President Donald Trump unintentionally drew a round of laughter in his address to the U.N. on Sept. 25, when he claimed his Administration had achieved more than almost any before it. But the divisions on display at the 73rd General Assembly were no cause for mirth.

At Turtle Bay, the question of how the world should engage with Iran reached a boiling point, almost five months after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the multilateral agreement designed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. The issue is becoming a crucial test of U.S. dominance in transatlantic relations.

Trump has already ordered the reinstatement of sanctions on the purchase of Iran’s debt and taken steps to stop foreign companies from doing business in Iran. The European governments that spent almost two years negotiating the nuclear deal–France, Germany, Britain and the E.U. leadership–vowed to resist U.S. pressure for compliance and to protect the ability of their companies to evade U.S. penalties.

But some ..

After decades of dispute, the Vatican and the Chinese government have reached a provisional deal over which of them has the authority to appoint bishops in China, the Vatican announced on Sept. 22. As part of the deal, Pope Francis has recognized the legitimacy of seven previously excommunicated, Beijing-appointed bishops. The Pope clarified on Sept. 25 that he will have final say over the naming of new bishops put forward by the communist government, but many details of the agreement remain unclear.

20TH CENTURY SCHISM

The Vatican and Beijing cut diplomatic ties in 1951, shortly after the Communist Party took power–though the Vatican kept relations with self-governing Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. Since then, two parallel churches have emerged in China, splitting the nation’s 10 million to 12 million Catholics between them: the official state-controlled Catholic Church, and a series of underground congregations led by over 30 bishops loyal only to the Vatican.

..

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to North Korea again next month to reinvigorate stalled denuclearization talks ahead of an anticipated second summit, the State Department said Wednesday.

Pompeo received the invitation to Pyongyang on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The visit will focus on “further progress” toward commitments made by President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic summit in Singapore in June. Pompeo will focus on “the final, fully verified denuclearization” of North Korea, according to a statement from State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

The meeting will also reportedly lay groundwork for a proposed second summit between Trump and Kim. No details about the future meeting have been publicized, but last month press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House was “open to and are already in the process of coordinating” it.

On Wednesday, Trump predicted that the second sum..