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
Honor killings against women increase in southeast Syrian city Civil activists protested the lack of judiciary against domestic violence and honor killings, launching the hashtag “Our blood is on your hands” and calling on the government to consider honor killings as a crime to prevent the death of more women. Syria
Will reopening of border crossing drive Saudi investment in Iraq? Iraq and Saudi Arabia are opening the Arar border crossing, a move that should boost Saudi investment in Iraq. Saudi Arabia
Lebanon’s PM struggles to form Cabinet amid economic crisis Lebanon’s political elite have yet to form a government despite the urgency as the country slides further into economic collapse. Lebanon
Sudan boycotts Nile dam talks, further complicating negotiations What are supposed to be three-way talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia took one more turn for the worse as Khartoum boycotted the last round of negotiations. Egypt
Palestinians in quandary about new visitors from Gulf Palestinians and Jordanians are working to ensure that Gulf visitors to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Palestinian half of Jerusalem abide by the same rituals and traditions that all Muslims have practiced when visiting the holy sites. Palestine
Egypt's ancient monastery library preserves precious manuscripts The historic library of Saint Catherine’s Monastery is in the middle of a conservation project to protect the most precious volumes of its large collection of ancient manuscripts. Egypt
Will the Ethiopian conflict affect UAE-Egyptian relations? As the conflict escalates between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray region, the United Arab Emirates' support for the Ethiopian regime threatens to strain Emirati-Egyptian relations. United Arab Emirates
In a changing Middle East, Abraham Accords will usher in new era for technology Collaboration in the form of partnerships and joint ventures around technology between Israel and the United Arab Emirates could be indicative of the wider shift expected in a post-Abraham Accords Middle East. United Arab Emirates
The Netherlands to send new troops to Iraq as coalition shifts to advisory role The Dutch now take the helm of a training mission that focuses on "expert specialized capabilities." Iraq
Qatar says mother of abandoned child at airport fled to Asia The Qatari government also announced charges against security officers in relation to the October abandoned infant incident at Doha airport and the subsequent invasive searches of women there. Originals
The Takeaway: Qatari official sees encouraging signs in diplomacy to end GCC divisions Meshal Al-Thani, Qatar’s Ambassador to the United States, describes three steps for ‘quick win’ to help heal Gulf rift. Qatar
Progressives divided over Biden’s expected pick for Pentagon chief Michele Flournoy's stated openness to curtailing offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may have reduced opposition from progressive Democrats Saudi Arabia
