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
Saudi Arabia shifts to more assertive defense doctrine The kingdom is considering how to more effectively project its role and power in the region to compensate for the decline of Western influence. Saudi Arabia
'Bad veiling' a protest against government, says Iran cleric Traditional conservative politician Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri has called "poor veiling" a form of protest against the government and said that the causes of the issue should be studied rather than confronted by police. Iran
Hamas leaders say reconciliation no substitute for 'resistance' Hamas is relieved to be free of the burden of government, and is eager to repair the damage with the Palestinian street. Palestine
Israel surrogate law a victory for gay rights Orthodox politicians try to sabotage a bill ensuring surrogacy rights to single parents and same-sex couples behind the scenes, but to no avail. Israel
Israel learns the Palestinian narrative A Ben-Gurion University study has found that learning the Palestinian narrative developed a genuine dialogue among the parties, without destabilizing the Israeli narrative among the students. Palestine
Libya, my failing country Returning to Libya after three years, the author finds a mostly hopeless population desperate for security and stability. Libya
Syrian official: 'West will deal with us as a fait accompli' With presidential elections in Syria scheduled for June 3, a Syrian official says, "Turkey will suffer greatly from its involvement against us." Near East
Film tracks Syrian refugees' creative journey to asylum A group of Palestinian Syrian refugees performed a mock wedding ceremony to bypass security checks as they crossed Europe from the Mediterranean to reach asylum in Sweden. Palestine
What does Erdogan mean by 'Alevis without Ali'? In a fresh affront to Alevis, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started a polemic about “Alevism without Ali” in what analysts see as an attempt to Sunnify Alevis and ostracize those who resist assimilation. Turkey
Turkey's Central Bank governor pressured to resign Turkey's Central Bank lowered interest rates under political pressure, but this action could not satisfy Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Leaked video renews accusations of 2009 election fraud In a video leaked online, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the return of the Reformists during the 2009 elections was a "red line" for the organization. Iran
Russia, Turkey agree on Gulen Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Moscow this week, where he found some common ground with the Russian government on Gulen, while continuing to disagree on Syria. Turkey
![Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri (C) and his Lebanese counterpart Nbih Berri (L) review the presidential guard at Beirut's international airport February 5. Nouri is visiting Lebanon to discuss bilateral relations. [Tehran supports the Islamic Hizbollah (party of God) and its militias in their bid to oust Israel from the occupation zone in south Lebanon]. - RTXIKOL](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/06/RTXIKOL.jpg/RTXIKOL.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=c1S1f5W_)
![- PHOTO TAKEN 27OCT05 - Alevi women rock back and forth as they worship in the haunting rhythm and religious chants during their prayers "Cem Ayini" at an Alevi cemevi in Istanbul October 27, 2005. Long oppressed under Ottoman rule, the Alevis say they still face discrimination, even though the government has officially championed religious freedoms and human rights as it bids to gain membership to the [European Union]. Photo taken October 27, 2005. - RTXNXQC](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2014/06/RTXNXQC.jpg/RTXNXQC.jpg?h=c2c5b897&itok=OFMMcm1n)
