Axios

Hours after the August 13 announcement of the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, senior Bahraini officials called President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz with a message: "We want to be next," U.S. officials involved in the talks tell me.

Why it matters: Israel and Bahrain had a secret relationship for over two decades, meaning neither country had diplomatic relations and most of their contacts were through covert talks behind the scenes. However the talks which led to the joint statement on establishing full diplomatic relations took just 29 days.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the U.S.-brokered Bahrain-Israel agreement, as his office issued a statement, saying “the Palestinian leadership see this as a betrayal of the Palestinian issue, of Jerusalem and of the al-Aqsa mosque” by Bahrain.

Why it matters: The Bahraini decision to follow the Untied Arab Emirates and normalize relations with Israel is a further blow to the Palestinians, who are losing Arab support. Earlier this week, the Palestinians failed to get the Arab League to back them in condemning the Israel-UAE agreement.

The White House on Friday announced that Bahrain is joining the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel.

Driving the news: In a phone call between President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Israeli and Bahraini leaders agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between the two countries.

After facing widespread public criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is backtracking on his decision to fly with his family on a private jet to the signing ceremony of the Israel-UAE normalization agreement next week at the White House.

Why it matters: Netanyahu’s office tried to hide the fact he is planning to travel on a private jet, but when the story broke yesterday in the Israeli press Netanyahu was attacked for being indifferent to the economic and health crisis in Israel.

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."