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
Despite Netanyahu, PA continues security cooperation with Israel In an interview with Al-Monitor, Adnan al-Damiri, the Palestinian Authority security services spokesman, claims that the Israeli leadership chooses to ignore the tight security cooperation in the West Bank for political reasons. Palestine
Iraq looks to tackle problem of adult illiteracy As Iraq’s population has been struggling with conflict and drought since the 1980s, many older, illiterate Iraqis are now trying to learn how to read and write under challenging circumstances. Iraq
Iran, Saudi Arabia find common ground in Yemen Despite fears of increasing Riyadh-Tehran rivalry, Yemen's unity government serves the interests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Despite Jerusalem unrest, West Bank remains quiet The Palestinian Authority’s grip on the West Bank, in coordination with Israel, is preventing any opportunity for the unrest to spread. Palestine
IRGC commander says US not reliable Some Iranian conservatives feel that Iran has not received fair terms under the nuclear extensions. Iran
Hezbollah arrives in Iraq As the battle against the Islamic State evolves, experienced members of Hezbollah arrive in Iraq to provide guidance and training. Iraq
Will Nubian demands for return become calls for secession? The Nubian people in Egypt are demanding their rights to return to lands from which they have been displaced multiple times through history, while some consider that they might also start calling for secession. Egypt
Despite controversy, religious art increasingly popular in Iraq Iraqi artists who specialize in painting imams and sacred historical figures find themselves in demand even though their art provokes a religious backlash from some. Iraq
Sisi's deportation law creates controversy Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has issued another controversial law to repatriate non-Egyptians accused of committing crimes, drawing criticism that it might expand the president’s privileges over the judiciary power. Egypt
Israel views extension of Iran talks as lesser of two evils Israel's attitude, favoring no nuclear agreement with Iran over a bad one, resulted in it being denied any direct influence on this phase of the negotiations, even if some of its worries are legitimate and shared by the US Congress. Israel
Ankara, Baghdad turn over new leaf in relationship Prospects for political, economic and security cooperation between Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil look much better today despite issues that have to be ironed out. Iraq
Future uncertain for Baghdad-Erbil oil cooperation Despite a breakthrough deal between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to cooperate on oil exports from northern Iraq, thorny issues remain. Iraq
