More than two hundred thousand people have died (NPR) from COVID-19 in the United States, accounting for more than one-fifth of the global death toll. COVID-19 is now among the leading causes of death in the United States, and the country has suffered more casualties (CNN) from the disease than it has from combat during the last five wars combined.
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. caseload continues to rise, including in North Dakota and Utah (BBC). As authorities struggle to suppress infections, which now exceed 6.8 million, Johnson & Johnson became the fourth drugmaker to start late-stage testing (CNBC) for a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, rebuked the United States (SCMP) after U.S. President Donald J. Trump blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic and accused the country of damaging the environment in his speech to the international body. In his own UN address, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized global solidarity and announced a carbon-neutrality goal.
 
For The Internationalist blog, CFR’s Stewart M. Patrick assesses Trump’s UN speech.
 
Malaysia: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he has rallied enough parliamentarians (Straits Times) to form a government and replace Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration, which Anwar said has “collapsed.” Other politicians rejected the claim (Al Jazeera).

Thomas Andrews, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, called for a cease-fire (UN) and condemned child casualties in attacks by security forces on villages in Rakhine State. He also urged Myanmar to cooperate with international investigators.
 
Afghanistan: Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, told a CFR audience (RFE/RL) that some Taliban members have returned to the battlefield after being freed by his government as a condition for beginning peace talks.
 
Watch the full CFR event with Abdullah.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said the territories would concede (Al Jazeera) chairmanship of Arab League meetings over fellow members normalizing ties with Israel. Separately, two Palestinian factions—Fatah and Hamas—will meet today for reconciliation talks.
 
Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Interior announced a four-stage plan to resume umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, which has been paused due to the pandemic. A mobile application will help regulate (Arab News) the process, including by imposing health standards.

President Alassane Ouattara’s party announced it will move forward (Reuters) with the Ivory Coast’s October presidential election, even if the opposition boycotts. Ouattara’s decision to seek a third term, which the opposition says would be unconstitutional, has sparked deadly riots.
 
Zambia: The country’s government asked to suspend interest payments (FT) to international bondholders for six months. The delay, which requires approval from two-thirds of bondholders, would make Zambia the first African country to default on private creditors amid the pandemic.

Embattled Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in (BBC) for a sixth term in an unannounced ceremony today, state media reported. He takes office amid calls for his resignation and mass protests over the country’s disputed presidential election.
 
Brussels: The European Union is set to unveil (France 24) a new plan on migration and asylum that would require member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers. Some countries have previously rejected such ideas.
 
This CFR InfoGuide looks at refugees’ shrinking options.

Mexican morgues housed 38,891 unidentified bodies in 2019, up from 178 in 2006, when the country’s war on drugs began (Guardian), according to a report by nongovernmental organization Quinto Elemento Lab. Most have been buried in common graves.
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains Mexico’s drug war.
 
Haiti: President Jovenel Moise installed nine people to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), despite a Supreme Court decision to postpone their swearing in (Miami Herald). Critics say Moise’s appointments are unconstitutional and that the CEP doesn’t have the authority to prepare a constitutional referendum as it has been tasked to.

After negotiations between Democrats and the White House, the House of Representatives easily passed (NYT) a bill to extend government funding through December 11. If approved by the Senate and President Trump, it could stave off a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on October 1.