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
Kurds lose, but that doesn't mean Turkey's a winner The Kurdistan independence referendum backfired and Kurds are suffering, but Turkey might want to hold off on celebrating until it considers the long-term consequences. Iraq
Erdogan forges ahead with his 'dream' to build a canal to rival Suez The government wants to dig an artificial waterway between Istanbul’s two seas to spur economic growth, but conservationists and economists say the Istanbul Canal will prove costly for the city. Turkey
Russia's balancing act in North Africa Despite Russia's very different relations with Algeria and Morocco, Moscow takes pains to treat them the same. Algeria
Is Iran’s former Reformist president under house arrest? Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was prevented from leaving his home to attend a meeting with other political figures. Iran
‘Arabian Gulf’ ruckus rallies Iranians around the flag While President Trump’s reference to the ‘Arabian Gulf’ rallies Iranians around the flag, Tehran is closely paying attention to how Europe is moving on other points of contention — including its ballistic missile program. United States
Egypt’s soccer fans hope for return to stadiums Amid excitement over the national team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, Egyptians hope for a removal of a ban on fans attending matches that was instituted following stadium clashes years ago. Egypt
Past meets future at Jerusalem's Tower of David The Digital Innovation Lab at the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem aims to use augmented reality to create an enhanced visitor’s experience. Israel
Is Jordan planning major change in Red Sea-Dead Sea project? Amid rumors that Jordan is freezing out Israel and the Palestinian Authority with regard to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project, officials remained silent. Palestine
Netanyahu's strategy to avoid negotiations Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploits the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation in order to set impossible conditions for resuming talks with the Palestinians. Palestine
Libyan activists team up with Al-Azhar to tackle extremism A group of Libyan activists are working alongside Egypt’s Al-Azhar to protect religious clerics defending moderate Islam in Libya from extremist attacks. Libya
Palestinians keep wary eye on reconciliation agreement Several Palestinian groups have taken to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza to pressure Hamas and Fatah to swiftly implement the recent reconciliation agreement in light of past failures. Palestine
Why does Israeli Labor chief sound like Netanyahu? The statements of Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay these last few days more so resemble the proposals by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than the peaceful principles of Zionism visionary Theodor Herzl. Palestine
