Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who took office in June as part of an ideologically diverse coalition, is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House today. Bennett told the New York Times he plans to dissuade Biden from reviving the nuclear deal with Iran and said he will not support U.S. plans to reopen a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
 
Both leaders have suggested they aim for a reset in the U.S.-Israel relationship following the departure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after twelve years. Still, Biden and Bennett hold different positions (Reuters) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including on Israeli settlement building and Palestinian statehood. Today’s meeting is also expected to cover (Bloomberg) the possibility of visa-free travel between the countries and the COVID-19 pandemic.

An outbreak of the Delta variant in Vietnam, where the COVID-19 vaccination rate is low, is causing factories to close (WSJ) and slowing global supplies of products such as shoes and apparel. More than eighty companies wrote a letter to President Biden calling for the acceleration of vaccine deliveries to Vietnam.
 
China: A group of scientists convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) to study COVID-19’s origin wrote in Nature that their research has stalled and time is running out to solve the mystery due to the waning nature of virus antibodies. The team conducted investigations in Wuhan, China, earlier this year and concluded that further research is required. On Tuesday, a U.S. intelligence review of the virus’s origins came back inconclusive (WaPo).
 
This Backgrounder examines whether the world will ever solve the mystery of COVID-19’s origin.

The United States and United Kingdom warned citizens in Kabul yesterday to stay away from the airport due to a security threat, which an unnamed U.S. official told the New York Times was a potential attack by the self-proclaimed Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan. Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands said today they were halting evacuations.
 
Myanmar: A Russian military official said Russia will deliver missile defense systems (Reuters) to Myanmar’s military on time. Rights groups have criticized Russia’s sales to the Myanmar junta.

Iran’s parliament approved eighteen of the nineteen people (Al Jazeera) nominated to President Ebrahim Raisi’s cabinet. Many of the new ministers worked in previous hard-line administrations. Iran’s new foreign minister is a career diplomat who said earlier this week he aims for an “Asia-centric” foreign policy.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar discusses Raisi’s rise and the triumph of Iran’s hard-liners.
 
Algeria/Morocco: The Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Saudi Arabia called for a dialogue (Al Jazeera) to resolve differences between Algeria and Morocco. Algiers said Tuesday that it had cut diplomatic ties with Rabat over “hostile actions.”

A gunman killed three police officers (Reuters) and one security guard in the diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, before he was shot dead near the French embassy. His motive was not immediately clear, police said.
 
Ethiopia: Elections in around one-fifth of the country’s constituencies were pushed back again (AFP), from September 6 to September 30. The elections were originally slated to be held in June but were postponed due to violence and logistical problems.

A ruling from the European Court of Human Rights asked Latvia and Poland to provide emergency provisions (Politico), such as food and water, to Afghan and Iraqi migrants who have left Belarus but who Latvia and Poland have prevented from crossing their borders.
 
France/Ireland: During his visit to Ireland today, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to press leaders (Politico) to sign on to a global minimum corporate tax deal that was brokered in July but that Ireland has resisted.
 
This Backgrounder explains how countries tax corporations.

The WHO’s regional body for Latin America and the Caribbean announced it will launch a platform (PAHO) to boost regional efforts to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. It is currently accepting proposals for how to bring mRNA technology to the region.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Nicole Lurie, Jakob P. Cramer, and Richard J. Hatchett look at the mRNA revolution.
 
Brazil: Some six thousand Indigenous Brazilians from 173 ethnic groups are camping in Brazil’s capital (AP) to protest ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on Indigenous land rights. The ruling could create precedent for disregarding some Indigenous people’s legal rights to ancestral lands.