Friday Briefing: A $50 billion G7 loan to Ukraine

June 14, 2024

	By Amelia Nierenberg

Good morning. We’re covering a G7 aid package for Ukraine and driverless cars in China.

Plus, the dangers of hair relaxers.

A man stands across the street from two destroyed homes.

The loan for Ukraine comes at a critical moment as destruction is accelerating. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

G7 leaders agreed to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan

At the G7 summit in Italy, the member countries agreed on a plan to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan to help it buy weapons and begin to rebuild damaged infrastructure. The new aid package comes at a crucial moment in the war, when Russia has the momentum on the battlefield.

The loan is expected to be repaid using interest earned on $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, which are mostly in a financial institution in Belgium. In our Opinion section, Janet Yellen, the U.S. treasury secretary, explained how the loan will work.

President Biden also signed a 10-year security pact with Ukraine’s government, to show a long-term U.S. commitment to the country. It’s designed to be a bridge to Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Japan signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine as well, which included a pledge of $4.5 billion.

Separately, NATO’s defense chiefs gathered yesterday in Brussels to pledge additional weapons to Kyiv. They also met to prepare long-term military commitments to be announced next month at a summit in Washington. One boost for Ukraine: An agreement that Hungary would not contribute to the military alliance’s war effort — but also would not block it.

Biden’s angle: The security agreement is his latest effort to persuade allies that the U.S. will continue backing Ukraine even if Donald Trump wins the presidency this fall.

More on the G7: Most leaders arrived at the summit beleaguered, embattled or endangered. Many of them are facing elections that weaken their positions. Read more about the summit.

Mifepristone was approved by U.S. health regulators more than two decades ago. Adria Malcolm for The New York Times

Supreme Court upheld abortion pill access

The Supreme Court upheld broad access to mifepristone, a widely available abortion pill. The unanimous decision means that access to medication abortion — by far the most common method used in the U.S. — will continue for now. It was a major loss for the anti-abortion movement, which is aggressively seeking an end to all abortion in the country.

The justices rejected a bid by anti-abortion organizations and doctors to unravel a U.S. regulator’s approval of mifepristone. But it does not change the fact that medication abortion remains illegal in the 14 states with near-total bans on abortion.

The numbers: More than 171,000 people traveled out of state to get an abortion in 2023. This map shows where they went.

A white car with a camera on its roof is traveling down a road.

A driverless taxi in Wuhan. Qilai Shen for The New York Times

Riding in China’s driverless cars

No country is moving as aggressively as China to test driverless cars, which are becoming more popular. The government is helping. In addition to establishing large testing areas on public roads, censors are limiting online discussion of safety incidents and crashes to restrain public fears about the technology.

Keith Bradsher, our Beijing bureau chief, traveled to Wuhan to take part in the world’s largest driverless car experiment. “It has smooth acceleration, smooth braking,” he said on one trip. “There’s just a slight bit more jerkiness in making a turn than there might be with a human driver.” Watch a video of Keith’s ride in Wuhan.

MORE TOP NEWS

Evan Gershkovich, wearing a checked shirt over a white T-shirt, looks to his left while standing in a glass enclosure in a Russian courtroom.

The Wall Street Journal reporter will be tried in Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested more than a year ago. EPA, via Shutterstock

Russia: Prosecutors finalized the indictment of Evan Gershkovich, the imprisoned American journalist, who will be tried on a spying charge.
Lebanon: Israel and Hezbollah exchanged airstrikes for a second day, in a conflict that has raised fears of a full-fledged war.
Climate: New research showed that polar bears in the Southern Hudson Bay, in Canada, could go extinct as early as the 2030s because of thinning sea ice.
Ukraine: My colleagues reported from Vovchansk, a town now in ruins, a month into Russia’s push across the border in northeast Ukraine.
Under the sea: The wreckage of Ernest Shackleton’s last ship, the Quest, was found off Canada this month.

MORNING READ

A woman at a salon having relaxer applied to her hair.

Naila Ruechel for The New York Times

Scientists have struggled for decades to explain reproductive-health racial disparities in the U.S. Hair relaxers, which are widely used by Black women, may offer an answer: They contain many substances that are prohibited in other countries and have been linked to reproductive disorders and cancers.

Lives lived: Akira Endo, whose research paved the way for drugs that lower “bad” cholesterol, died at 90.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The dangers of space travel: A study of astronauts found that even a brief trip away from Earth impaired their health.
Going viral: “Oddly satisfying” cow pedicure videos are a hit on TikTok.
Play our game: A couple wanted to stretch their $1.4 million budget in New York. Which house did they pick?

SPORTS NEWS

Soccer: Lionel Messi will not play for Argentina at the Paris Olympics, citing his commitment to playing in Copa America, which starts later this month.
Tennis: The prize for Wimbledon is a record 50 million pounds (about $64 million).
Golf: Here are live updates from the U.S. Open.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

An order of ribs, brisket, sausage and turkey sits on butcher paper with slices of white bread on the counter of Smitty’s Market.

Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas, where Gabriel Sanchez grew up. Katherine Squier for The New York Times

An ode to barbecuing and fatherhood

Gabriel Sanchez, a photo editor at The Times, watched his father work the fires at a storied Texas barbecue smokehouse. Sometimes, his dad’s nose was near-frostbitten after hours working in a subzero icebox. Or his hands were tinged by the flames. When Gabriel grew up, his dad taught him how to barbecue, too.

“I realized my dad was never just teaching me about barbecue — he was showing me what it takes to be a good father,” Gabriel writes in an essay. “To learn how to cook barbecue is to learn how to accept failure as an opportunity for growth. And it goes without saying that the most essential ingredient for raising kids is patience.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

A piece of golden cake drizzled in a white topping lies on a ceramic plate. A fork is positioned just under the cake.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times

Bake: This buttermilk tres leches cake is light, cold and decadent.

Read: You can find witch hunts, war and murders in these new historical novels.

Recover: Burned out after a trip? Here’s why.

Travel: The D.J. and producer Diplo shares a guide to Jamaica.

Exercise: With 20 minutes, you can build a better core — no equipment required.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the weekend. — Amelia

Email us at briefing@nytimes.com.

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