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
Syria's first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students Syrian Kurds have big plans to expand the first university based in Rojava, which they launched just last year. Syria
The real reason Israel’s economy is slipping toward recession While recent figures indicate that the Israeli economy is heading toward a recession, are politicians suppressing the connection between the economy and the diplomatic stalemate? Israel
Arms sales to Libya draw congressional skepticism The United Nations is ready to lift the arms embargo on Libya. Congress, not so much. Libya
Syria contact group urges air drops, expanded cease-fire The International Syria Support Group, meeting in Vienna May 17, appeared to lower emphasis on Syria political talks as it urged shoring up a partial cease-fire and using air drops if needed to get aid to towns subjected to a type of "medieval" siege. Syria
Who will be Iran's next speaker of parliament? The competition for the position of parliament speaker is heating up in Iran. Iran
Will Turkey let UN officials snoop in the southeast? The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is demanding that Turkey allow UN officials to investigate alleged human rights abuses in the war-ravaged southeast of the country. Turkey
Is Egypt's state of emergency in Sinai unconstitutional? Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is drawing the wrath of advocates of the constitution once again, this time for extending the state of emergency in north Sinai for another three months. Egypt
Is Israel's opposition leader siding with Bibi against French initiative? It seems that Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog is more interested in entering the coalition and becoming foreign minister than he is at promoting the French initiative to advance the two-state solution. Palestine
Israeli, Palestinian teens open back channel via Facebook What started as verbal hostilities between Israeli and Gazan teenagers turned into meaningful online dialogue when mutual accusations gave way to curiosity about each other's lives. Palestine
How schizophrenia patients in Turkey are finding relief on stage In a small Turkish city, a pioneering psychiatrist has achieved remarkable success in treating schizophrenia patients with theatrical improvisation. Turkey
EU-Turkey refugee deal gives Erdogan case of 'political amnesia' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would like to forget that part of the refugee deal with the European Union involves amending the country's Anti-Terror Law. Turkey
Gaza rolls out the red carpet for film festival The second edition of the Red Carpet Film Festival in the Gaza Strip did not receive as much attention as last year, as security members insisted on keeping the lights on during the film screenings. Palestine
