Hello and welcome to the intelligence from the Economist.

In London, I'm John Fassman.

And also in London, I'm Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

For years, American anti-abortion activists have contended that life begins at conception.

Now some are taking that contention further and claiming that a fetus has the same right

as a person, an argument with a host of legal consequences.

And for 200 years, the Nile in Egypt's capital Cairo has been lined with houseboats whose

paint jobs are as colorful as their history.

Now they're being towed away and scuttled, the casualty of a government addicted to tearing

down and rebuilding.

Just up though.

The contest to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore Britain's

next Prime Minister, officially begins today.

Candidates to replace Boris Johnson, who last we could greet to step down from the role,

must secure nominations from 20 other MPs to go into the first round ballot.

The MPs will vote on that ballot tomorrow, with the field whittled down to two by the

end of next week.

The remaining pair will then begin campaigning ahead of a final vote, taken by the roughly

180,000 Conservative Party members on the 5th of September.

The former Chancellor, Vichy Sinek, was the first to put his hand in the ring.

Their 10 have said they want to stand, and most have already been making their case in videos.

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