Delegates from the Afghanistan government and the Taliban opened direct peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday after repeated delays, seeking to bring roughly two decades of fighting to a close.
Why it matters: Afghanistan’s leaders said they want to end the war that has left millions dead and displaced, though the talks began amid a U.S. troop withdrawal and violence perpetrated against Afghan officials and civilians, the New York Times writes.
China on Friday enacted fresh restrictions on U.S. diplomats working in mainland China and Hong Kong as tensions between the two countries continue to rise, AP reports.
The state of play: A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry framed the move as a direct rebuke of similar restrictions America put on Chinese diplomats last year. The statement noted that the rules pertain to senior diplomats and other personnel at the U.S. embassy in Beijing as well as consulates in China, per the Guardian.
Hours after the August 13 announcement of the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, senior Bahraini officials called President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz with a message: "We want to be next," U.S. officials involved in the talks tell me.
Why it matters: Israel and Bahrain had a secret relationship for over two decades, meaning neither country had diplomatic relations and most of their contacts were through covert talks behind the scenes. However the talks which led to the joint statement on establishing full diplomatic relations took just 29 days.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the U.S.-brokered Bahrain-Israel agreement, as his office issued a statement, saying “the Palestinian leadership see this as a betrayal of the Palestinian issue, of Jerusalem and of the al-Aqsa mosque” by Bahrain.
Why it matters: The Bahraini decision to follow the Untied Arab Emirates and normalize relations with Israel is a further blow to the Palestinians, who are losing Arab support. Earlier this week, the Palestinians failed to get the Arab League to back them in condemning the Israel-UAE agreement.
The White House on Friday announced that Bahrain is joining the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel.
Driving the news: In a phone call between President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Israeli and Bahraini leaders agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between the two countries.
After facing widespread public criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is backtracking on his decision to fly with his family on a private jet to the signing ceremony of the Israel-UAE normalization agreement next week at the White House.
Why it matters: Netanyahu’s office tried to hide the fact he is planning to travel on a private jet, but when the story broke yesterday in the Israeli press Netanyahu was attacked for being indifferent to the economic and health crisis in Israel.
