The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Iran’s judiciary moves to radically cut executions Iran’s judiciary chief has ordered a halt to executions of people convicted of most drug-related crimes. United States
Turks up in arms over religious green light for 9-year-old brides Huge public outrage forces Turkey’s top Islamic authority to step back from its endorsement of marriage for girls as young as age 9. Turkey
Rouhani’s bad news budget The Rouhani administration’s proposed budget for the coming Iranian year is set to be contractionary in real terms and could lead to a credit crunch. Iran
Armed Kurdish groups want disputed territory back in Iraq New Kurdish militias are forming from the remnants of defunct ones to renew the fight with the Iraqi army and the Popular Mobilization Units. Iraq
Netanyahu's 'family values' The recent scandal involving Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, renews questions about the Israeli leader's handling of a lucrative natural gas deal. Israel
Born in the wrong place: Europe's Islamic State offspring With the Islamic State defeated in Iraq and Syria, parents and relatives of European women and children who joined members of the terrorist organization there are calling on their governments to help facilitate the return of the children to their home countries. Iraq
Cairo taps World Bank to mediate Ethiopian dam dispute Cairo's proposal to bring in the World Bank as a neutral intermediary in the Renaissance Dam negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan is a serious attempt to overcome obstacles and influence the international community. Egypt
Egypt poised to approve changes to citizenship law Amendments to Egypt’s citizenship law could be approved amid fears they would be used to repress the regime’s opposition. Egypt
Gaza speech therapist treats refugee kids online A speech therapist in the Gaza Strip has found a way to help children across the Arab world, especially Syrian refugees. Palestine
Erdogan's border-security bluster a snarl at Moscow The Turkish president has renewed threats to move against Syrian Kurdish forces, playing to his nationalist base with promises to secure Turkey's borders, but is unlikely to take action yet for fear of Russian retaliation. Syria
Iran’s conservative-dominated judiciary under attack — from conservatives Iran's conservative-dominated judiciary finds itself on the receiving end of allegations of corruption. Iran
Iran’s supreme leader points finger at Saudi Arabia, US, Israel over unrest Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei distinguished between peaceful protesters and those who damaged public property during the recent unrest. United States
