CHINA: Human rights activist Bob Fu has become the target of a disinformation campaign by a Chinese real estate tycoon now under FBI investigation and living in the United States.

AZERBAIJAN: Dozens are dead as a border conflict with Armenia dating to 1990 has revived in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is located inside mostly Muslim Azerbaijan but is home to mostly Christian Armenians. Both countries have declared martial law and declined talks, as Armenia claims Turkey shot down one of its fighter jets.

RUSSIA: Russian authorities seized Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s apartment days after he was discharged from a German hospital where he was being treated for poisoning. Navalny, 44, remains in Germany in rehab, where he’s tweeting again.

For many Americans the prospect of travel to the Holy Land is reason enough for an Israel at peace with its neighbors. And that’s no trivial thing. Religious sites for Jews, Christians, and Muslims helped bring 4.5 million visitors to Israel in 2019, pilgrimages driven by Israel’s history and its Western-style welcome. 

Street-level perspective helps to understand the geopolitics driving the Arab world’s move to normalize relations. It’s an issue as important as Arab worry over Iranian aggression and falling oil prices.

EUROPE: Six months after Italy’s coronavirus crisis became an ominous signpost to the West, the World Health Organization is warning of “a very serious situation” unfolding again across Europe.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Armed attackers in eastern Congo killed an aid worker with U.S.-based World Vision and held two others hostage on Wednesday. Their convoy came under attack as the group returned from delivering food to war-ravaged communities in North Kivu province.

UNITED STATES: The leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are signing a peace accord with Israel on Tuesday at a White House ceremony. Bahrain joined UAE on Friday in agreeing to normalize relations with the Jewish state, long a pariah in the Arab world for its treatment of Palestinians.