Former Jordanian Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein was put under house arrest early Saturday after allegedly plotting a coup against his half brother King Abdullah, sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.
Driving the news: Jordanian security forces arrested more than 20 former Jordanian officials, including former chief of the royal court Bassem Awadallah, Prince Hamza’s chief of staff Yasser Majali and former Jordanian envoy to Saudi Arabia Hassan Bin Zayed.
Ukraine said Saturday that joint military exercises with NATO troops may begin in a few months, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Russia, which supports separatist forces battling Ukraine's military in the Donbass region, said Friday it strongly opposes the drills and will "have to take additional measures" if NATO deploys troops to eastern Ukraine.
The death toll in Myanmar continued to mount Saturday as security forces opened fired on anti-coup protesters amid the military's months-long crackdown on dissent.
The big picture: More than 550 people, including 46 children have been killed since the Feb. 1 military coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. Another 2,750 have been detained or sentenced.
More than 400 French coaches, teachers and other figures are suspected of sexual abuse or helping to cover it up, a new report by the French sports ministry released Friday revealed, AP reports.
Why it matters: Majority of the victims were under 15 years old, and the abuse included sexual assault, harassment or other violence, AP notes.
Hundreds in London and several cities across England and Wales rallied in "kill the bill" protests on Saturday against a proposed law that would broaden police authority for regulating demonstrations, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: Opponents of the bill say it could be used to curb dissent and individual freedoms and could excuse heavy-handed tactics used by police to break up peaceful protests.
The Bangladeshi government on Saturday announced plans to impose a seven-day national lockdown starting Monday as coronavirus cases surge in the country, Bloomberg reports.
Details: Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader made the announcement in an online press conference in Dhaka, saying the country hit a record-high on Friday, with more than 6,800 new cases reported for the day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The Suez Canal Authority said that all 422 ships that had been waiting for the massive "Ever Given" cargo ship to be freed passed through the canal as of Saturday, clearing the backlog caused by the blockage, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The cargo ship was stuck for six days causing downstream damage to the global economy. The Suez Canal is a vital connection between European and Asian Markets, with approximately 30% of global container shipping volumes passing through, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.
A Russian court on Friday found Twitter guilty of three counts of violating regulations on restricting unlawful content and fined the company 8.9 million rubles (about $117,000) for not removing posts that encouraged minors to take part in unauthorized protests, according to AP.
Why it matters: The fine comes amid a broad crackdown on the social media company in the country. In March, Russian authorities threatened to ban the platform entirely if the company did not remove some 3,000 posts containing content the government had deemed illegal.
President Biden on Friday revoked the sanctions imposed by his predecessor on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Secretary of State Tony Blinken said in a statement.
Why it matters: Biden had promised to lift the sanctions during the campaign, but he delayed doing so at the request of Israel, which was attempting to block an ICC investigation into the situation in the West Bank and Gaza.
A train in Taiwan derailed Friday when it hit an unmanned vehicle that rolled onto the track, leaving at least 50 dead and dozens of others injured, AP reports.
The big picture: It's believed to be the deadliest rail disaster in Taiwan's history. The crash came on the first day of the Tomb Sweeping Festival, a four-day holiday weekend in which people frequently travel home to see relatives and pay respects at the graves of their ancestors, per AP. The train was carrying more than 400 people.
President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday for the first time since taking office, as U.S. and NATO officials warn of a Russian military buildup near eastern Ukraine that could ignite the long-simmering conflict, according to the White House.
Why it matters: It took more than two months for Biden to speak directly with the president of Ukraine, a key frontline partner in eastern Europe that has been pleading for more help from the West in its fight against Russian aggression.
The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold indirect “proximity talks” in Vienna next Tuesday to try and break the deadlock over a potential return to the 2015 nuclear deal, Western diplomats tell me.
Why it matters: At the moment, next week’s talks are not expected to include U.S. and Iranian diplomats sitting in the same room, but it's a small step forward when it comes to U.S.-Iran engagement.
Big Tech players in China like Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are facing challenges all-too-familiar to Amazon, Facebook and Google.
Why it matters: Antitrust has become a big theme for Beijing and this could hamper growth of China’s tech sector should authorities decide to regulate with a heavy hand.
The hosts of both of the two biggest global sporting events on the 2022 calendar are facing boycott threats, but they're handling the scrutiny much differently.
Driving the news: When European qualifying for the 2022 World Cup kicked off last week, players from three countries seized the opportunity to protest the human rights conditions in host nation Qatar.
