Today we'll be discussing some of the biggest stories, including the fallout from Roe vs Wade and the revival of Le Bromance, as well as whether six Tory MPs really are about to jump ship, but first Macon and Johnson heal their rift.
The leaders met for bilateral talks, as is customary, with all eyes on the potentially awkward meeting between Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom and Francis Emmanuel Macron of France. For much of the conflict in Ukraine, the two appeared to be talking past each other. Back in May, Johnson appeared to rebuke Macron for his comments urging negotiations with Russia, but this appears to have changed, with Johnson jokingly referring to the two's Le bromance. Number ten source said it's all great with the French now and that both sides are reliant on defeating Russia. The two, however, avoided nearly every other contentious topic on the cards, including the likes of channel crossings, the Northern Ireland protocol and the Orcus defense pact.
G7 leaders announced yesterday the details of a 600 billion global infrastructure initiative, which appears to be aimed at countering China's own belt and road initiative. That has seen China increase its political and economic influence in emerging economies. The announcement was actually a re-launching of a scheme called "Build Back a Better World," which was unveiled at last year's G7 summit in England but made little progress. The initiative has been renamed the Partnership and Global Infrastructure and Investment and is aimed at tackling climate change, global health problems, achieving gender equality and digital infrastructure. President Biden said this isn't aid or charity; it's an investment that will deliver returns for everyone and allow nations to see the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies. According to Politico, much of the funding appears aspirational and seems to fall short of its lofty goals.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court made a ruling which in effect overturned the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case. The supreme court justices who made the original ruling used the 14th amendment's right to privacy to grant women the right to an abortion. This took power away from individual states to make their own rules and punishments. Friday's 6-3 ruling, though, has reversed this and put power back into the hands of individual states. Roe vs. Wade was egregiously wrong from the start; its reasoning was exceptionally weak; and the decision has damaging consequences. Far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division. It's been suggested that around half the states in the US will now outlaw abortion. A number of states, including Missouri, Utah, and Oklahoma, have already implemented trigger bans to immediately ban the procedure following the ruling.
The Commonwealth of Nations has admitted the former French colonies of Gabon and Togo as its 55th and 56th members, approving their membership applications on the last day of its summit in Rwanda. The West African countries are the first new members of the organization since Verwander joined in 2009. Both countries are French-speaking and have no historic links to the United Kingdom, but nevertheless have joined the English-speaking organization headed by Queen Elizabeth II. Togo's foreign minister said the country's membership was motivated by the desire to expand its diplomatic, political and economic network as well as get closer to the English-speaking world. The commonwealth charter includes a commitment to free and fair elections and democratic governance. However, both Togo and Gabon have been ruled by the same political dynasties.
The Sunday Times splashed a story that the Prince of Wales had accepted a suitcase containing 1 million euros in cash from the former prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jabar al-thani, nicknamed HBJ. It was also revealed that the million euro cash in a bag event wasn't a one-off either, but rather formed just one of three lots totaling three million euros. Clarence House confirmed that the money was passed immediately to one of the prince's charities, who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all the correct processes were followed. Charles's London residence was then asked to collect the case from Charles's London residence. However, there's no suggestion that anything about the payments was illegal. The charity commission is looking into the matter.