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
The reason Tehran is against referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan Iranian leaders and media have expressed strong opposition to the September referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan. Israel
New generation of Iranian hostels attract younger tourists As Iran's tourism industry grows, a new generation of hostels catering to younger travelers is springing up around the country. Iran
Gazans denounce claims Hamas is training extremists in Libya Accusations by the spokesman of the forces of retired Maj. Gen. Khalifa Hifter that Hamas has provided technical support to some armed groups in Libya are rebutted and mocked by Palestinians amid a lack of evidence of Hamas’ involvement in the North African country. Saudi Arabia
Tunisia cracks down on NGOs The Tunisian government has ordered nongovernmental organizations to disclose all of their foreign funding in what some see as an attempt to suppress the civil society sector. Tunisia
Jordan in an uneasy place over Gulf spat Despite bitter past relations with Qatar, Jordanian officials avoided taking sides in the latest Gulf spat. Legacy: Gulf
Palestinian press groups blast ban on websites linked to Abbas rivals The Palestinian Authority blocked 12 websites affiliated with the Hamas movement and with dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, raising questions about the government’s respect for press freedoms. Palestine
Gulf-Qatar crisis leaves its mark on sports Amid the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Qatar and a number of major Arab nations, the Qatari sports channel beIN has been banned in several countries. Legacy: Gulf
Egyptian producers turn to best-sellers to boost Ramadan ratings Two of Egypt’s recent soap operas are based on the country's well-known novels whose sales have increased in turn due to TV drama. Egypt
Gaziantep's beloved dumplings grace every table for Eid In Gaziantep, all citizens rich or poor get busy making the same traditional ground rice and mincemeat dumplings of yuvarlama, a dish now registered with the patent office. Turkey
Kushner bolsters Trump Middle East peace push By dispatching his son-in-law, the president has made it clear to both sides that he’s serious about wanting a deal. But will that be enough? Palestine
Turkey's elite get lenient treatment in post-coup probes The apparent leniency accorded to figures linked to the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey’s post-coup investigations points to double standards. Turkey
Ankara voices cautious support as Turkish troops arrive in Doha A top foreign policy adviser to the Turkish president has publicly defended Qatar in the same breath as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, while mixed signals from the US administration appear to have caught everyone off guard. Saudi Arabia
![CORRECTION - Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attend a welcome ceremony at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on March 28, 2017 ahead of talks on the eve of the Arab League summit. / AFP PHOTO / Khalil MAZRAAWI / The erroneous byline appearing in the metadata of this photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Khalil MAZRAAWI] instead of [Marwan IBRAHIM]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from a](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/GettyImages-659113152.jpg/GettyImages-659113152.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=QsPNAqLU)
