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
The Real Beneficiaries Of Erdogan’s Democracy Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's democratization package has lifted restrictions on devout Sunnis imposed by previous secular governments, pleasing his Islamist constituency. Turkey
The Return of Turkey's Mustaches As Fashion Week approaches in Istanbul, reports of the demise of the mustache proved premature. Turkey
Is Egypt Trying to Block Israel's African Union Bid? The Egyptian government is seeking to block attempts by Israel's African allies to grant Israel observer status at the African Union. Egypt
How Yemeni Coffee Reaches American Cups Yemeni farmers preserve a coffee industry that dates back to ancient times to transform beans from the mountains of Haraaz into coffee sold in trendy coffee shops in North America. Yemen
Gaza's Extreme Poor Face Social Stigma Already humiliated for relying on UN food rations, Gaza's extreme poor also find themselves ostracized from other parts of society. Palestine
Hezbollah and Rouhani Hezbollah's relationship with Iran is not dependent on the Iranian presidency or government, but rather insitutions connected with the office of Iran's supreme leader and the velayati-e faqih. Lebanon
Iraqis Traumatized by Bombings The frequency with which Iraqis witness the carnage wreaked by explosions has psychologically scarred a high percentage of the country’s population. Iraq
Iraqi Literacy Drive A Response to Extremism An Iraqi youth group has organized a reading event in Baghdad to promote a literary culture and fight extremism. Iraq
Syrian Sufis Divided As Salafist Influence Grows Sufism has long been the dominant strand of Sunni Islam in Syria, but is under threat as Salafism gains power. Syria
Has Netanyahu Lost Battle Over Nuclear Iran? Right-wing ideologist Arieh Eldad criticized the Israeli prime minister: "He gave up on the Land of Israel, but he also understands that he lost the battle over the Iranian nuclear program." Palestine
Turkey's 'Massive' Rights Crimes At Gezi Protests Cited by Amnesty In a detailed study on Turkey's recent urban unrest, the international human rights body Amnesty International reports widespread abuse by authorities. Turkey
Netanyahu Fails to Address Peace Talks in UN Speech Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's UN speech reflects his priorities, focusing almost entirely on the Iranian nuclear threat while referring only briefly to the negotiations with the Palestinians. Palestine
