ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Israel-UAE normalization talks are progressing faster than expected and could lead to an additional trilateral pact involving the U.S., officials from all three countries told me following talks in Abu Dhabi.
What's next: Israeli officials said a signing ceremony could take place at the White House before Sept. 18. For now, Israel's national security adviser has invited his Emirati counterpart to visit Israel to continue the talks.
The Trump administration has decided to go it alone on developing and distributing a coronavirus vaccine, after refusing to join the World Health Organization's efforts to provide equitable doses for all countries, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The U.S. is betting it will win the race for a coronavirus vaccine without any help from foreign countries.
Rumors have swirled for months that local authorities pressed residents of Xinjiang, a far northwestern region in China, to take traditional Chinese medicine during the coronavirus pandemic. Now a new report from the Associated Press based on interviews, public notices and social media posts suggests this may be true.
Why it matters: Forcing an entire population to take medicine that has not been clinically proven to be effective against the coronavirus could be a breach of medical ethics.
China's economic carrots and sticks are putting pressure on Hollywood to produce films that might soar in the country's box office — and avoid those that may displease Beijing.
The big picture: By censoring American blockbusters, Beijing believes it can prevent American and global audiences from imagining the Chinese Communist Party as a major threat, and from viewing the targets of China's repression as victims worthy of sympathy.
Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee was indicted by South Korean prosecutors Tuesday on charges including stock manipulation and breach of trust, per Reuters.
Details: The 52-year-old's indictment is connected to a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. An independent panel had earlier recommended against indicting him.
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will gather in mid-September to elect a successor to Shinzo Abe as its leader and the country’s prime minister.
Driving the news: Abe announced his resignation on Friday due to chronic ulcerative colitis, just days after becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Facebook said Monday that it will block users in Australia from sharing news on Facebook and Instagram if a controversial law forcing tech giants like Facebook and rival Google to pay publishers to distribute portions of their content passes this fall.
Why it matters: This is Facebook's last-ditch effort to stop the law's enactment, which it says will harm publishers more than itself. The tech giant contends that the Australian law's broad payment terms are likely to end up requiring Facebook to overpay for a relatively modest amount of content, and the social network is also wary of setting a broad precedent.
Peru's coronavirus death rate is now the highest in the world, surpassing Belgium and exceeding even Brazil (7th) and the U.S. (8th).
Why it matters: Peru and Belgium illustrate the divergence between the world's two hardest-hit regions since the eye of the storm shifted from Europe to Latin America in the spring.
A group of veteran Voice of America journalists penned a letter to VOA acting director Elez Biberaj saying that Michael Pack, the new CEO of VOA's parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), is endangering the livelihoods of contract journalists.
Why it matters: Pack has been the center of controversy ever since he took over the agency in June. The letter alleges that Pack's recent remarks in an interview with the conservative-leaning website The Federalist prove his malicious intent.
Flashback: In a similar poll conducted shortly before the 2016 election, Trump led Hillary Clinton by a 41%-21% margin. Since 2016, though, the president's approval rating among active-duty troops has fallen from 46% to 38%, while his disapproval rating has climbed to 50%.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction from Military Times. Due to an error, their article initially showed Biden with 43.1%, but has been updated to 41.3%.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plan to discuss the pending sale of F-35 fighter jets by the U.S. to the UAE, Jared Kushner told reporters on board the first commercial flight from Israel to the UAE, which landed in Abu Dhabi this morning.
Why it matters: The White House has hailed the normalization deal it brokered between Israel and the UAE as a breakthrough for the region — but shortly after the announcement, a major disagreement emerged over the UAE's desire to acquire the F-35.
India reported Sunday 78,761 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, taking the total number in the country to over 3.5 million.
Why it matters: It's the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases reported by a country since the pandemic began. India has the fastest-growing number of daily cases, with over 75,000 being reported for four consecutive days, per AP. "Crowded cities," not enough contact tracing and "lockdown fatigue" are driving the spread in the country of 1.4 billion people, as restrictions are loosened aimed a struggling economy, the New York Times notes.
