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
Fear of Shiites on the rise in Turkey The Justice and Development Party government is indifferent to the increase in Shiite-phobia in Turkey. Turkey
Tensions rise between Saudis, Russians Russia's controversial policies in the Middle East have brought increasing friction with Saudi Arabia — both in the region and inside Russia — to new heights. Saudi Arabia
Iran MP wants Washington Post journalist 'confession' aired A hard-line Iranian parliament member has accused the Hassan Rouhani administration of giving detained Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian access to sensitive areas. Iran
Israelis love to love their IDF chief of staff Israel's chief of staff is treated like a sacred cow, admired and loved by a public tired of corruption and political squabbles. Israel
Four years on, civilian deaths continue in Syria Civilians in Syria are paying the cost of the four-year conflict, often losing their lives, be it at the hands of the regime, opposition forces or jihadists. Syria
Egyptian tribes shift their approach to politics The 2011 revolution has changed tribes' relationship to the traditional political parties, leading some of them to vote for the Muslim Brotherhood and to nominate their own candidates. Egypt
Bibi's speech to Congress could tip electoral scale Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Camp Chair Isaac Herzog are practically in a tie, according to polls, but Netanyahu might tilt the balance with a charismatic speech to Congress. Israel
Lebanon holds IS at bay, for now The failure of the Islamic State’s plan to control territory and create an emirate in Lebanon bodes well, says a Lebanese security official who claims that Lebanon has clamped down on the major three terrorist hotbeds in the country. Lebanon
Hamas prevents Arabic fiction award finalist from leaving Gaza Palestian writer Atef Abu Saif has been nominated for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction but was stopped by security services from attending the announcement in Morocco. Palestine
Concern in Iraq grows over unregulated Shiite forces The popular mobilization forces in Iraq have made positive contributions to the fight against the Islamic State, but allegations of killings require that they be brought under the government's security umbrella. Iraq
Will Iran's corruption fight attract private investors? Iran has opened a series of high-level judicial cases against former administration officials, leading some to believe that the government is cleaning up its act to attract private investment in the economy. Iran
War separates lovers in Aleppo The conflict in Aleppo has divided the city, making it nearly impossible for people in one half to visit people in the other after the closure of the Bustan al-Qasr crossing. Syria
