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
Syrian regime evacuates civilians from last rebel-held area in Homs After a deal was struck between the Syrian regime and opposition forces in the al-Waer neighborhood of Homs, waves of newly displaced are headed for Jarablus, al-Bab and Idlib. Syria
Who is behind new round of violence in Lebanon refugee camp? The Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon has witnessed heavy clashes between factions linked to a jihadi cell and the Palestinian Joint Security Force. Palestine
Egyptian performer faces uproar over Ramadan show An Egyptian performer has sparked anger from government and religious officials by announcing that she will host a religious-themed TV show during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. Egypt
Will Egypt sell its artifacts to boost economy? Some Egyptians believe selling or "renting" Egypt's national treasures could end the country's stifling economic crisis. Egypt
Palestinians make peace process a group effort The Palestinian Authority is relying on help from Egypt and Jordan to involve the United States in the peace process with Israel, though some Palestinians question whether the United States can participate without bias. Palestine
Is Saudi Arabia really willing to normalize ties with Iraq? Despite some progress in Saudi-Iraqi ties, further improvement is hindered by Iranian influence in Iraq and Baghdad's inability to control Shiite militias. Legacy: Gulf
Palestinians see little gain in Netanyahu's economic offer Palestinians are not buying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises to offer economic concessions to them, saying that it would only be a "partial lifting" of Israeli restrictions. Palestine
Egypt's Al-Azhar to open classes for female students in branch campus The announcement by the Assiut campus of Al-Azhar University to create all-female classes inspired both accolades and complaints from lawmakers and religious scholars. Egypt
Why is this year different for Israeli civil society organizations? As the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War approaches, some Israeli civil society organizations are rallying efforts to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Palestine
Tillerson: Russia has 'best means' to convince Assad to go On his first trip to Russia as secretary of state, Rex Tillerson met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow to discuss steps to try to reverse the decline in relations between the United States and Russia. Syria
Turkey's last Ergenekon trial ends as all defendants acquitted The 13 defendants in the Turkey's controversial "Odatv trial" have been acquitted in the final case of Turkey's Ergenekon trials, but few Turks feel that justice was served. Turkey
Ahmadinejad is running for president in Iran ... again Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the unpredictable former Iranian president, has shocked everyone by registering to run for president against the supreme leader’s “advice" not to. Iran
