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
No quick fix for Iraq's electricity crisis Previous Iraqi governments' failure to solve the electricity crisis was one of the reasons for the popular protests. Iraq
Israel struggles to reach out to Lebanon after blast Not all Israelis were pleased with Tel Aviv's gesture of solidarity with Lebanon, with quite a few saying that lighting the city hall up like the Lebanese flag went too far. Israel
Ethiopia angered by Egypt’s alleged plan to establish military base in Somaliland Egypt has reportedly discussed with the Somaliland government Cairo’s suggestion to establish a military facility in the country, raising the anger of Ethiopia. Egypt
Al-Madaq: A new virtual archive documenting Cairo’s history An Egyptian historian created a website that reviews the history of Cairo through several historical maps, texts and photographs. Egypt
Moscow boosts ties with Tehran as US-Iran tensions escalate While Iran and Russia are trying to limit US influence in the Middle East, the United States lacks the leverage to counter China’s and Russia’s growing influence in the region. Russia
US to submit UN resolution to extend Iran arms embargo next week: Pompeo The arms embargo is set to expire in October as part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers. United States
Pentagon contradicts Trump’s claim on Beirut ‘attack’ US Defense Secretary Mark Esper contradicted Donald Trump's suggestion that the explosion in Beirut was an "attack," saying instead that it was likely caused by an accident. Lebanon
Turkey mulls withdrawing from violence against women treaty Turkey would be the first member state to withdraw from the Council of Europe's 2011 Istanbul Convention. Turkey
To you A poem reflecting on Beirut's latest tragedy, and the evergreen resilience of its people. Lebanon
Tel Aviv outlines plan to face climate crisis The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality has unveiled an ambitious plan to meet the challenges of climate change, a first for Israeli cities. Israel
Countries offer help to Lebanon following massive Beirut explosion France, Turkey and Egypt are among the countries that have sent personnel and supplies to help Lebanon recover from Tuesday's explosion that severely damaged much of Beirut. Lebanon
Intel: US says there’s no ‘winning side’ in Libya The US is amplifying calls to restore oil sharing in Libya in hopes of stabilizing the conflict and likely reducing Hifter's dependence on Russia Libya
