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
Turkey-Iran tensions spike over Azerbaijan Iran is stirring up a diplomatic quarrel over a poem recited by Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his recent visit to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku. Turkey
Iran sentences Kameel Ahmady, British-Iranian anthropologist, to prison Ahmady, who is ethnically Kurdish, had researched child marriage and female genital mutilation in Iran. Iran
US sanctions Turkey over S-400 purchase The Foreign Ministry in Ankara said it will "retaliate" for the sanctions on four top officials of Turkey's defense procurement agency. Turkey
One reported dead in fight between Kurdish groups in Iraq A peshmerga soldier in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq reportedly died during a fight with the PKK on Sunday amid tensions between the two groups as well as with Turkey. Iraq
International court finds UK war crimes in Iraq but will not open investigation The International Criminal Court has closed its probe because it could not conclude that UK authorities were unwilling to genuinely carry out an investigation. Iraq
US rescinds Sudan’s terror sponsor designation, but hurdles remain The announcement was celebrated in Sudan, but Khartoum is still laden under huge debt and is not yet immune to terror lawsuits in US courts. United States
Netanyahu boosts Israeli cultivated beef with high-profile visit to farm The visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Aleph Farms offered the Israeli cultured-meat industry a media boost. Israel
How Russia is preparing in Syria for Biden’s presidency Moscow is hoping the final months of outgoing President Donald Trump's presidency will allow it an opportunity to reinforce its positions in Syria. Syria
US sanctions Iranian officials over Robert Levinson’s abduction The US government believes Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai were involved in the abduction, detention and probable death of the retired FBI agent. Iran
Rouhani under fire for signaling nuclear deal reentry Conservatives have rejected the idea of holding new talks with the United States. United States
Israeli settler attacks on church sanctities in Palestine continue amid lax international response The Israeli settlers continue their attacks against Palestinian Muslim and Christian places of worship, the latest of which has been the attempt to set on fire the Church of All Nations in Jerusalem. Palestine
Egypt’s future as internet cable hub at risk from proposed Google fiber optic network Google intends to build a new corridor for internet traffic via a fiber optic network for the first time between Israel and Saudi Arabia, linking Asia to Europe, which is seen as a threat to Egypt's future as a major transit point for international submarine cables. Egypt
