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
Palestine's first vegan cafeteria opens The Palestinian Animal League opened the first vegan cafeteria at Al-Quds University in the hope of raising awareness about animal welfare and providing healthy food options to the community. Palestine
An ancient Egyptian mystery draws tourists to King Ramses II statue Tourists flock each year to Egypt's Aswan governorate to witness a rare solar alignment phenomenon at the Abu Simbel temple, where the sun's rays strike the statue of Pharaoh Ramses II. Egypt
Israel defense minister: We must coordinate moves with Trump In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman confirmed that he still supports a two-state solution, but one involving population as well as land swaps and as one part of a regional agreement. Palestine
Why are sections disappearing from Egypt's textbooks? Lawyers used textbooks in a case against the Egyptian government; now the books have changed. Saudi Arabia
Iraq seeks to clamp down on gun ownership Regulating private security companies and proposing laws for possession of weapons are part of Iraq’s new strategy to impose order and the rule of law. Iraq
Cairo continues to mediate Libya conflict despite failures Assuming a mediator role between conflicting Libyan parties, Egypt has recently met with both sides over finding a political solution but has yet to make substantial progress. Egypt
Mutual interests break ice between Egypt, Saudi Arabia Although tension has been high between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the past few months, signs of cooperation are emerging over the development of Sinai and other common interests. Saudi Arabia
Will Tunisia finally amend harsh cannabis law? Tunisians, including government officials, have been in favor of amending a harsh law for possession and use of cannabis, but doing so has not been easy. Tunisia
Egypt’s first-ever female governor marches to a different drummer In a move that broke with a long-standing tradition of appointing retired military or police officers as governors, Nadia Abdu was named governor of Egypt's Beheira governorate. Egypt
Will new travel ban impede Iran-US athletic competition? Champion American wrestler Jordan Burroughs says he feels nothing but love from Iranians but “obviously, Donald Trump sees Iran a little different than I see Iran.” United States
How 'Half of the World' is attracting tourists to Iran Esfahan, or "Half of the World" as it is dubbed in Persian, is attracting ever more foreign tourists to Iran in the aftermath of the lifting of sanctions. Iran
What's really happening in Syria's al-Bab? Everyone wants to know what's coming next in Syria — but it is hard enough to figure out what is going on right now. Syria
