Prominent Russian opposition leader and anticorruption advocate Alexey Navalny is hospitalized in Siberia, where doctors are investigating (Bloomberg) whether he was poisoned. A spokesperson for Navalny said he became ill on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing, and alleged that poison had been mixed into his tea (Al Jazeera).

Navalny, who is reportedly in a coma, has been arrested multiple times for leading protests criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian dissidents have apparently been poisoned in the past, including in two incidents that UK authorities have tied to Moscow. The Kremlin said it is wishing (BBC) Navalny a quick recovery.

The U.S. State Department suspended three treaties with Hong Kong, citing concerns about a national security law imposed by China. The suspensions of the deals, which cover extradition and shipping-tax exemptions, prompted Beijing to suspend (SCMP) Hong Kong’s agreement with the United States regarding mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
 
North Korea: In a rare move, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted the country’s current economic development plan has failed to deliver (Yonhap) on its goals, state media said. Kim promised a replacement plan in January 2021, when experts say he could also unveil new policies toward the United States.

Portions of New Delhi and its suburbs have been flooded as heavy rains pound India. The country’s home ministry said more than eight hundred people nationwide have died (Al Jazeera)  this monsoon season. The rains have killed nearly 1,300 people across South Asia.
 
Afghanistan: Sixteen million Afghans, nearly half of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid after the coronavirus pandemic left almost four million without income sources (TOLO), according to the UN World Food Program.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to New York today (Politico) to notify UN officials of President Donald J. Trump’s demand that the international body reimpose sanctions on Iran that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal. The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018, prompting questions about whether it can trigger the snapback of sanctions.
 
This CFR timeline tracks U.S.-Iran relations.
 
Iraq: The United States will not seek (Defense One) the death penalty against two British members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State if the United Kingdom hands over evidence needed to try them in the United States, according to a letter from U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Otherwise, the men could face trial in Iraq, where they are currently held.
 
Libya: Forty-five migrants, including five children, drowned after their boat sunk (DW) off Libya’s coast in the area’s largest shipwreck this year, according to the UN refugee agency. Thirty-seven survivors were returned to Libya and arrested. UN officials urged a stronger international effort to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and said it was unsafe to return them to Libya.

Malian protest leader Mahmoud Dicko will withdraw (Reuters) from politics following the military coup that unseated President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, according to Dicko’s spokesperson. Meanwhile, international observers strengthened their opposition to Keita’s ouster, with the African Union suspending Mali’s participation and the UN Security Council condemning the coup.
 
This CFR In Brief explains the crisis in Mali.
 
Nigeria: Islamic State–affiliated militants have reportedly taken hundreds of people hostage (AFP) in the conflict-torn state of Borno. They seized people who had only just returned to their homes this month after living in displacement camps for two years.

The European Union announced it does not recognize (Guardian) the results of Belarus’s disputed presidential election and endorsed sanctions on Belarusian officials involved in the vote and subsequent crackdown on protesters. It also pledged more than $62 million in aid for Belarus and urged an “inclusive national dialogue.”

Cuba will begin trials of a state-produced vaccine for the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, next week, with the results to be published in February 2021. President Miguel Diaz-Canel previously said (Miami Herald) that developing a Cuban vaccine was necessary to secure the country’s sovereignty.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the global effort to create a COVID-19 vaccine.
 
Brazil: Brazil’s health ministry said the spread of the coronavirus could start to slow (Reuters), and a UK study indicated Brazil has registered its lowest transmission rate since April. Brazil has recorded nearly 3.5 million coronavirus cases, second only to the United States.

Senator Kamala Harris accepted her nomination (NYT) to run as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate alongside former Vice President Joe Biden, becoming the first woman of color to appear on a major party ticket. Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama criticized Trump as a threat to democracy in an address to the Democratic National Convention.