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
Coronavirus in Syria: a catastrophe in the making The Syrian government has stepped up measures to tackle the spreading novel coronavirus amid growing fears among Syrians of the pandemic’s catastrophic spread in light of their harsh living and humanitarian situation. Syria
After bragging about being virus-free, first COVID-19 cases confirmed in Gaza Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been shrugging off a lockdown announced by PA, saying Gaza had no virus cases. Saudi Arabia
Ankara’s economic measures bring little relief against virus crisis The embattled Turkish lira has continued to nosedive and Turkey’s risk premium has climbed to new highs despite a package of government measures to stem the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Turkey
Turkey to suspend all scientific and culture events in latest coronavirus measure Turkey is postponing all events related to science, culture and the arts. Originals
What's behind arrest of Turkish-Azeri billionaire? Although Azeri-Turkish billionaire Mubariz Mansimov Gurbanoglu was cleared of links to the Gulen movement, he's been arrested again this week. Turkey
US urges Iraq to step up protection of US, coalition personnel The State Department said Iraq is not doing its part to protect US and coalition forces in the country. Iraq
American detained in Syria moved to undisclosed location, family says An American psychotherapist's family is more worried than ever about the dual US-Syrian citizen who disappeared in Damascus in 2017 as a potential coronavirus outbreak looms over Syria’s prisons. Syria
Don't say it with music: Egyptian MP drafts new penalties for racy lyrics After the controversy over lyrics of a popular song, an Egyptian lawmaker drafted a new law that would put singers behind bars for talking dirty. Egypt
Intel: Turkey targeted by both sides in northern Syria conflict The Turkish troops in northern Syria have become a target of all warring parties in the area in less than a month, after a rocket attack by a radical group killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded one in the region yesterday. Syria
Iranians’ demands for quarantine fall on deaf ears Iran’s president has rejected calls for quarantine against the coronavirus with no explanation, but his reasoning seems to be related to the economic devastation following the US sanctions. Iran
Iran’s leadership defends coronavirus handling in Nowruz addresses Iran's supreme leader canceled his public Nowruz speech and instead addressed Iranians on state TV. Iran
Intel: US scales up Iran sanctions amid coronavirus fallout The Donald Trump administration stepped up its sanctions on Iran this week as Tehran appeals for relief to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. United States
