The United States and Germany reached an agreement (DW) that will end U.S. objections to the near-complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany in exchange for commitments from Germany to promote Ukranian energy security and sanction Russia if it uses energy as a weapon.
 
The agreement was announced in a joint statement (State Dept.) issued after a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House last week. Washington has long opposed the pipeline (Bloomberg)—which will double Russia’s capacity to send gas undersea to Europe—over concerns that it will give Moscow leverage over European security. As part of the deal, Germany will invest in Ukraine’s transition to clean energy and its cybersecurity capabilities, as well as diplomatically support the extension (FT) of Ukraine’s gas transit agreements with Russia beyond their 2024 end date. Some U.S. lawmakers and Ukranian officials were critical (Axios) of the deal.

A top Chinese health official said Beijing will not accept (SCMP) the World Health Organization’s (WHO) proposal for a second-phase investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the WHO of “arrogance.”
 
This Backgrounder looks at the mystery of COVID-19’s origin.
 
Japan: The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee fired a creative director (Kyodo) for the games’ opening and closing ceremonies over comments he made in the 1990s about the Holocaust. The decision came one day before the opening ceremony

Indian health authorities said a young boy was the first human to die (Bloomberg) in the country from avian influenza, but that none of his close contacts have had symptoms of the disease. Avian flu is typically found only in birds such as chickens and turkeys and is not easily transmitted to humans.
 
Afghanistan: U.S. General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday that about half of Afghanistan’s district centers are under Taliban control (Reuters). Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said that the ongoing U.S. drawdown would be completed by the end of next month (TOLOnews).
 
This timeline traces the United States’ longest war.

 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that the country opened its first oil terminal (Reuters) in the Gulf of Oman. The terminal will allow Iran to export oil without depending on the strategically vulnerable Strait of Hormuz.
 
Israel: Washington is holding off on reopening a consulate (Times of Israel) for Palestinians in Jerusalem until after the new Israeli government passes a budget in an effort to support its stability, an Israeli official said.

Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they will collaborate (News24) with South Africa’s Biovac Institute to deliver more than one hundred million doses per year of their COVID-19 vaccine to African countries beginning in 2022. The active ingredient for the vaccines will be made in Europe, and doses will be finished in Cape Town.
 
Madagascar: Authorities arrested six people (AFP, Reuters) for allegedly plotting to assassinate President Andry Rajoelina.

Environment and energy ministers from Group of Twenty (G20) nations begin two days of talks (AP) in Naples, Italy, today to prepare for November’s UN climate summit. The talks are set to focus on biodiversity and the financial system’s role in promoting sustainability.

YouTube said it removed several videos (Reuters) posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Last year, both Twitter and Facebook removed videos by Bolsonaro in which he made comments that ran counter to those of public health experts.
 
Argentina: The country has become the first in Latin America to issue gender-neutral national identification cards (MercoPress), allowing people to identify as neither male nor female.

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general reached a preliminary settlement deal (NYT) with Johnson & Johnson and three drug distributors to resolve over three thousand lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. If enough states and cities sign on to the deal, the companies would pay out (NPR) the settlement over eighteen years. 
 
This Backgrounder looks at the U.S. opioid epidemic.