Our daily jaunt around the world

🇷🇺 A Russian court denied the appeal of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. It was the first public appearance in nearly three weeks for the 31-year-old American journalist, who was arrested last month for allegedly spying on Russia’s military-industrial complex on behalf of the US government. A conviction in the case – which is highly likely given over 99% of espionage cases in Russia turn out that way – carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The Journal and US State Department have denied the claims, and called for Gershkovich’s immediate release. Separately, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky made rival visits to troops stationed in Ukraine ahead of an expected Ukrainian offensive in the coming weeks.

🌍 EU lawmakers approved the world’s first carbon import tax. The vote, which capped nearly two years of negotiations, represents the final hurdle before the tax officially comes into effect in October. The measure will eventually impose a tax on all imports based on the level of greenhouse gasses that are emitted during their manufacturing process. It’s framed by EU officials as an attempt to level the playing field for domestic companies, which already have to pay taxes on their emissions.

🇮🇳 India’s Supreme Court began hearing final arguments in a case seeking to legalize same-sex marriage. If the court ends up ruling in favor of legalizing gay unions, it would become the 35th country in the world to do so – and just the second in Asia. India's government said its LGBTQ+ population stood at 2.5 million in 2012, but more recent global estimates say it could be at least 10% of the country (more than 135 million residents).