Our daily tour of the world

🇷🇺🐳 A beluga whale suspected of spying for Russia was found dead near Norway. The whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, was first sighted near Norway in 2019 wearing a GoPro camera on a harness labeled “Equipment St. Petersburg.” Norwegian officials suspect Hvaldimir was trained by the Russian Navy, since he appears accustomed to humans and also swam in geopolitically valuable waters for Russia (located hundreds of miles from the nearest beluga population). Officials are currently investigating Hvaldmir’s cause of death, since he was young and had no obvious injuries. Hvaldmir was an estimated 14-15 years old, or roughly half the average lifespan of beluga whales. (+Dive deeper: Covert Creatures: The History of Spy Animals)

🇨🇳 Chinese government-backed trolls are targeting US voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. According to a new report from research firm Graphika, a China-backed network known as “Spamouflage” has created thousands of fake social media accounts pretending to be politically engaged American voters and is using them to promote divisive narratives on polarized issues like gun control and racial inequality. The fake accounts appear to be politically agnostic, targeting both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, with an overall goal of undermining confidence in US elections.

🇻🇦 Pope Francis kicked off his longest-ever foreign trip. Yesterday, Pope Francis began a 11-day trip to Southeast Asia and Oceania, where he’s scheduled to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. Papal officials say the trip will focus on inter-religious harmony in the Asia Pacific, which is one of the few regions where the Catholic Church’s membership is currently growing.