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
Why Israel needs ultra-Orthodox representative in higher education Israel's Education Minister Naftali Bennett has appointed the first ultra-Orthodox representative to the Higher Education Committee in order to integrate the ultra-Orthodox in academia. Israel
Pressure mounts on PKK over Sinjar presence The United States, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey and Iraq have all expressed their strong opposition to the presence of the Kurdistan Workers Party in northern Iraq's Sinjar. Iraq
Will Turkey's economic crisis doom presidential system? Turkey seems to be on the cusp of a stormy 2017, as a failing economy and the drive for a presidential regime threaten to increase its already high economic and political risks. Turkey
Who's telling Turkish couples to quiet down during sex? Turkey's ruling party shrewdly raises sexual and chauvinistic topics whenever the going gets tough. Turkey
How one Gazan is preserving Palestinian heritage in his basement To protect Palestine's archaeological history, Marwan Shahwan has converted the basement of a Gaza house into a museum to hold the tens of thousands of artifacts he has been collecting for decades. Palestine
How will Britain-Gulf rapprochement affect Egypt? Following British Prime Minister Theresa May's attendance at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, it seems cooperation between both sides could potentially worsen Egypt’s relations with the Gulf states. Legacy: Gulf
Will Chinese currency swap help Egypt face dollar crisis? Egypt is trying to confront the dollar crisis by attracting foreign investments and reaching a deal to swap currency with China. Egypt
Fatah leader speaks out on Abbas' exclusive congress In an interview with Al-Monitor, Abdel-Hakim Awad, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council who was excluded from the movement's seventh congress, talks about Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' political failures, his exclusionary policies and his collusion with Israel. Palestine
Can soccer help kids kick cancer? The Champions Academy for soccer is launching a section for children with cancer in an attempt to help them overcome their illness and boost their morale. Palestine
EU court decision may escalate tension with Morocco Europe's highest court ruled Dec. 21 that trade agreements between the European Union and Morocco do not apply to Western Sahara. Morocco
Would Putin accept Turkish buffer zone in Syria? Heavy casualties at al-Bab and the recently released video of IS' burning alive of two Turkish soldiers have not affected Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield. Syria
Christmas brings hope for peace for Aleppo’s Christians Christians part of region’s DNA, said incoming UN secretary-general; Turkey’s “impossible war”; Erdogan backers blame Iran for Aleppo. Egypt
