Israel and UAE cut diplomatic deal

For the first time in more than 25 years, Israel could seal a historic diplomatic deal with an Arab country. US President Donald Trump made the announcement on Thursday about the impending pact, which he helped broker. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today UAE and Israel look to seal historic diplomatic deal [Tel Aviv City Hall is lit up with the flags of the United Arab Emirates and Israel as the countries announced they would soon be establishing full diplomatic ties, Aug. 13, 2020.]( Credit: Oded Balilty/AP For the first time in more than 25 years, Israel could [seal a historic diplomatic deal]( with an Arab country. US President Donald Trump announced on Thurday the impending pact, which he helped broker. Israel and the United Arab Emirates look set to [establish full normalization of relations](. As part of that framework, Israel has agreed to suspend annexation plans in the occupied West Bank for now. But Palestinian leaders aren't pleased about what they see as a [“betrayal” by a fellow Arab nation](. Iran and Turkey have also [lashed out]( at the move. Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel and a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, [told The World's host Marco Werman](: “The fact that an Arab Gulf state is fully normalizing its relationship with Israel is the real breakthrough here.” “That means ambassadors, embassies in both capitals and establishment of direct communication, including direct flights and a [host of other agreements]( that they seem to have in mind to negotiate,” he added. What The World is following Despite weeks of heavy rains and flooding that destroyed thousands of homes and buildings and [even threatened a nuclear reactor](, North Korea has rejected aid from the international community. But some of the denied foreign assistance aimed to [help Pyongyang combat the coronavirus](, which prompted the isolated Northeast Asian nation to seal its borders. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced on Thursday during a ruling party meeting that the government would [lift its lockdown on Kaesong](, a city adjacent to South Korea. And, Spain has decided to [shut nightclubs and ban outdoor smoking]( in an attempt to tamp down a resurgence of cases of the coronavirus in Western Europe. Meanwhile, several cruise lines are set to [restart their businesses]( in the Mediterranean. In New Zealand, officials are racing to [contain an outbreak]( with 17 new cases in the country’s biggest city, Auckland, by isolating the patients. And the [US spurned Russian medical offers]( to share its untested vaccine technology. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Activists took the Irish government to court over its national climate plan — and won]( [Extinction Rebellion protestors march on the Dail (parliament) on Budget day in Dublin, Oct. 8, 2019.]( Credit: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Reuters The court battle known as Climate Case Ireland is one of many legal challenges around the world where climate activists are taking their own governments to task for [insufficient action on climate change](. [Be My Eyes app makes daily life easier for people with visual impairments]( [A woman uses the Be My Eyes video chat app to get assistance with various apps on her laptop.]( Credit: Sanne Hegelund Byrgesen/Be My Eyes If you're blind or a person with low vision, even the most mundane activities — things many of us take for granted — can present major everyday difficulties. An app called Be My Eyes [is trying to solve that issue](. It allows users with visual impairments to video chat with a sighted volunteer who can help them read thermostats, match outfits or troubleshoot technology. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Is Belarus having a revolution by meme? That's a question [Joshua Keating at Slate]( has posed after seeing several security officials in Belarus destroying their uniforms in protest against the result of the country's widely criticized presidential election. Between that emerging meme and the many women wearing white and [taking to the streets]( to demonstrate, a revolution may just be afoot. [A screen grab of a tweet from NEXTA TV.]( [Credit: Screen grab from Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [Wine windows in Italy]( - [BLM billboard sparks discussion among Vietnamese Americans]( - [Democracy’s popularity contest]( - [Be My Eyes app]( - [Suing their way to climate action]( - [US troops spread coronavirus]( - [Lebanese demand justice from govt]( - [Israel, UAE agree to normalize relations]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [WGBH](.