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
How crisis with US dealt fresh blow to Turkish press The depreciation of the Turkish lira, fueled by the crisis between Ankara and Washington, has raised the cost of imported paper enormously, pushing already-struggling publications to the brink of collapse. Turkey
Rouhani’s economy minister impeached Just one year into his second term, Hassan Rouhani’s economic team has come under fire with two ministers impeached in one month. United States
Iran turns to economic zones to encourage balanced growth Iranian lawmakers have approved a bill to establish a series of new special economic zones to counter the country's uneven development. Iran
Iran yanks favored exchange rate from students abroad The Iranian government’s new foreign exchange rules are keeping many students abroad from obtaining currency at the lower official rate, with the backlash posing a new challenge for the Rouhani administration. United States
Ghalibaf retools image to lead Iran's new conservatives After several failed presidential bids, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appears to be maneuvering to become the leader of a younger generation of Iranian hard-liners by trumpeting what he calls the 'new conservatism.' Iran
Will Iran’s hard currency market return to normalcy? The value of the rial has dropped this year, but the Central Bank of Iran’s new foreign exchange policies will likely calm the fluctuations in the national currency — for a time. Iran
Three Arabs beaten nearly to death as nationalism sweeps Israel Shocking violence against three Arab Israelis is just the latest disastrous consequence of the right's hateful policies. Palestine
Israel, US seek to redefine Palestinian refugees Israeli diplomats claim that the UNRWA’s mandate must be revised so that the issue of Palestinian refugees will include only the generation that really lost its home. Palestine
Tunisia’s next political battle: equal inheritance rights President Beiji Cai Essebsi’s call for a law establishing equal inheritance rights for men and women has sparked debate in Tunisia, a pioneer in women's rights in the Middle East but also a largely conservative society where most people reject contradicting Sharia. Tunisia
Kuwait seeks Palestinian teachers Kuwait has signed 158 contracts with Palestinian teachers from Gaza and the West Bank to work in Kuwaiti schools, part of a two-year-old initiative that the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education plans to make an annual undertaking. Kuwait
Russia shows no signs of ditching Iran over Syria Turkey rallies jihadi armed groups to its side in Idlib; Lebanon backs Russian plan for Syrian refugees. Lebanon
Palestinian refugee dances his way to top in Germany Tarek al-Turk startles his audience with his combination of acrobatics and dance on top of buildings; yet none of his dance figures are as dangerous as his escape journey to Europe. Palestine
