Somebody really wants to make something happen in the final days of Trump’s presidency. A prominent Iranian scientist and former head of the country’s nuclear program was gunned down outside Tehran on Friday, the Associated Press reports. Iran vowed not to leave the “criminal act unanswered.”

Also worth knowing this morning:

• The latest from Tigray: Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed announced yesterday that government troops have completed military operations in the capital of the dissident Tigray province and pledged to rebuild the region.
• China is now the global data superpower, accounting for around 23% of cross-border data flows — almost twice as much as distant second the US with 12%, Nikkei Asia reports.
• Doha and Istanbul go deeper with their economic entanglements: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is set to purchase a 10% stake in Turkey’s stock exchange for an undisclosed sum, as well as a 30% stake in a luxury Istanbul shopping center for USD 300 mn, the Financial Times reports.

IN DIPLOMACY: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi held wide-ranging talks with his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir during his first diplomatic visit to the country this past weekend, an Ittihadiya statement said. The two discussed the current state of negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, economic and trade ties, and security cooperation.

Russia’s ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko was less than pleased with an op-ed criticizing Moscow for refusing to resume flights to the Red Sea, saying there are still “pending issues” such as compensation for the Metrojet plane crash in 2015. The original op-ed is here in El Shorouk.