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
Jordan, Syria reopen border Jordan hopes to make up for lost time as a key border crossing with Syria reopens for the first time since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. Jordan
Egypt celebrates new airport servicing Giza Plateau Egypt's new Sphinx International Airport promises to facilitate travel in Giza as tourism further rebounds in the area. Egypt
Iraq's PMU militia wants its own soccer club The Popular Mobilization Units, an Iraqi military organization, seek to enter the world of sports by establishing a club to compete in official soccer events. Iraq
What's next for Israel: early elections or war in Gaza? With early elections expected and rumblings on Israel's border with Gaza, the opposition appears unable to come together to present a credible alternative to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel
Palestinian property transfers to settlers anger Jerusalemites The recent transfer of a Palestinian-owned property in the Old City of Jerusalem to settlers caused anger in the Palestinian territories, as the seller and buyer exchange accusations. Palestine
Iran sets sights on Syrian reconstruction projects Iran is ready to help rebuild Syria, and seems especially interested in getting the power back up and running, but restructuring projects will remain stalled until a political solution is reached. Syria
India, Iran or Turkey: Iraqi students look abroad for post-grad studies Stiff competition for a very limited number of seats at public universities and high fees at private institutions are pushing Iraqi students to pursue post-graduate studies abroad. Iraq
Egyptians outraged by wedding photos as ancient sites tapped for revenue Egypt's cash-strapped Ministry of Antiques is making money from renting out historical venues, but the public is less than pleased with archaeological venues being used for private events. Egypt
Rouhani touts meeting with top economists on containing crisis Iran's president held a meeting with the country's top economists to discuss the ongoing crisis, but some hard-liners have lambasted the secrecy surrounding the talks. Iran
Pompeo heads to Turkey as Saudis change Khashoggi tune US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed for Ankara, where he will likely brief Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his talks with Saudi leaders on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia
