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
Yemen dispute could hurt Lebanon Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's verbal attack against Saudi Arabia and its regional allies in a televised speech March 27 about Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen could be part of a process leading to much greater tensions and even conflict in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia
Egypt struggles to cope with bird flu The current number of reported H5N1 cases in Egypt bode ill, given the government's less than stellar track record of dealing with previous outbreaks. Egypt
Netanyahu secures 67 members for coalition Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might have preferred to have Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog within his new coalition, but will have to make do for the moment with a right-wing government par excellence. Israel
Hamas sweeps student council elections in West Bank The victory of Hamas in the West Bank university elections seems to indicate that support there is waning for the Palestinian Authority and Fatah. Palestine
Kerry, Zarif meet at Iranian envoy's residence The US secretary of state visits an Iranian diplomatic property in New York in a historic move related to the Iranian nuclear negotiations. Iran
Defense bill recognizes Iraq's Kurdish, Sunni militias as a 'country' The draft House bill carves out 25% of anti-Islamic State funding for the peshmerga and Sunni tribes. Iraq
Hariri: Late Syrian security chief tried to speak out A statement by Lebanon's former Prime Minister Saad Hariri that Rustom Ghazaleh asked to go on television before his death suggests the former Syrian intelligence chief was about to break with the Syrian government. Lebanon
Rouhani: Police should not enforce Islam Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized by conservative clerics for saying the police should enforce the law rather than Islam. Iran
In Turkey's battle of the G-words, Gallipoli wins The damage of the 1915 centennial is already done to Turkey’s international standing and only time may heal it. Turkey
Bennett's plan B: Education Ministry Having garnered fewer votes than expected in the recent election, HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett has put out the word that he'll settle for the Education Ministry, instead of the Foreign Ministry — raising concerns about whether he can serve as “everyone’s” education minister. Israel
Turks protest prison term for woman who killed her rapist A Turkish woman who murdered and beheaded her rapist has been sentenced to life in prison, prompting activists to decry the Turkish justice system, which so often offers leniency to men and harshly punishes women for the same crimes. Turkey
Kurds pay respects to Armenians Most of the massacres during the Armenian genocide were carried out in today's southeastern Turkey, often by Kurdish militias, but today Kurds commemorate the genocide in Diyarbakir. Turkey
