, commander of the Estonian Navy, according to ERR.  

 

He says the line is encased in cement but the cement on one side of the pipe has been torn off. It is particularly clear at the part of the line that is broken, according to Cdre Jüri Saska.  

 

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur states that the images from the gas pipeline show that the damage "must have been caused by something larger than a diver or unmanned submarine". In line with Estonian seismologists, he rules out explosions in connection with the gas line being damaged. However, 

 

Swedish and Norwegian seismologists have stated that a small explosion has occurred in the Gulf of Finland. 

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince bin Salman and Russia's leader Putin. Susan Walsh/AP  

Israel-Palestine Unstable oil market  

Analyst: Russia has received oil prices it only dreamed of 

The war between Israel and Hamas is the perfect scenario for Russia and Opec, believes Handelsbanken's commodity analyst Christian Kopfer. 

- Now Opec and Russia have managed to raise prices to levels they could only dream of in this economy, he says to Affärsvärlden. 

Kopfer estimates that the oil price will be around 100 dollars per barrel in the next few years.

 

Smer's party leader Robert Fico and Slovak President Zuzana Caputova. Vaclav Salek / AP  

 

The election in Slovakia  

Slovak parties agree - pro-Russian government close  

 

The winner of the election in Slovakia, the left-wing party Smer, led by Robert Fico, will sign a declaration of intent with the goal of forming a government together with HLAS, the center-left, and the nationalist SNS. That is written by Reuters.  

 

The announcement comes after HLAS on Tuesday said no to talks about government coalitions that do not include Smer.  

 

Robert Fico, former prime minister, has promised to stop the country's military aid to Ukraine if he comes to power.  

 

Election campaign for the opposition in the Polish capital. Rafal Oleksiewicz / AP  

 

Political situation in Poland  

Polish election fever abroad: "The first time I vote" 

  

Interest in foreign voting in the election in Poland on Sunday is at a record high, The Guardian reports. 608,000 people have registered.  

 

Around five million Polish citizens are estimated to live in other countries. In the last election in 2019, that group tended to vote for center and left opposition parties.  

 

Kasia Grzelak has lived in the UK since she was seven and works as a teacher in Newcastle. 

 

- I have never voted in a Polish election before. This choice feels important. Family members have written to me asking me to register, she told The Guardian.  

 

She will vote for the Citizens' Coalition led by pro-European Donald Tusk. One reason is that she is critical of the harsh abortion policy pursued by the ruling national conservative party Law and Justice (PiS). Cheng Lei. 

 

 

Wikipedia 

 

The China-Australia relationship  

Journalist arrested in China has returned to Australia  

 

Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been allowed to return home - three years after she was arrested in China. 

 

This is reported by international media. China put Cheng on trial behind closed doors in March 2022. She was accused of divulging state secrets to a foreign power but details of the charges were never made public.  

 

At the time of her arrest, she was working as a news anchor for Chinese state television.