Axios

Soccer star Antoine Griezmann said Thursday he has ended his sponsorship deal with Huawei, citing "strong suspicions" that the Chinese tech giant had tested software aimed at helping the Chinese government's surveillance of Uighur Muslims.

Driving the news: U.S.-based research organization IPVM on Tuesday alleged that Huawei tested facial recognition software that can alert police when it recognizes Uighur minorities. The Washington Post first reported the allegations.

The European Commission published a series of contingency measures on Thursday to ensure that basic air and road connectivity are maintained in the increasingly likely event that a free trade agreement is not reached with the U.K. by the end of the Brexit transition period.

Why it matters: It's the surest sign yet that the U.K. is headed for a cliff-edge Brexit on Dec. 31, coming one day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels and failed to make progress on major sticking points.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday she doesn't have "any concern" about Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), after an Axios investigation revealed the congressman was targeted by a suspected Chinese spy seeking to gain access to U.S. political circles up until 2015.

Driving the news: Pelosi called for closer examination of Chinese activities "in terms of their undue influence at universities in our country and the overtures they've tried to make to members of Congress," but stopped short of saying that lawmakers should run background checks on everyone they work with.

Morocco has agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, President Trump announced on Thursday. The Moroccan decision comes as part of a deal that includes U.S. recognition of the disputed territory of Western Sahara as part of Morocco.

Why it matters: Morocco is the fourth Arab country to move toward normalization with Israel in the last four months as part of the Trump administration's "Abraham Accords" initiative. But the deal also involves a change in long-standing U.S. policy with just six weeks left in Trump's term.

John Kerry is beginning to signal how he'll approach his new gig as President-elect Joe Biden's special envoy on climate change — including the fraught relationship with China, the world's biggest carbon emitter.

Driving the news: Kerry tells NBC News that he sees an opening to work with China even amid tensions between the countries on trade and other topics.

A Lebanese prosecutor on Thursday filed charges against caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers for negligence leading to over 200 deaths in the deadly explosion at Beirut's port in August, AP reports.

The state of play: Diab, who became prime minister last January, resigned in August after the explosion, but has stayed on in a caretaker role as the country has failed to form a new government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that Israel will begin vaccinating the public against the coronavirus on Dec. 27, with plans to inoculate 60,000 people daily.

The state of play: Netanyahu said in a press conference alongside Israeli health officials that the country has received its first shipment of Pfizer vaccine doses, with more expected to arrive on Thursday.

China's foreign ministry on Thursday announced new restrictions on American officials traveling to Hong Kong in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, the AP reports.

Why it matters: The move is the latest escalation in a series of tit-for-tat measures between the U.S. and China over Hong Kong, which began when Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the once semi-autonomous region in June.

Almost 75% of the world's deaths last year were from non-communicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

Why it matters: Worldwide life expectancy is now up to an average of 73 years — six years longer than it was in 2000. But chronic, and in some cases preventable, disease is also taking a bigger toll than it was 20 years ago.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said Wednesday he was "shocked" when he discovered in 2015 that Christine Fang — a Chinese national who started working with him in 2012 — was a suspected spy who targeted him and other California politicians, as revealed by Axios.

The big picture: Swalwell is not accused of wrongdoing and immediately cut off ties with Fang after receiving a defensive briefing from the FBI, according to a current U.S. intelligence official. The California lawmaker told CNN that congressional offices don't have the "technical capabilities" to run background checks on the people they work with.

Khartoum — Most Sudanese thought until recently that getting off the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list was a done deal. Now they realize it's more complicated.

Why it matters: One crucial element of the trilateral deal between the U.S., Israel and Sudan was the restoration of Sudan's sovereign immunity, which would protect the country from future terror-related lawsuits.

The incoming Biden administration and the Israeli government are on a collision course over the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Why it matters: There is a growing gap between Biden’s stated intention to re-enter the deal and Israel’s expectations and public demands against it.

Forbes on Wednesday released its annual list of the 'World's 100 Most Powerful Women," with history-making figures like Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern among those featured.

Zoom in: 13 of the women named "helm some of the world’s biggest banks and financial institutions, positions they’ve leveraged to effect change in the world," Forbes' Samantha Todd writes.

The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday that the coronavirus vaccine developed by China's state-owned Sinopharm appears to be safe and 86% effective, according to an interim analysis of the company's Phase III trials.

Why it matters: It's the first public release of information about one of the main Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, which was tested in the UAE in a trial involving 31,000 volunteers from 125 countries that began in September.