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
Turks link Armenia to US foes in bid to derail genocide nod Ankara's allies raise concerns with Yerevan's ties to Iran and Russia. Turkey
Soleimani emerges as unifying figure for Iranians While Iran's religious and nationalist groups have been at odds over various issues since the 1979 revolution, increasing tensions with Saudi Arabia and wide adoration for Quds Force Cmdr. Qasem Soleimani have largely united the two camps. Iran
Iraqi PM walks back criticism of Saudi Arabia On his first official visit to Washington, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi showed how hard it is for his country to juggle conflicting outside powers. Saudi Arabia
Iran defense minister: Saudi Arabia will fail in Yemen Iranian defense minister says that Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen will fail and that it will prepare the collapse of the Saudi government. Saudi Arabia
Aleppo's rebels brace for IS assault Syrian rebels have been going above and beyond to ready their cities in the countryside of Aleppo for a possible attack by the Islamic State. Syria
AKP readies diversion as genocide anniversary nears Under the Justice and Development Party, Turkey has refused to face the Armenian question and is instead working to redirect the world's attention. Turkey
Disabled Turks protest benefit cuts A legal amendment cutting financial support for people with disabilities has sparked a wave of protests in Turkey, with a big demonstration scheduled for May outside parliament. Turkey
Housing shortage and demolitions push Israeli Arabs to brink Following the destruction of homes built illegally in Arab settlements, some Israeli Arabs are threatening a general strike. Israel
Poll shows Israeli voters happy with status quo According to a US survey of Israeli voters, security considerations tipped the scale and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won once again for his reputation as a strong leader. Israel
Qaradaghi: We support action against Houthis In this interview with Al-Monitor, the secretary-general of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Ali Mohiuddin Al Qaradaghi, shares the union’s relations to Hamas, views on Operation Decisive Storm and other Muslim affairs. Saudi Arabia
Iraq's brain drain continues The lack of security and the poor economy are forcing many young Iraqis to think about emigrating to the West, even if illegally. Iraq
Egypt strikes Islamic texts from schools, angering Salafists The Egyptian Ministry of Education has decided to remove some Islamic texts that it says incite violence and extremism from school curricula in a move Salafists decry as an attempt to distort history. Egypt
