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
Child labor soars in Syria's liberated areas The Syrian war has left many children as the sole breadwinners for their families, pushing them to work at difficult and often dangerous jobs with long hours and little pay. Syria
Egypt aims to amend rules for revoking citizenship The government has approved a proposal to amend Egypt's nationality law, but some fear the amendments might be targeting the regime's opponents. Egypt
Popular board game in Palestine gets e-makeover A group of Palestinian programmers transform their childhood game from board to screen to save it from disappearing. Palestine
Is Netanyahu's party ready to divide Jerusalem? Likud Knesset member Anat Berko has developed a plan for the division of Jerusalem to preserve the city’s Jewish majority. Palestine
Will Hamas surrender Qassam Brigades to Abbas? According to a Palestinian security source, there will be no reconciliation with Hamas unless the movement agrees to give up the army it has created in Gaza. Palestine
Gaza's beloved gold market glitters with history Gaza’s historic gold market Suq al-Qaysariyya remains an essential stop for brides-to-be, but fewer Gazans can afford its treasures every day. Palestine
Palestinians show off their grapes The Palestinian agriculture sector aims to improve its grape production and promote it through festivals. Palestine
Putin boxed in by Iran, Turkey on Iraqi Kurdish referendum The Russian president could find himself at odds with Iran if he misplays a weak hand. Iraq
Palestine’s admission to Interpol sparks angry response from Israel In light of the ongoing US and Israeli stalemate to push peace talks, the Palestinians are taking matters into their own hands and recently joined Interpol. Palestine
Putin, Erdogan emerge all smiles from Ankara meeting As Turkey becomes more alienated from the West, Moscow is filling the gap by extending its friendship — and more — to Ankara. Turkey
Russia tempers Erdogan's threats against Iraqi Kurdistan Major Russian interests in Iraqi Kurdistan’s energy sector are seen as having a bearing on Turkey’s threatening response to the Kurdish independence referendum. Iraq
Turkey, Iran, Iraq in shaky alignment against Iraqi Kurdistan Turkey, Iran and Iraq have closed ranks over the independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan, but how long can their partnership survive? Iraq
