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
WHO regional director says COVID-19 threat far from over, despite vaccine progress In a lengthy interview with Al-Monitor, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Ahmed al-Mandhari warns the coronavirus "remains a cause for concern," as he discussed his organization’s efforts to help the countries of the region cope with the pandemic. Legacy: Gulf
Syrian refugee in Lebanon sets himself on fire The UN refugee agency said the 58-year-old man was hospitalized and is receiving the necessary care. Lebanon
Intel: Departure of foreign forces from Libya in question ahead of political talks in Tunis An agreement between rival Libyan military representatives this week made no mention of the UN-backed cease-fire's demand that foreign mercenaries leave by January Turkey
Iran’s supreme leader ridicules US over election ‘spectacle’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has previously said Iran is not concerned about who wins the election. United States
Assad blames Syria’s economic turmoil on Lebanon, not sanctions Syrian President Bashar al-Assad estimates that Syrians hold between $20 billion and $42 billion in Lebanon's banks. Syria
Biden win means war with Iran, warns Israeli minister Israel's settlements minister is one of the many officials who want Donald Trump to retain the US presidency, in large part because of his Iran policies. Israel
Envoy lambasts UN over seven anti-Israel resolutions Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, claims the seven resolutions adopted yesterday are full of hypocrisy and lies. Palestine
Netflix to show first movie about Iraq battle against Islamic State in Mosul “Mosul,” an Iraqi film production on one of the stories of the battle to liberate the city, is set to be shown on Netflix this month. Iraq
Iran to enact new restrictions as coronavirus deaths soar Iran is taking some new measures to address its rising death count and considering others. Iran
Paris hints at new sanctions against Ankara after banning Turkish 'Grey Wolves' France is considering new sanctions against Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's “declarations of violence” as tensions wind further between the NATO allies. Turkey
Yair Netanyahu emerges as a media powerhouse Yair Netanyahu, the alter ego of his father, says bluntly out loud everything his father would like to say but cannot against the left, the media and Arabs. Israel
Egypt to dismiss public servants with alleged ties to Muslim Brotherhood Egypt’s parliament has approved controversial new amendments to a law allowing the dismissal of public servants with alleged ties to terrorist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Originals
