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
Jordanian civil initiatives craft wigs for cancer patients A small boy who hid his head under a hat inspired a hairdresser to create natural-looking wigs for children with cancer. Jordan
Pentagon blows deadline to pry Iraq off US military aid The Donald Trump administration will continue to foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq’s defense institutions amid rising Iranian influence. Iraq
Abbas speech draws fire amid accusations of anti-Semitism As this week's speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas drew condemnation from Israel, associates say the remarks reflect his own distress over the diplomatic deadlock he is facing. Palestine
Iran, Turkey and Russia hope they’re all on same page The three guarantors of the Astana peace talks seek to affirm the stability of the talks as well as the trio itself. Syria
Turkish opposition joins forces for parliament vote Four of Turkey's opposition parties, including the largest, are forming an alliance to challenge the ruling party for parliamentary seats. Turkey
Iranians hesitant to leave Telegram for domestic apps The Iranian authorities’ move to ban the popular smartphone messaging app Telegram has been accompanied by a campaign to get people to use domestically developed alternatives. Iran
Iran’s FM says Qatar 'brought Saudi Arabia to its knees' Iran’s foreign minister slams the Saudi crown prince over his approach to foreign policy in a speech at a top Tehran university. Saudi Arabia
3 reasons Turkey's ex-president never had chance at re-election The opposition to former President Abdullah Gul’s candidacy shows a despairing, fractured opposition ahead of Turkey's snap elections. Turkey
How Turkey's 'doping-induced' growth backfired into hasty elections The Turkish government’s rush to hold elections in June is driven by economic woes that even its attempts at "doping-induced" growth have failed to overcome. Turkey
Israel braces for Iranian military reaction Following attacks in Syria against Iranian targets and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "atomic archive" speech, Israeli officials are debating how to react to an anticipated response from Tehran. Israel
Netanyahu’s expansion of war powers raises concerns in Israel The timing of the new law authorizing the prime minister and defense minister to declare war without consulting the Cabinet worries many Israelis. Israel
Iran’s Fajr film festival grabs headlines with Oliver Stone The Fajr International Film Festival's ambitious director is determined to get the festival top rankings by focusing on regional issues and high-profile guests. Iran
