Two of Saudi Arabia's most prominent royals were suddenly detained on Friday morning by masked royal guards and face up to a lifetime in prison for alleged treason, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Even by the standards of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS), this would be an audacious move. The two men reportedly detained were both once heirs to the throne, and are close relatives of the crown prince and his father, King Salman.
Iran’s coronavirus outbreak has reached the upper echelons of power, and ordinary citizens fear that the information filtering down can’t be trusted.
Why it matters: Iran has the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of China, with 3,513 confirmed cases and 107 deaths. But experts fear the real numbers are much higher, and that the government’s instinct to control information and prevent fear undermined hopes of containing it.
Soccer leagues across Europe are reacting differently as the coronavirus spreads, from canceling games to playing in closed-door arenas.
Driving the news: The Premier League has banned the ceremonial pre-match handshake. But following advice from the government, it has not canceled any of the upcoming games yet.
Jared Kushner told senators in a closed-door briefing Wednesday that the Trump administration is pressing ahead with its Middle East peace plan, even with the Palestinians boycotting the process and without a stable government in Israel, White House officials tell me.
Why it matters: The path could soon be cleared for Israel to annex areas of the West Bank envisioned as part of Israel under the plan. In the meantime, the administration is urging the Palestinians to negotiate, warning that its current plan will move forward without their input if they don't.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in a press conference Thursday that the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire in the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib.
Why it matters: A brutal offensive by Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his Russian patrons has forced more than 1 million civilians to flee toward the Turkish border, infuriating Erdogan and bringing Turkey to the brink of direct military conflict with Russia. The ceasefire, which is set to go into effect at midnight, is aimed at cooling geopolitical tensions and halting what is already a massive humanitarian crisis.
Israel's election committee has published the results of Monday's election showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc with 58 seats — three short of the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
Why it matters: Worse still for Netanyahu, particularly in the wake of what looked like a remarkable victory, a majority might now be uniting behind an effort to effectively end his political career. His corruption trial, meanwhile, is set to begin in just 12 days.
International Criminal Court judges ruled on Thursday that prosecutors can open investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by the Taliban, Afghan forces and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the AP reports.
Why it matters: It's the first time that ICC judges have allowed prosecutors to investigate U.S. forces, but Washington does not recognize the court's jurisdiction and may refuse to cooperate.
Policymakers in D.C. are targeting a handful of specific Chinese-owned companies as they try to thread the needle between protecting U.S. security and avoiding wider disruption of the two nations' interdependent economies.
The big picture: A new wave of proposals in Congress is turning TikTok, Huawei and other specific companies into proxies in Washington's broader power struggle with Beijing.
