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
How the Arab Spring impacted Iran In light of Iran's new openness to the world following the nuclear deal, how do Iranian pro-reform activists interpret the events of the Arab Spring? Lebanon
Jewish shrine reminds Iraqis of religious coexistence Although the tomb of Jewish Prophet Ezra was turned into an Islamic landmark over the years following the Jewish exodus in the 1950s, clerics there say they are preserving the Jewish character of the shrine. Iraq
Battle for Aleppo rages on after peace talks suspended Faced with their toughest challenge to date, Syrian rebels are losing ground in Aleppo ahead of the Geneva III peace talks slated to resume Feb. 25. Syria
What Hezbollah stands to gain from Iran's nuclear deal As the Iranian nuclear deal enters its implementation phase, analysts are discussing the repercussions of Iran’s openness to the West on Lebanese Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia
From Israeli prime minister to prisoner The Israeli democratic system that was able to sentence former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to jail time might have lost its power to check the actions of today's serving prime minister. Israel
Syrian Kurds' agenda simmers on back burner Though Syria’s Kurds have been calling for the establishment of a federal state, just like their counterparts in Iraq, their demands may never reach the international peace platforms. Syria
Israelis, Palestinians secretly discuss French initiative Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seem to discuss the French initiative for an international conference, though Netanyahu, unchanged, is not really interested in advancing negotiations with the Palestinians. Palestine
US seeks to block sanctioned Iranian airline’s flights into Europe The Obama administration is warning EU allies to shut out Mahan Air or risk US retaliation. Congress
How Egypt plans to boost its stock exchange The Egyptian government's decision to sell shares of some state-owned banks and companies is drawing both praise and criticism. Egypt
How Iran's new petroleum contracts are producing more than oil Criticism of the general terms of the new Iran Petroleum Contract do not appear to be based on sound legal reasoning, but is rather the result of factionalism ahead of upcoming elections. Iran
Iran: Republicans wanted to delay prisoner swap The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Republicans reached out to Iran to delay the prisoner swap until the US presidential elections. Congress
Saudi Arabia turns to Turkey Following the visit of a Turkish delegation to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom hopes to establish economic and military ties with Turkey to counter the expanding Iranian influence in the region. Saudi Arabia
