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
COVID-19 crisis pushes Bahrain to resume flights from Iran after 4-year halt The tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is bringing hundreds of Shiite pilgrims home from Iran, with which it has no diplomatic ties and normally no direct flights. Bahrain
Worst-case report: 75% of Iranians may contract coronavirus A state-funded Iranian research center predicted that in a worst-case scenario, some three-fourths of the country’s population could ultimately contract the coronavirus. United States
Iran condemns Trump’s halt of WHO funding Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the United States in a tweet April 15, condemning the US president for suspending funding to the World Health Organization. United States
Are there any partners for Turkey among radicals in Idlib? The reopening of the M4 highway in Idlib remains a tall task for Turkey, which is grappling with how to remove jihadi groups from the area. Syria
Migrants in detention center go on hunger strike in fear of coronavirus Migrants in a Tunis detention center went on a hunger strike to protest bad conditions that aren't improving amid the coronavirus outbreak despite calls by rights organizations that prisoners be released. Tunisia
Coronavirus killing off what's left of Gaza Strip's economy Due to measures taken to tackle COVID-19, the Gaza Strip economy is at a virtual standstill, worsening unemployment and poverty. Palestine
Ethiopia turns to upstream countries amid Nile Dam dispute with Egypt Ethiopia is trying to mobilize Nile Basin countries against Egypt when it comes to dispute over the Renaissance Dam. Egypt
Syria’s Ras al-Ain to open trade crossing with Turkey Turkey is constructing a border crossing linking the opposition-held city of Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria with Turkish territory. Syria
Yemen’s Houthis seek regional role as part of Axis of Resistance Iran-backed Ansar Allah may have ambitions well beyond Yemen. Saudi Arabia
Intel: US plans anti-ship missile sale for Morocco Congress was notified today of US plans for a $62 million sale of anti-ship missiles for Morocco that would be launched from F-16 aircraft. Morocco
Intel: Turkey says S-400 stance unchanged despite US pressure Turkey’s stance on its S-400s hasn’t changed, even as the United States appeared to dangle support in Syria in exchange for Ankara abandoning the controversial Russian missile defense systems, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday. Syria
Amid pandemic, medical groups question Turkey’s weekend curfew approach Health workers’ advocates say precautions in Turkey may not be sufficient to contain the coronavirus and safeguard workers as the country grapples with the fast-spreading pandemic. Turkey
