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
Poor Beirut neighborhood's facelift only skin deep An art project in Beirut’s Ouzai neighborhood is bringing color to the area, but urban planners are not impressed with what they see as a simplistic approach to its complex legal and economic problems. Lebanon
Gazans now complaining online Gaza residents can submit their grievances and questions to governing authorities and departments via an electronic complaints system. Palestine
Hamas awaits Abbas' response after dissolving Gaza administrative committee Despite the importance of Hamas' move to dissolve its administrative committee, the failure of the previous reconciliation agreements worries Palestinians who are concerned about Fatah and Hamas returning to square one. Palestine
Palestine’s struggling palm sector While Palestinian dates are slowly becoming popular around the world, the palm sector is facing several Israeli constraints. Palestine
Is this beginning of the end for Idlib's jihadi groups? Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is facing several setbacks in Idlib including internal discord as foreign powers plan a military offensive against them. Syria
Paris, Moscow agendas in Mideast are different but compatible France and Russia are polishing their diplomacy in the Middle East, and perhaps toward each other. Syria
Palestinian leader rejects compromise on 'martyr' stipends Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas zeroed in on the two-state solution in his speech to the UN General Assembly, giving no quarter to talk about compromising on the support provided to families of martyrs. Palestine
Aoun sees role for Hezbollah until threats to Lebanon cease Speaking to Al-Monitor ahead of his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Lebanese President Michel Aoun spoke about the refugee crisis facing his country, Hezbollah's role amid the ongoing regional crisis and Beirut's expanding ties with Moscow. Lebanon
Tehran's Sunnis still waiting for their own mosque The campaign pushing for Iranian authorities to allow the construction of a purpose-built Sunni mosque in Tehran is gaining steam. Iran
Iranians welcome Rouhani’s response to Trump at UN Most Iranians, with the exception of some hard-liners, praised President Hassan Rouhani for his speech at the UN General Assembly. United States
Turkey’s shopping mall boom going bust Turkey’s shopping mall boom has been hit by economic problems stemming from the lira's decline against the dollar and poor planning. Turkey
Students, parents left in dark as Turkey scraps school entrance exam The Turkish government has suddenly moved to abolish a grueling standardized high school entrance exam without offering any plan to replace it. Turkey
