GLOBAL HEAT WAVES: We often get lost in the most dramatic imagery (wildfires, anyone) and deaths that can accompany a heat wave. That shouldn't lead you to overlook the cumulative and secondary effects. We're seeing more heat waves, which also last longer — and this week hundreds of cities are under some kind of emergency order or restriction around the world. That also undermines economic output (as we risk recessions), risks reducing food production (during a food crisis) and demonstrates that our energy crisis isn't just about how folks heat homes in winter without Russian fossil fuels, but how we cool homes in summer. Bloomberg has a great overview here. Positive change: Your host is just back from Europe where climate change is a leading discussion point connected to the continent's more intense and frequent fires, and Britain's first-ever "red extreme" heat warning. SRI LANKA — LAWMAKERS HAVE BEGUN TO CHOOSE A NEW LEADER: The lawmakers will vote Wednesday if more than one nomination is received by Tuesday. In a televised statement on Friday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is acting as the country's interim president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country hounded by protesters, promised to propose constitutional changes that curb presidential powers and strengthen Parliament. MIDDLE EAST — WHAT DID BIDEN ACHIEVE, AT WHAT PRICE? A fist bump — of all things — with an autocratic butcher isn't a great look for a leader who preaches democracy and human rights. But Biden's Middle East expedition was never about rights: It was the entry price for getting beyond his G-7 democratic comfort zone, which is ultimately about keeping Russia and China at bay. More from my colleagues Alex Ward and Jonathan Lemire. What else Biden can get over the longer-term? A joint pledge with Israel to halt Iran's nuclear progress is nothing new, and micro-increases in Saudi oil production won't tame inflation. OPINION — HOW AN EXPANDED BRICS COULD CHALLENGE THE G-7: Abishur Prakash, a Canadian "geopolitical futurist" writes in the wake of last month's underwhelming G-7 and surprisingly well-coordinated BRICS summits, about how the G-7 is vulnerable to challenge if democratic leaders can't find ways to work with adversaries in forums like the G-20. U.K. — BORIS JOHNSON'S BIGGEST SCANDAL MAY BE AHEAD: It can be hard to know when to dive in and out of Johnson's many dramas. But given the level of fury he has generated in opposition parties, and that of the five candidates to replace him, none will allow him back in their Cabinet, he will be hounded when finally out of office. Johnson's unexplained KGB meeting: Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who did much to expose Facebook's Cambridge Analytica breaches of trust, and who first proved Johnson's meeting in the aftermath of a 2018 NATO summit with "an ex-KGB officer (Alexander Lebedev) whose son he later ennobled," writes "it's not just that we need answers. Our NATO allies need answers. Canada — one of the Five Eyes nations that shares intelligence with us — has sanctioned Alexander Lebedev . Why? And more to the point: why haven't we?" GERMANY — ELITES HEART GREENS: Germany's conservative FAZ newspaper asked 350 elite business leaders and top politicians across the spectrum which minister is doing well. The near-unanimous response: 92 percent said Robert Habeck , the vice chancellor and minister for the economy, climate and energy, from the Greens. Fellow Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock won 91 percent support. Compare that to the 43 percent support for Finance Minister Christian Lindner, from the liberal Free Democratic Party. Who is the chancellor again? Asked which of the three parties dominate the governing coalition, the responses were telling: The Greens got 73 percent, while the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz notched a mere 10 percent. Just 22 percent labeled Scholz a "strong" chancellor, while 70 percent said he was "weak." FRANCE – PARLIAMENT DEBATES INFLATION COUNTERMEASURES: A mix of price caps (energy), discounts (fuel), wage and welfare indexation, and tax exemptions (overtime work). More in POLITICO's Paris Playbook. Knock-on effect: If rich countries keep failing to deliver climate finance support to the global South — whilst reimposing fuel subsidies — they're not going to be able to continue arguing against those types of subsidies, which are still common in the developing world, at global climate conferences. TECH REALITY CHECK — ARE THE UBER FILES A FRANCES HAUGEN MOMENT? Global Insider says no, but has to declare an interest. While working as an EU civil servant back in 2014, your host was in the thick of efforts by Uber — including direct efforts by Uber Files leaker Mark MacGann — to muscle aside taxi lobby interests and allow Uber free reign to provide services. There's been a range of fairly predictable backlash to Uber's cowboy lobbying and legal tactics, but this isn't Uber's Frances Haugen moment, for four reasons:
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