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🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Ukraine update: Ukrainian chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine had retaken more than 3,000 square kilometers in total this month, forcing Russian troops from more than 20 towns and villages. Meanwhile, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken five settlements in the Kherson region. Over the weekend, Russians continued to retreat from areas that had been occupied since March and villages within five kilometers of the border were raising the Ukrainian flag.

• 50 million trapped in modern slavery: A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) released on Monday estimates that 50 million people around the world have been trapped into modern slavery due to economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the climate crisis and war. This number is up 25% from the last report in 2016.

• Procession in Edinburgh of Queen Elizabeth’s coffin: King Charles III will fly to Edinburgh to lead the royal family in a procession of Elizabeth II’s coffin from Holyrood Palace to St Giles Cathedral, where the late queen will remain for 24 hours so the public can pay their respects. Her remains will then be flown to London Tuesday.

• Sweden shifts right in general elections: Anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are set to become Sweden’s second biggest party after center-left Social Democrats appear to have lost their eight-year long majority in Parliament by a few seats in Sunday’s general election. Nearly 90% of votes have been counted and preliminary results are expected on Wednesday.

• Tigray forces open to peace process: The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have said they are willing to take part in peace talks led by the African Union, paving the way for a possible end to two years of fighting between rebels and the Ethiopian government in the north of the country.

• 7.6 earthquake kills four in Papua New Guinea: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit Papua New Guinea on Sunday, killing at least 4 people and injuring others. The extent of the damage is yet to be known as the earthquake hit a remote region, but essential infrastructure and roads were damaged.

• Prince Andrew to care for corgis: Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, will care for Muick and Sandy, Elizabeth II’s iconic corgis. The dogs had been gifted to the late Queen by the prince and his daughters in 2021.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

"Uncertain situation — but a change of power is likely" according to the Swedish daily Göteborgs-Posten. The country’s general elections are still too close to call as left-wing Social Democrats and a coalition of right-wing parties who, for the first time since 2014, may have a chance to control Parliament. The final results will be announced on Wednesday.

#️⃣  BY THE NUMBERS

19 years, 4 months, 6 days

At 19 years old, Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest world No. 1 since the ATP rankings began in 1973, after winning the U.S. Open against Norway’s Casper Ruud — his first Grand Slam title. The record was held by Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, at 20 years, 9 months. On the women’s side, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, becoming the first Polish woman to win the tournament.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

A closer look at “The French Roe” and the state of abortion rights in France

In 1972, Marie-Claire Chevalier's trial paved the way for the legalization of abortion in France, much like Roe v. Wade did in the U.S. soon after. But as the Supreme Court overturned this landmark decision on the other side of the Atlantic, where do abortion rights now stand in France?

⚖️ A high school student in 1971, Marie-Claire Chevalier was raped by a classmate, and faced an unwanted pregnancy. With the help of her mother and three other women, the 16-year-old obtained an abortion, which was illegal in France. With all five women facing arrest, Marie-Claire’s mother Michèle decided to contact French-Tunisian lawyer Gisèle Halimi who had defended an Algerian activist raped and tortured by French soldiers in a high-profile case. Marie-Claire bravely agreed to turn her trial into a platform for all women prosecuted for seeking an abortion.

🇫🇷🇺🇸 Ultimately, the trial was a catalyst for mobilizing public opinion and decriminalizing abortion through the Veil Law in 1975, two years after Roe v. Wade. The reversal of Roe on June 24 has set off a reckoning about the state of abortion rights in other countries around the world. In France, popular opinion appears to be quite solidly behind keeping abortion legal and accessible, and the judicial branch cannot overturn current laws as it did in the U.S. Indeed several members of the French Parliament have even proposed reinforcing the provisions of the Veil Law by adding it to the nation’s Constitution.

⚠️ Still, abortion rights may not be quite as safe in France as they might first appear. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the feminist group Fondation des Femmes, warned that even popular rights can be fragile: “It will only take for us in France to have a parliament with a conservative majority, and abortion could be banned,” she said in urging that the Veil Law be written into the Constitution. Abortion access is also declining due to geographical inequalities, as 130 centers providing abortion services have been closed over the past 15 years, according to French Planned Parenthood.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

We take back control.

— New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that all COVID-19 restrictions will soon be scrapped in the country, including vaccine mandates. The Prime Minister said it was "time to safely turn the page" by bringing an end to the measures - some of the toughest in the world implemented during the pandemic. “There is no question – thousands of lives have been saved by the efforts of Kiwis” she said, thanking her people and all frontline workers for their efforts and sacrifices through the past two years.