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
Putin, Erdogan boost Russia-Turkey ties with TurkStream Putin, Erdogan are all smiles in Istanbul marking the end of construction of the offshore section of the TurkStream. The megaproject seeks to boost the relations and change Eurasia's energy market. Turkey
Will northern Sinai’s new cultural centers promote moderate Islam? Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments has opened an Islamic cultural center in each governorate to teach moderate Islam and fight radicalism; the volatile northern Sinai Peninsula, where the army fights religious fundamentalists, has three. Egypt
Many Turks outraged by state religious authority's bloated budget Turkey's 2019 budget includes a sharp increase for its Religious Affairs Directorate, drawing criticism of what some see as a vast overreach in influence. Turkey
Netanyahu’s political victory is only temporary Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a political battle, but he remains with a narrow coalition and an eroded public image. Israel
Israeli right storms Jerusalem mayoral race Jerusalem's new mayor ran a radical and deceptive campaign that bodes ill for the upcoming general elections. Israel
With rising US pressure, Iran worries about losing ground in Iraq Iran is worried about losing influence in Iraq after the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran and because of US pressure on Iraq to distance itself from Iran. Iraq
Iran turns to pragmatism as Israel woos Oman While Iran is unlikely to have been happy about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Oman, it has tried to remain pragmatic in order to prevent tensions with a longstanding Arab friend. Saudi Arabia
Egypt’s pottery village explores with art in yearly festival Egypt’s celebrated pottery center, the village of Tunis, holds an annual art festival that now features crafts from calligraphy to wood carving. Egypt
Turkey, Russia finish new gas pipeline Ankara and Moscow have inaugurated a portion of a natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea while the latest Turkish news on murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi includes his refusal to send a message to his son. Saudi Arabia
Egypt looks to remove religion from ID cards — but is it too little, too late? A proposed bill to remove religious status from national ID cards is welcomed by activists, but they say much more needs to be done to counter the discrimination and unprecedented levels of persecution suffered by Egypt's religious minorities. Egypt
Will Turkey remain involved in Libya? Although some perceive Turkey’s walking out of the Palermo conference as stepping back from the Libya process, it doesn’t mean that Turkey is giving up its struggle for influence. Originals
