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
Iran's job seekers lack practical skills While many young Iranians are now college graduates, many lack the technical and practical work experience to land a job. Iran
Zionist Camp pushes Livni to background The Israeli public has not been convinced by the Zionist Camp's idea of a rotating premiership, which has helped boost Benjamin Netanyahu's changes of re-election. Israel
What's next for Hakan Fidan? Turkey's recently resigned intelligence czar Hakan Fidan is widely expected to found a new National Security Ministry and redesign the country’s entire security apparatus. Turkey
Odeh: racist Israeli laws to benefit joint Arab list The unified Arab list is expected to see success in the next Knesset elections as a result of discriminatory Israeli laws, according to the head of the joint list of all Arab parties. Palestine
Gulf states to cut aid to Egypt The Egyptian government hopes the Egypt Economic Development Conference will succeed in attracting new investments given an expected drop in aid from the Gulf. Legacy: Gulf
UN, Russia take lead in Syria diplomacy Russia-Egypt ties enter "new phase"; UN and Russian initiatives offer only hope so far for Syria political settlement; Erdogan promotes the "Internal Security Law." Egypt
US optimism on Iran nuclear deal rises The US administration believes that prospects for reaching an Iran nuclear deal have increased in recent days. Iran
Turkey spy chief’s resignation: power play or family feud? Is there a Davutoglu-Fidan alliance in the making against Erdogan? Turkey
Erdogan jabs at Obama in calculated move Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his recent visit to Latin America to make his claim to leadership of the Muslim world. Turkey
Anbar officials reject Shiite popular mobilization forces Officials in Iraq's Anbar province are concerned about the increase in revenge operations carried out by popular mobilization forces. Iraq
Turkish media watchdog scrutinizes 'The Simpsons' Turkey’s broadcasting review board has become a key tool in the government's efforts to police morality. Turkey
Billion dollar smuggling industry drains Iran's economy Partly due to sanctions, smuggling of drugs, cigarettes and cosmetics is widespread in Iran and some question whether government organizations are implicated. Iran
