Air campaigns backed by the United Arab Emirates around the southern Yemeni city of Aden have killed or wounded (Al Jazeera) three hundred people, the Emirati defense ministry said. The strikes signal an escalation in the battle for Aden (MEE) between UAE-backed separatists and Yemeni government forces, who are supported by Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni government called the UAE strikes “illegal and outside international norms” (FT), and urged Saudi Arabia to stop them. The UAE, which is also part of the Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, said it was defending itself against “terrorist militias” in the south. The United States reportedly plans to begin direct talks with Houthis (WSJ) to end the civil war, which the United Nations says has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Two former commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist rebel group that signed a government peace deal in 2016, called on fighters to join a new armed offensive (Reuters). In the video appeal, they said the government betrayed the terms of the peace deal. Colombia announced a reward of $863,000 for information leading to the commanders’ capture.

Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro issued a sixty-day moratorium (FT) on burning fires in the Amazon Rainforest while troops work to contain blazes. The move comes amid international pressure (AP) for Brazil’s government to contain the fires.

CFR lays out how Brazil’s burning Amazon threatens the climate.

The finance ministry proposed spending more than $420 billion (FT) in 2020, an 8 percent increase from its 2019 budget, amid a slowing economy and worsening trade dispute with Japan. Much of the budget would be earmarked for job creation, welfare expansions, and new development.

CFR’s Scott A. Snyder lays out why the Japan-South Korea dispute just got worse.

Hong Kong: Authorities have arrested (Guardian) three prominent pro-democracy protest leaders. Demonstrators called off a march slated for tomorrow that police had banned, as Beijing sent new troops (Reuters) to its garrison in Hong Kong.

President Donald J. Trump said the United States plans to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan (VOA) from 14,000 to 8,600 troops. In recent peace negotiations, the Taliban has called for a full withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. 

India: The northeastern state of Assam is expected to publish a citizenship list (Al Jazeera) tomorrow aimed at identifying and deporting Bangladeshi migrants. The state has deployed additional security forces to quell any unrest.

An Iranian rocket that was set to launch a satellite failed due to technical issues (Reuters), according to an Iranian official. The satellite, the Nahid-1, would reportedly be used for telecommunications (AP).

More than two dozen African heads of state and government are attending a development forum in Yokohama, Japan. Traditionally geared toward development aid, the conference this year reflects a shift by the Japanese government to focus on increasing private investment (Japan Times). 

Somalia: More than two million people face severe hunger (Guardian) due to ongoing drought in the country, aid organizations say. Agencies said donors have pledged less than half of the $1 billion needed to address the emergency.

The World Health Organization announced that Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece, and the United Kingdom have lost their measles-free status (WHO). It said ninety thousand measles cases were reported in Europe in the first half of this year, more than in all of 2018.  

CFR looks at measles and the threat of the anti-vaccination movement.

Ukraine: Lawmakers approved (RFE/RL) thirty-five-year-old lawyer and political newcomer Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister. Honcharuk said he will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund on a new aid agreement in the coming weeks.

The commission will effectively suspend its activities after today due to a lack of a quorum. The body will be down to three members after the resignation of its vice chairman this week, and a delay by Congress to approve a new commissioner will limit its abilities (NPR) to monitor campaign finance and foreign attempts to interfere in U.S. elections.   

In Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Norden and Daniel I. Weiner discuss why U.S. elections are still not safe from attack.