An Israeli businessman with ties to the U.S. government was in touch with former Jordanian Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein when he was put on house arrest on Saturday, and proposed to send a private jet to take his wife and kids to Europe.
The intrigue: The Jordanian government claims the Israeli has connections to the Mossad spy agency, while the businessman stresses he's only a friend of the prince.
A day after putting former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein under house arrest, the Jordanian government on Sunday publicly accused him of conspiring to destabilize the country.
Why it matters: Prince Hamzah claims he is a victim of a campaign by the royal palace to crack down on dissent and silence his criticism of the government’s corruption and incompetence. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi rebutted those claims in a press conference.
France is cutting it's GDP growth forecast to 5% from 6% as the country enters a four-week national lockdown aimed at slowing a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The lockdown, France'sthird since the start of the pandemic, comesamid a surge in new COVID-19 cases across much of Europe that has seen some countries reimpose restrictions.
Of note: Fernández received his first dose of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Jan. 21 and the second on Feb. 11, per the Wall Street Journal.
Egypt held a 5-mile procession of 22 ancient mummies in Cairo, as they were moved from a museum where they'd been for over a century to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization Saturday night.
For the record: Organizers "deliberately" hid from view working-class neighborhoods during the nationally televised event celebrating Egypt's past, locals told the New York Times. Urban planner Ahmed Zaazaa noted to the NYT, "The government says they are making reforms, but the vast majority of people in Cairo who live in working-class neighborhoods are excluded."
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.
