Rwanda to host Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Summit comes amid concerns over the UK's plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda and over rights abuses. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Rwanda to host Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Freddy Mutanguha, left, Executive Director for the Aegis Trust at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, in Kigali, Rwanda, June 23, 2022.] Credit: Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP Rwanda Rwanda is set to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Friday with the leaders of 54 nations. Having the summit in Kigali has been [overshadowed by concerns]( regarding the UK’s plans to send asylum-seekers for processing there and over human rights abuses in Rwanda — something the government has denied. Supporters of President Paul Kagame say hosting the meeting serves as another milestone in the nation’s development since the 1994 genocide. The Commonwealth was formed in 1931 as countries began claiming independence from the British Empire, though Rwanda and four other nations in the group are not [former British colonies](. Turkey Israeli Foreign Minister [Yair Lapid is in Ankara for talks]( with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Lapid thanked Turkey for helping to foil an alleged Iranian plot to harm Israelis in Istanbul — reportedly in response to the killing of IRGC Colonel Sayyad Khodai last month — after Turkish authorities detained five Iranian nationals on Wednesday. His visit comes as Turkey seeks to improve ties with both Israel and Iran. Ankara has been trying to [repair relations with regional rivals]( over the past year, including with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also in Turkey for talks on Wednesday for his first visit since journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in 2018 at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Ukraine The European Union is [set to make Ukraine a candidate]( for joining the 27-nation bloc on Thursday. It's the first step toward full membership to the group, and comes after European leaders were initially divided on how to proceed with Kyiv’s request to join a few days after Russia's invasion in February. Several diplomats, speaking anonymously, have predicted that Ukraine will get the unanimous approval that is required. Kyiv has requested for the [process to be fast-tracked]( and a decision in Ukraine’s favor would be uncharacteristically swift for the bloc. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Spain and Algeria at odds over Western Sahara, energy and migration]( [The Krechba gas plant in Algeria's Sahara Desert, about 720 miles south of the capital, Algiers, Dec. 14, 2008.]( Credit: Alfred de Montesquiou/AP/File photo Last week, Algeria severed trade and diplomatic ties with Spain, and has now threatened to cut off coveted gas sales — which have been protected under a [two-decade-old friendship treaty](. It came after Spain upended a long-standing agreement with Algeria regarding its former colony, Western Sahara. Spain backed Morocco's claim that the region should have some limited autonomy, while remaining under Moroccan rule. ['Everything is destroyed': Extreme flooding in Ghana tests climate resilience]( [Residents of the Accra, Ghana, suburb of Alajo patch up a road after severe flooding destroyed it.]( Credit: Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World Ghana's capital Accra has been hit with heavy rain and flash flooding in May and June, leaving many experts worried about the city’s [capacity for climate resilience]( if trends continue. Even though Africa has contributed relatively little to the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, the continent suffers some of the world's heaviest impacts of climate change — from famine to flooding. --------------------------------------------------------------- Keep The World paywall free Your vital support sustains The World’s nonprofit newsroom so that The World’s independent reporting and human-centered stories can remain open and paywall free. We have a goal of raising $25,000 between now and June 30 to power our nonprofit newsroom for another year. 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