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
Meet Palestine’s youngest female mayor In face of harsh criticism, Yusra Mohammed Badwan recently became Palestine’s youngest female mayor, in the town of Azzun in the northern West Bank. Palestine
Turkey's economic interests dictate balanced stance in Gulf crisis Through analyzing Gulf investment into Turkey, it is obvious that taking sides in the GCC dispute could have a detrimental effect on Turkey's economy. Legacy: Gulf
Egypt steps up efforts to extradite Brotherhood fugitives from UK With the recent terrorist attacks in England, Egypt is hoping Britain will change its stance and agree to extradite members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt considers a terrorist group. Egypt
Palestinian courts take a break from divorce during Ramadan The head of Palestine's Islamic courts has banned judges from registering divorces during Ramadan, citing hasty decisions made by fasting Muslims. Palestine
Netanyahu spearheads populist 'madness' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has changed strategy, and instead of operating behind the scenes he is now spearheading efforts to adopt a law against foreign donations to NGOs. Israel
Pioneering program makes aerial survey of Iraqi antiquities Iraq, in cooperation with UNESCO, has conducted a comprehensive aerial survey of archaeological sites in Ninevah province to prepare for repairing and maintaining the sites. Countries
Gulf rift sends tremors through Yemen The decision by Gulf countries involved in the Yemen war to sever ties with Qatar has created complexities on both sides of the Yemen conflict. Legacy: Gulf
Iran's central bank must regulate unlicensed actors The Central Bank of Iran’s failure to regulate a major segment of the financial sector is putting the country’s economic and social well-being at risk. Iran
Former IRGC commander warns US against attacking Iran A senior Iranian military official has warned the United States against contemplating an attack on Iran. Iran
Opposition MP joins other lawmakers in Turkish prison Republican People’s Party member Enis Berberoglu has joined several other imprisoned lawmakers, convicted of revealing state secrets surrounding the MIT truck scandal of 2014. Turkey
Turkey’s top commander may be on his way out The Turkish president soon will decide whether to keep his embattled chief of general staff for a while or replace him immediately. Turkey
Qatar crisis opens gates of anti-Trumpism in Turkey Pro-government Turks who support Qatar have been hesitant to directly blame Saudi Arabia for the recent intra-GCC rift, preferring instead to scapegoat US intelligence services and President Donald Trump. Saudi Arabia
