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
While US dithers on peace plan, Israeli right shores up support While the US administration delays presenting its peace plan, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is busy promising the Israeli right more construction in the West Bank settlements. Palestine
Iraq's new president taps Adel Abdul Mahdi to form government After May elections, the Iraqi parliament finally elected a new president, Barham Salih, who chose the independent Adel Abdul Mahdi to try to form the next government. Iraq
Kurdish rebels join anti-Iran lobbying fray An Iranian Kurdish opposition group has registered to lobby Congress and the Donald Trump administration. Congress
Brunson affair becomes litmus test for Turkish-US ties Uncertainty remains over whether the American pastor will be released from detention next week by a Turkish court. Turkey
Will Iran, Turkey jointly confront US influence east of the Euphrates? Iran and Turkey are gearing their policies in Syria toward jointly tackling the current status quo in northeastern Syria, where US-backed forces constitute a common threat to both Turkish and Iranian interests. Syria
EU votes to withhold funding as Turkish democracy limps The European Union will withhold 70 million euros over Turkey's failure to stop its democratic decline in a blow sure to hurt Ankara where it counts. Turkey
Iranians mob money changers to sell dollars as rial jumps Iranians rushed to money changers in several cities to sell their "home-kept" dollars as their national currency started to regain value. Iran
Foreigners purchasing more Turkish property Eager to lure foreign exchange, Ankara has slashed the financial criteria for foreigners to become Turkish citizens. But the increase in property sales to foreigners is already a worrying omen to many. Turkey
US keeps aid flowing for Palestinian security forces, for now Despite its deep cuts in aid to Palestinians, the US has continued to offer financial support to the Palestinian security services. Palestine
Egyptian documentary filmmakers eye international festivals Egypt's film industry enjoys high visibility, but the country's documentary filmmakers struggle with lack of funding and red tape. Egypt
