President Trump tweeted a high-reso image of the aftermath of a mysterious explosion at an Iranian space center, "raising questions about whether he had plucked a classified image from his morning intelligence briefing to troll the Iranians," the N.Y. Times' David E. Sanger and Bill Broad write.
Why it matters, from the WashPost: "The image ... is almost certainly highly classified, experts said, and bears markings that resemble those made by intelligence analysts."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call Friday that "Iran is expending its aggression in the region and this is not the time" to arrange a summit between President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to a statement by Netanyahu's office.
Why it matters: Netanyahu is very concerned about Macron's initiative. The statement from Netanyahu's office was his first public reaction on the Iran developments at the G7 meeting in France last Sunday.
Chun Han Wong, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who had previously reported on an investigation by Australian authorities into Chinese President Xi Jinping's cousin, had to leave China on Friday after a request to renew his press credentials was denied.
Why it matters, per the Journal: Though no official reason was given for the decision, "Chinese authorities have increased pressure on foreign news media in recent years to dissuade them from reporting on matters the government considers politically sensitive or detrimental to China’s image and interests," often using the revocation of press credentials as a threat.
China's bond and equity markets have been slowly opening up to foreigners. They're now beginning to see fairly significant inflows that are growing much more quickly than foreign direct investment.
What's happening: Over the past 8 years, foreign investment in China's stocks and bonds has grown 6-fold to nearly $1.3 trillion, per Wind Information data shared by Seafarer Funds. And Americans are responsible for nearly half of that total, scooping up $535 billion worth of Chinese assets, with significant flows in recent months.
Hong Kong's government refused Friday to grant permission for a major protest march to take place over the weekend while two prominent activists, including Joshua Wong, were also charged for their participation in a June protest, per the AP.
Why it matters: The twin moves, which authorities claim are linked to violence and unrest at earlier demonstrations, indicate that Hong Kong may be taking a "harder line on this summer's protests," according to the AP. The planned march was meant to mark the fifth anniversary of China's decision not to allow fully democratic elections for Hong Kong's leader, though it is still unclear if some protestors may still take to the streets on their own.
