Measles cases between January and November this year rose three-fold compared to the same period in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. The organizations estimate that more than 140,000 people died of measles in 2018, up from an all-time low (NPR) of 90,000 in 2016.
 
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced the totals as an “outrage” and “collective failure” given the disease’s preventability by vaccine. Measles outbreaks occurred in every region of the world in 2018, and some countries scrambled to vaccinate citizens (Reuters) only after outbreaks began. Yesterday in Samoa, where more than four thousand measles cases have been reported in recent weeks, the government shut down (CNN) to carry out a mass vaccination campaign

Beijing will exempt the goods (SCMP) from tariffs, including a 25 percent tariff imposed in July 2018. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said that tariffs should be reduced if the two countries agree to an interim trade deal.
 
Japan: The country’s cabinet approved a stimulus package (Kyodo) worth more than $200 billion to be spent over fifteen months. It is the first stimulus package to be introduced in three years and will include infrastructure construction and the promotion of cashless payments.

Police shot and killed (AP) four men accused of raping and killing a twenty-seven-year-old woman after the men attacked police searching the crime scene, a police commissioner said. Human rights groups had called for an investigation of the killings and due process for the accused.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, set its initial public offering (NYT) at about $8.53, a value set to raise more than $25 billion when shares begin trading in the coming days. At that price, the company is valued at around $1.7 trillion.
 
CFR’s Steven A. Cook looks at what Saudi Arabia’s crown prince stands to lose from the public offering.
 
Iran: The remaining signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal—China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom—meet in Vienna (VOA) today to discuss options to save the agreement after the United States withdrew.

A commission investigating abuses committed under President Yahya Jammeh, who left the country in 2017 after two decades in office, completed its first year (Human Rights Watch) of televised hearings. Witnesses accused Jammeh of murdering migrants and political opponents, torture, and sexual assault.
 
South Sudan: The country opened a special court (VOA) to try members of its National Security Service. Hundreds of the service’s officers have been accused of committing human rights abuses

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is ready to extend (AP) the New START treaty, Moscow’s last remaining nuclear arms control deal with Washington, immediately and without preconditions. He said Washington has not responded to his proposals.
 
EU: The European Parliament and EU diplomats approved a new rulebook (FT) for classifying green investments, such as green bonds and bank loans. The measure aims to prevent countries from misrepresenting their environmental credentials.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tweeted that he had a “good meeting” with U.S. Attorney General William Barr. The two discussed security (WaPo) after U.S. President Donald J. Trump called for Mexican drug cartels to be labeled terrorist organizations, a suggestion Mexico rejected.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at Mexico’s drug war.
 
Brazil: Human Rights Watch reported that hundreds of unaccompanied children entering the country from Venezuela are receiving inadequate care upon arrival, with overcrowding at shelters forcing some to live on the streets.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Alexander Betts looks at how governments in the Americas are bungling Venezuela’s migration crisis.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives will begin drafting (NYT) articles of impeachment based on its investigation of President Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine. A vote to charge him could occur before Christmas.