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
Turkey's Kurds stand with ultranationalists after campus murder The murder of an ultranationalist college student reveals how Turkey's peace process with the Kurds and the growing Islamization of politics has impacted Turkish nationalists. Turkey
Turkish military wages war on social media Turkey's military is still struggling to come to terms with the rules of Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Turkey
Shooting of Fatah activist could doom security cooperation The security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is in jeopardy after Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Fatah activist in the Dheisheh refugee camp. Palestine
Despite Hamas restrictions, Gaza actresses seek stage The Hamas-led security apparatuses in Gaza limits the ability of actresses to play parts in high-profile movies as they are forced to wear the veil and avoid contact with male co-stars. Palestine
Islamic State conspiracy theories sway Iraqis Past events in US-Iraqi relations and the prevalence of conspiracy theories spread by the media as well as politicians have led Iraqis to doubt the sincerity of the US fight against the Islamic State. Iraq
With eye on Mosul, coalition advisers train peshmerga The international coalition against the Islamic State has provided weeks of training to prepare peshmerga fighters for a ground offensive to regain control of Mosul. Iraq
Kurds push for delay of Mosul attack Some in Congress share concerns that Sunnis aren't ready to take on the Islamic State. Iraq
Does Rafsanjani want to chair the Assembly of Experts? It's still unclear whether Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani will run for the chairmanship of Iran's Assembly of Experts, which supervises and elects the supreme leader. Iran
Iran 'bound' to complete talks by March 31 Iranian media outlets believe that progress was made in the nuclear talks and that the nuclear talks are reaching a conclusion. Iran
Turkey’s 'strategic depth' in Syria The controversy around Turkish military intrusion into Syria to remove the alleged sanctuary of Suleiman Shah continues. Syria
Does Assad meeting signal a shift in France's policy? A secret visit by French parliamentarians to Damascus is raising questions about a possible major shift in France's Syria policy. Syria
Why doesn't Turkey speak up on Iran nuclear issue? While so many are focused on the Iran nuclear talks, Turks have remained surprisingly quiet on a major issue unfolding just next door. Turkey
