Axios

European diplomats have begun keeping round-the-clock guard at the home of Belarusian opposition activist Svetlana Alexievich, who says masked men attempted to break into her apartment on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The 72-year-old Nobel laureate is the sole original member of the opposition council formed to facilitate a peaceful transition in Belarus who has not been detained, exiled or disappeared.

Nine months after Boris Johnson won a smashing majority on the promise of an "oven-ready" Brexit deal, the U.K. government is threatening to blow up trade talks with the European Union by declaring its intent to violate that very agreement.

Driving the news: An emergency U.K.-EU meeting was called in London today after a government minister made a stunning admission on the floor of the House of Commons this week — that a new bill seeking to override parts of the Brexit deal would indeed "break international law."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara and their two children will fly on a private plane to the signing ceremony of the Israel-UAE normalization deal next week in Washington, D.C. — separate from the rest of the Israeli delegation.

Why it matters: The unprecedented move comes amid a growing health and economic crisis in Israel. Later on Thursday, the Israeli Cabinet voted in favor of a renewed general lockdown across the country due to the dramatic rise in new COVID-19 cases. This will be the first time Netanyahu leaves Israel since the coronavirus outbreak.

Argentina's debt restructuring is finished, and, for anybody who remembers Argentina's last debt default, this one was gloriously smooth.

By the numbers: Argentina restructured $69 billion in foreign bonds, plus another $42 billion in foreign currency local law bonds. The country negotiated a reduction in its effective interest rate from 7% to 3%, which translates to a creditor "haircut" of about 45 cents on the dollar in present-value terms.

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday added Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach to its "Specially Designated Nationals" list for alleged efforts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election, including by promoting "false and unsubstantiated" allegations targeting Joe Biden.

The big picture: Derkach has been "an active Russian agent for over a decade," maintaining close ties to Russian intelligence services, according to a statement by the Treasury. The designation will freeze Derkach's assets in the U.S.

A large fire erupted in Beirut's port Thursday, according to the Lebanese Army, as the city continues to recover from a deadly blast last month that killed at least 190 people and injured 6,500.

What's happening: The fire began in a warehouse that had been damaged in the August explosion — one of the few in the port that had not been leveled by that blast, according to the New York Times. The cause of the fire — or the extent of its damage — is not yet clear, but army helicopters are assisting in efforts to extinguish the blaze, per AP.

The U.S. has revoked more than 1,000 visas of Chinese nationals as of this week under a proclamation by President Trump aimed at student researchers suspected of having links to China's military.

Driving the news: The State Department said in an emailed statement late Wednesday that the policy, which took effect June 1, "safeguards U.S. national security, preventing the theft of American technologies, intellectual property, and information to develop advanced military capabilities" and that it has "broad authority" to revoke visas.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "there is a substantial chance" the order to poison Alexei Navalny, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, came from senior Russian officials, while speaking with conservative commentator and personality Ben Shapiro on Wednesday.

What he's saying: "I think people all around the world see this kind of activity for what it is," Pompeo said on "The Ben Shapiro Show." "And when they see the effort to poison a dissident, and they recognize that there is a substantial chance that this actually came from senior Russian officials, I think this is not good for the Russian people. I think it’s not good for Russia."

President Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday that the Saudi government agreed to allow all eastbound flights from Israel to pass through its airspace, rather than just flights from Israel to the United Arab Emirates.

Why it matters: Although Saudi Arabia did not follow the UAE in normalizing relations with Israel, opening its airspace is a meaningful step that will influence tourism and the economy.

The House Intelligence Committee received a whistleblower complaint from a former senior Department of Homeland Security official who alleges he was instructed to "cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference in the United States" because it "made the president look bad," Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday.

The big picture: U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russia is actively seeking to denigrate Joe Biden to assist President Trump ahead of the election.

The Palestinian Authority failed on Wednesday to get the Arab League's foreign ministers to endorse a resolution criticizing the U.S.-brokered normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Why it matters: This is a very unusual development and a big blow to the Palestinians, who hold the rotating presidency of the Arab League. For decades, Arab League foreign ministers have endorsed every draft resolution the Palestinians have put forward.

A Chinese government-associated hacking group that shifted its focus this spring toward collecting intelligence involving coronavirus response has again reoriented its work, this time to target Tibetan dissidents, according to security firm Proofpoint.

Between the lines: China’s intelligence services may now feel that, with the initial COVID-19 crisis in both Europe and China now receding, they can return to older, core priorities.

Former director of national intelligence Dan Coats could not shake his "deep suspicions" that Russian President Vladimir Putin "had something" on President Trump, seeing "no other explanation" for the president's behavior, according to Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," which was obtained by CNN ahead of its publication next week.

Why it matters: Coats was the president's top intelligence official from March 2017 until August 2019. Woodward reports that Coats and his staff examined the intelligence regarding Trump's ties to Russia "as carefully as possible" and that he "still questions the relationship" between Trump and Putin despite the apparent absence of intelligence proof.

The U.S. will withdraw 2,200 troops from Iraq by the end of September, bringing troop levels in the country down to 3,000, confirmed Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command.

The big picture: The move is in line with President Trump's campaign promise to pare back America's involvement in the Middle East. The president has reduced the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

More than 160 human rights groups called on the International Olympic Committee to revoke China's award of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games over the country's human rights abuses, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: The letter represents "the largest coordinated effort" yet against staging the Beijing games, coming amid heightened scrutiny of China's mass detention and repression of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, according to Reuters.

Major fires swept through the overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos overnight, leaving over 12,000 migrants meant to be on COVID-19 lockdown without shelter, AP reports.

Why it matters: Moria is the largest refugee camp in Greece, where migrants fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere have moved through in massive waves since 2015. The camp, which was originally intended to hold only 2,000 people, was placed under mass quarantine after confirming its first COVID-19 case earlier this month.