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
Iran executes three political prisoners, upholds more death verdicts Iran’s judiciary said death penalties against three political prisoners have been upheld while confirming that three other prisoners had been sent to the gallows. Iran
UAE’s historic mission to Mars postponed over poor weather The orbiter is now scheduled to launch from the Japanese island of Tanegashima on Thursday. Originals
Intel: Eastern Libya invites Egypt to intervene against Turkey-backed offensive Eastern Libya’s parliament passed a motion approving a possible military intervention by neighboring Egypt to stop an offensive by Libya’s Tripoli-based government in the west. Turkey
Roadside bomb hits Russian-Turkish patrol on key Syrian highway The Russian military said Tuesday that three Russian troops and an unspecified number of Turkish soldiers were injured in the attack. Syria
New UAE budget airline makes its first flight Air Arabia Abu Dhabi flew to Alexandria today and is now offering low-cost flights to Egypt as airlines in the Gulf country show signs of recovery. Originals
Israelis take to streets, blame Netanyahu for economic crisis Thousands of Israelis hit the streets over the the weekend in protest of the government’s failure to effectively and quickly address the economic crisis induced by the coronavirus. Israel
Why women’s shelters in Turkey no longer provide safety The high-profile domestic abuse case of a popular actor shows violence against women is accepted, and even defended when it comes to powerful men. Turkey
Erdogan plays out Islamic 'Reconquista' with Hagia Sophia as backdrop The reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a power move by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that betrays not only domestic but regional and even global ambitions. Turkey
European Union stiffens tone against Turkey, but calls for dialogue European diplomats consider the decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Hagia Sophia to be a provocation aimed at escalating tensions between Ankara and Brussels. Turkey
Cairo cozies up to Baghdad, condemns Turkish attacks in Iraq Egypt's efforts to sideline Turkey in Iraq have expanded as Cairo cements economic and military ties with Baghdad. Egypt
Netanyahu's annexation plan turning into fiasco With the Americans losing interest and on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, the West Bank annexation plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to turn into his greatest diplomatic fiasco. Palestine
Is proxy war turning to conventional confrontation in Libya? Albeit late, Turkey seems to have finally understood the importance of diplomacy in Libya. Turkey
