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
UAE students stir fashion market demand amid COVID-19 Two UAE students are taking advantage of the lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak in order to grow their sustainable fashion line. United Arab Emirates
Detainee’s death raises concerns on conditions of prisoners in Egypt Egyptian artist Shady Habash died under strange circumstances in a prison cell where he had been in pretrial detention since 2018, raising criticism from local and international rights organizations. Egypt
Why is Egypt building more walls around Gaza? Although Hamas has taken several measures to boost security on the border with Egypt and prevent any attempt to infiltrate into the Egyptian territory, Egypt continues to build walls and destroy the tunnels. Palestine
Pandemic won't halt construction on Egypt’s first nuclear power plant Although a series of mega projects have been postponed in Egypt due to the coronavirus outbreak, work on the country’s first nuclear power plant continues. Egypt
Egyptian rights activists sound alarm over pretrial detention of political detainees A court decision to extend the pretrial detention of hundreds of political prisoners without their presence raised the ire of rights organizations calling for the detainees’ immediate release. Egypt
As trial nears, Netanyahu’s associates go after attorney general Loyalists of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ramped up their attacks on the legal system and mudslinging against Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. Israel
Will EU sanction Israel over annexation plans? European Union foreign ministers might consider threatening Israel with sanctions, in an effort to thwart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank. Palestine
UN calls on Israel to release Palestinian children from jails amid coronavirus Three UN officials urge Israeli authorities to free detained Palestinian children to protect them from COVID-19. Palestine
Coronavirus, war prompts northeast Syrian schools to go online The Kurdish-led government in northeast Syria is putting classes online and may continue to use the internet for education beyond the coronavirus. Syria
Intel: Biden adviser says Iran deal supporters, detractors both wrong on sanctions' effectiveness A longtime foreign policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden argued on Monday that President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal has proven both the accord’s supporters and detractors wrong “about a critical thing.” United States
Iraq arrests pro-Iran militiamen accused of killing protester Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa Kadhimi, ordered the raid after protests resumed in the southern province of Basra. Iraq
19 sailors dead after Iran accidentally fires missile on own ship Iranian state media report 19 sailors are dead and 15 wounded after a friendly fire incident in the Gulf of Oman. Iran
