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
Sectarianism in Iraq peaks ahead of Kurdistan referendum With the Kurdistan independence referendum just days away, politicians and the general public are fanning sectarian tension on both sides of the vote. Iraq
Saudis tout humanitarian record in Yemen amid Washington backlash Saudi Arabia’s top aid official is in the United States to convince lawmakers and the US aid agency that it has Yemenis’ best interests at heart. Saudi Arabia
Turkey’s ‘resistance media’ refuses to buckle A Turkish oppositional news site seeks recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records after 61 bans and as many reopenings. Turkey
Rouhani on Trump UN speech: 'Ignorant, absurd and hateful' Iranians reacted harshly to US President Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations against Tehran and the JCPOA. United States
Where can ex-Erdoganists go? Dismissed from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circles, the options for so-called X-Men are limited and unpleasant. Turkey
Turkish schools told to cut evolution, make room for Quran In nominally secular Turkey, the K-12 public curriculum has been updated to omit evolution and expand religious instruction. Turkey
A trip through Iran's Sunni heartland A journey into Iran's northwest cities of Bukan, Mahabad and Saqqez indicates that while Iranian Sunnis face discrimination, it is rooted in politics, not religion. Iran
New Israeli closure at Al-Aqsa escalates tensions Israeli-Jordanian ties are likely to deteriorate following an Israeli court decision to close the Bab al-Rahma building inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and to try the Islamic Religious Endowments as a terrorist organization. Palestine
Court backs Baghdad by stalling Kurdish referendum The Baghdad government has several legal, economic and military options to prevent the Kurdistan region from conducting an independence referendum that is opposed by most regional and global powers. Iraq
Will Egyptian government embrace the Muslim Brotherhood? As revisions carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egyptian prisons have divided the ranks of the group, politicians and parliamentarians seem to be dealing with the reviews cautiously. Egypt
Egypt’s Christian, Muslim institutions join efforts to advance women’s issues With the objective of raising awareness about women's issues, the National Council for Women launched a campaign in which Muslim female preachers and Christian nuns reach out to women and families throughout Egypt. Egypt
Opening Homs-Hama road proving tricky for all sides in Syria Conflicting reports about the opening of the Homs-Hama road have been issued as both the Syrian regime and opposition look to leverage the strategic route. Syria
