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
Egyptian band hopes Islamic hits will resonate in translation The Egyptian band Art Compilers has been translating well-known Islamic songs into English, but the jury is still out on its success. Egypt
'Game of Thrones' fever grips Iran Fans across Iran are waiting eagerly for the new season of "Game of Thrones," a show whose content and storytelling style resemble the epic tales Iranian children grow up with. Iran
Turkish and Greek Cypriots remain optimistic, despite collapse of talks While Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots blamed each other for last week's collapse in negotiations, many see positive signals because of shifts that took place in the talks. Turkey
Gulen denies directing coup, calls Erdogan 'oppressor' In a rare interview, accused Turkey coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen dismissed the charges and said of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "I want to spit in his face." Turkey
'Justice for all' in Turkey must include Kurds The Turkish opposition's Justice March reveals that the president's exhausting hate rhetoric is wearing thin in Turkey and for much of the world. Turkey
Turks, Russians partner on mega projects Construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is being moved forward to begin in August, as plans are shaping up for the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline. Turkey
Israeli Labor Party's new leader challenged from right, left Newly elected Israeli Labor Party chair Avi Gabbay faces huge challenges, including competing with the Yesh Atid party for center-right votes and defeating popular Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel
Iraqi oppositionists appear safe in Qatar for now Politically besieged Doha is moving closer to Iraq, which raises concerns about the future of the Iraqi opposition residing in Qatar. Qatar
Rouhani leads Iran’s return to wheat exports After years of imports, Iran has once again regained its self-sufficiency in wheat production under the Hassan Rouhani administration. Oman
Netanyahu tries to steer clear of submarine scandal The latest developments in the submarine scandal are threatening to drag Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the affair and out of the premier’s seat. Israel
Iran to US: Worry about your own domestic problems Iranian officials have criticized US Secretary of Defense James Mattis for accusing Iran of causing instability in the region and saying regime change in Tehran will have to precede renewed ties with the United States. United States
PA Foreign Ministry leaves diaspora Palestinians frazzled Shifting diaspora affairs from the purview of the PLO to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry has ruffled a number of feathers. Palestine
