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
Syria talks involve many cooks — and many kitchens As would-be peacemakers wrapped up another round of talks in Kazakhstan, organizers announced the next negotiations on Syria will be held in Russia. Syria
Israel uses Facebook to reach out to Iraqis The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a Facebook page to strengthen the Iraqi-Israeli relationship. Iraq
Turkey and Israel: Barking, biting, but still doing business The ties between Israel and Turkey are being strained and stretched, but they aren't likely to snap as long as both sides benefit from the relationship. Israel
Sadr alliance's win spurs hope among Baghdad poor Baghdad's poor, many of whom voted for Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance, hope that the election result will lead to an improvement of their daily lives. Iraq
Israel’s policies threaten to spark religious war Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policies and President Donald Trump’s decisions on the nuclear deal and the American Embassy play into the hands of religious zealots in Iran and in the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Israel’s finance minister ready for early elections For Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, data showing housing prices falling represents a personal and public accomplishment and a political victory. Israel
Assad in surprise Sochi visit as Russia continues Iran-Israel mediation Following a meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi, Putin's comments that "foreign armed forces" will withdraw from Syria have left those involved guessing what it means. Syria
Egypt’s animal-drawn cart owners struggle as government crackdown intensifies Some animal-drawn cart owners are finding it hard to make ends meet as the Egyptian government intensifies its crackdown against them as part of its campaign to fight traffic congestion in Cairo. Egypt
Jordan's political parties see uncertain future The loss incurred by Islamists in Jordan’s second largest union, the Engineers Association, suggests a general loss in confidence by Jordanian voters in Islamist political parties. Jordan
Iran war concerns complicate use of force debate on Capitol Hill Congressional efforts to update the president’s powers to fight terrorists are running into resistance from Democrats worried about the administration’s hawkish turn. Congress
Armenian-Turkish lawmaker targeted as Erdogan courts far-right Ethnic Armenian lawmaker Garo Paylan is facing charges of "insulting the Turkish nation" and its president as Turkish prosecutors work to revoke his parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Turkey
Turkey welcomes back foreign cash, no questions asked Scrambling to ease a bruising hard currency crunch, the Turkish government has enacted a wealth amnesty bill that opens the door to the repatriation of shadowy money from abroad. Turkey
