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
Tehran Battles Drugs, Addiction And Crime An inside report on rising drug addiction and crime in Iran’s capital. Iran
Gaming Iran’s Presidential Election The signs point to a tight race between former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Iran
Obama Should Ask Erdogan To Respect Press Freedom in Turkey Turkey can only lead the region if it really strengthens its democracy and respects freedom of expression and press freedom. Turkey
Has Jordan Abandoned Its Cautious Policy on Syria? Amman will host the opposition Friends of Syria meeting next week. Jordan
Russian Embassy in Beirut Becomes Hub for Syria Diplomacy With Russia’s diplomatic base relocated from Damascus to Beirut, Moscow is refining its strategy on the Syrian crisis as the second Geneva conference nears. Lebanon
Land: The Heart of the Conflict Between Palestine and Israel As Palestinians commemorate 65 years since the Nakba, the issue of land and property is still the defining aspect of the conflict. Palestine
Can Rafsanjani Save Iran’s Economy? Whoever wins the Iranian presidential election will face a daunting economic challenge. Iran
Van Hollen Discusses Middle East, 'Unintended Consequences' in Syria Representative Christopher Van Hollen, ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, discusses the Middle East in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. Syria
The Limits of Asia-Gulf Ties Gulf-Asian economic relations will likely continue to grow while national security considerations are ignored. Saudi Arabia
Nakba's Meaning and Memories for Diaspora Palestinians For a new generation of Palestinian descendants growing up in the diaspora, Nakba Day serves as a crucial connection to their roots. Palestine
Palestinian Reconciliation: Why The Delay? Fatah and Hamas appear to have reached agreement on their outstanding issues but have postponed implementation, to allow current peace efforts with Israel to move forward. Palestine
Baghdad Struggles to Halt Devaluation of Iraqi Dinar The Central Bank of Iraq has taken measures to slow the fall of the Iraqi dinar, which has plummeted against the US dollar in recent weeks. Iraq
