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
Arab Hero Receives Israeli Holocaust Museum Award Egyptian Dr. Mohamed Helmy was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Israeli Holocaust Museum of Yad Vashem for saving Jews during the Holocaust. Egypt
Assad Is a HeroFor Turkey's Neo-Nationalists For at least 20% of the people in Turkey, Bashar al-Assad is the only hope for toppling Erdogan. Turkey
Besieged Gazans Find Joy in Eid The economic crisis caused by the Israeli-Egyptian siege on Gaza is not stopping local Palestinians from finding the festive spirit during Eid. Palestine
Arms Supplies to Hamas Disrupted by Egyptian Siege Egypt's destruction of Sinai tunnels has created an arms shortage in Gaza. Palestine
Smugglers Easily Cross Iraq’s Border Despite the efforts of Iraq and the six countries bordering it, Iraq’s borders are easily navigated by professional smugglers. Saudi Arabia
Aleppo’s Children Left Behind As War Shutters Schools Schools across Syria have been shut down, damaged or used as shelters, denying millions of children the chance to attend. Syria
New Iraqi Association Strives To Help Unmarried Women "Single Women" recently opened its doors in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to assist unmarried women who have traditionally been neglected by society. Iraq
Netanyahu Stuck On Repeat on Palestine Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undercut Israeli-Palestinian negotiations with his recent address to the Knesset. Palestine
Loveless Bonds Link Washington, Cairo The Pentagon is the lifeline for what has become a businesslike relationship between the US and Egypt. Egypt
Hamas Spends Downtime Digging Tunnels The military branch of Hamas is struggling to keeps its soldiers occupied and maintain the cease-fire. Palestine
Soccer Decision Fuels Sense of Iraqi Victimhood Given the inextricable relationship between sports and politics in Iraq, a decision by the Gulf states to move the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations out of Basra has hit a personal note with Iraqi politicians. Iraq
The Crisis of Moral Decline in Iraqi Society Following years of violence and despotic rule, Iraqis have lost a sense of moral responsibility toward society, something that must urgently be addressed to provide security and reach lasting solutions. Iraq
