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
Saudi Arabia permanently cancels license of Qatar's beIN Sports The popular Doha-based sports network had been officially blocked in Saudi Arabia since the 2017 diplomatic row between the two Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia
Four years on, former AKP insiders reflect on Turkey's failed coup Former members and supporters of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party discuss the four-year anniversary of the 2016 failed coup and say that the rule of law and democratic principles have been weakened in the country. Turkey
Intel: US squeezes Islamic State’s cash flow with new sanctions The United States and six other countries imposed fresh sanctions today on half a dozen targets accused of helping fund the operations of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS), including by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the group’s leaders in Iraq and Syria. Iraq
The Takeaway: Hagia Sofia makeover part of Erdogan’s regional strategy Highlights: Cengiz Candar says Erdogan seeks leadership in Muslim world with move; Also: Islamic Jihad, Hamas warm up again to Iran; Why Netanyahu is backing off annexation; Gulf economic recovery likely to lag behind Asia. Originals
Putin, Mohamed bin Zayed seek to reclaim common ground on Libya The Russian and UAE leaders spoke Wednesday about the path ahead in Libya, seeking to minimize differences and recharge the political process. Libya
Intel: Trump joins chorus of Iranians urging halt to imminent political executions President Donald Trump today joined the online chorus of Iranians warning the government against the imminent execution of three young men sentenced to death after participating in last year’s mass protests against rising gasoline prices. Iran
Eritrea weighs role in Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over Nile dam Eritrea’s president visited Cairo against the backdrop of the faltering talks on the Nile dam dispute, raising questions about Eritrea’s role in helping reach an agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. Egypt
UN high court sides with Qatar in aviation dispute The aviation row centers on a years-long air boycott imposed by Qatar's regional rivals. Qatar
Oil tanker sanctioned by US, later found off Iran was hijacked, says captain A missing crude oil tanker subject to US government sanctions over alleged involvement in Iran’s oil exportation was hijacked, according to the ship’s captain. Iran
Is it 12% or 52%? Turks disagree on jobless rate Turkey’s unemployment problem is unlikely to scale down to pre-pandemic levels, bound to remain the main pressure factor on the country’s economy and politics. Turkey
Rouhani warns against extension of Iran arms embargo President Hassan Rouhani urged the remaining signatories of the Iran nuclear deal to stand up for multilateralism by rejecting US calls for the extension of an arms embargo against Tehran. Iran
Conflicting reports emerge on Ethiopia filling Nile dam sans agreement with Egypt, Sudan The latest talks between the three countries ended yesterday with no deal, though Egypt and Sudan have made it clear they are strongly opposed to the unilateral filling of the GERD without an agreement. Egypt
