President Trump is on the hunt for foreign policy wins he can showcase ahead of November's election — even if that means getting creative.
Why it matters: Trump's aides are working to recast him as "a true peacemaker," as national security adviser Robert O'Brien put it on Friday. “It’s happened in the Balkans, it’s happened in the Middle East, and we have more to come.”
Police in Hong Kong arrested 289 demonstrators who gathered to protest the government's decision to postpone elections for Hong Kong's legislature, AP reports.
Why it matters: Elections were supposed to take place on Sunday, but Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam pushed them back one year, citing health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. Her pro-democracy opposition has accused her of moving the elections to stop their momentum and to keep pro-Beijing candidates in power, the New York Times writes.
China will demand that passengers taking direct flights from the U.S. provide negative coronavirus test results within 72 hours before takeoff starting Sept. 15, China’s U.S. embassy said in a statement.
Why it matters: The requirement is among the latest restrictions Beijing has imposed on the U.S. The Chinese government prevented U.S. airlines from resuming flights to China in June, and the Trump administration banned Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the U.S. in retaliation.
The agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, expected to be signed within the next two weeks in Washington, D.C., will be a "treaty of peace" with the same legal and diplomatic status as peace agreements Israel has previously signed with Egypt and Jordan, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.
Why it matters: Israel wants the agreement to carry the most serious status, demanding the greatest commitment from both parties, Israeli officials explain. Officials also hope the agreement will send a message of long-term stability, rather than a temporary deal.
India's total number of reported coronavirus cases topped 4 million on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Why it matters: The country, home to roughly 1.4 billion people, has the third-highest case count in the world behind the United States and Brazil, which have reported 6,200,186 and 4,091,801 infections respectively.
Pope Francis is scheduled to take his first trip outside of Rome since the coronavirus lockdown, AP reports.
The big picture: Italy was one of the earliest hubs of COVID-19, prompting tight social distancing requirements and travel restrictions to contain the virus. The Pope's last trip was in late February when he traveled to the the town of Bari in southern Italy.
He will visit Assisi next month to sign a letter to the clergy and Catholics worldwide, per the Vatican. The document, called an encyclical, is anticipated to highlight the importance of camaraderie throughout the pandemic.
"Because of the health situation, it’s the desire of the Holy Father that the visit be carried out privately, without any participation by the faithful," the Vatican noted in a statement.
Within a mere eight months, COVID-19 has damaged years of global progress in children's health and otherareas by disrupting essential health services in many countries.
Why it matters: These disrupted services will result in a myriad of near- and long-term health problems. The global health organization PATH points to a projected increase in deaths in children under the age of 5 that could erase up to a decade of progress, according to preliminary findings shared first with Axios.
