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
Erdogan, Putin strike diplomatic pose in Ankara Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan met today in Ankara, where grandstanding alongside Putin is helping cement Erdogan’s image as a Muslim leader with a real hand in global affairs. Turkey
Ahmadinejad moves to target influential Iranian political family Iran’s former president appears to target the judiciary chief and the parliament speaker in a bid to regain political relevance. Iran
What was on the agenda for British foreign secretary's Iran visit? Boris Johnson becomes the first British foreign secretary to visit Iran since 2015. Iran
Turkish military suffers from self-inflicted brain drain Turkey's military is having difficulty retaining qualified personnel, in part because of its rigid personnel policies and inability to take advantage of officers' interests and skills. Turkey
Powdered orchid and water-buffalo cream: Turks delight in Ottoman dishes Authentic Turkish dishes, some going back to Ottoman times, remain popular with locals, but are hard to reproduce abroad. Turkey
Arab leaders plan major response to Trump's Jerusalem move As public anger has yet to subside over Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine are meeting to discuss actions to be taken in this regard. Palestine
Israel warns Hamas against a new intifada The Israel Defense Forces destroyed a Gaza tunnel this week as a signal and warning to Hamas not to open a new intifada against Israel. Palestine
How Israel is bringing an end to Hamas' tunnels With a combination of intelligence and cutting-edge technology, Israel is developing a new system for not only detecting but quietly destroying Hamas' tunnels. Palestine
Artists boost Gaza’s morale with music, comedy A recent festival organized by the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music brought Gazans a sense of normalcy through traditional and modern music and comedy. Palestine
Egypt takes big step toward financial transparency and inclusion The Egyptian government ceased financial transactions by paper checks this month and implemented a new electronic payment and collection system, although only 10% of citizens have relationships with banks. Egypt
Jerusalemites forced to destroy own homes Some hapless Palestinian builders in Jerusalem are demolishing their own unpermitted homes to avoid paying the enormous demolition costs charged by the Israeli authorities. Palestine
Has US given up on Middle East diplomacy? US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calls on Saudis to "consider consequences" of actions; Is Lebanese President Michel Aoun making the right call on Hariri? Saudi Arabia
