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
Could fragile cease-fire lead to peace in Libya? The warring parties in Libya agreed to a cease-fire, but the process remains fragile. Turkey
Africans in Istanbul victims of unemployment, red tape "We love it," say many members of the African community in Turkey, but add that there are few jobs — at least for them. Turkey
Ottoman archives help Palestinians reclaim their land The Palestinian Authority is heavily relying on Ottoman archives to prove ownership of thousands of dunams of lands claimed by Israel in the West Bank. Palestine
Egypt launches program in search of the next Mo Salah The Egyptian government has signed a five-year agreement with a sports development company to identify and nurture youths with the potential to excel at professional sports. Egypt
Abbas mulls option of postponing Palestinian elections Al-Monitor has learned that President Mahmoud Abbas is getting ready to postpone the Palestinian general elections under the pretext of Israel’s yet to be announced reponse to a request to allow Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote. Palestine
Foreign troops' future in Iraq uncertain as clashes continue Tension between Tehran and Washington has some Iraqis worried about foreign troops withdrawing from Iraq, although the United States had said it has no intention of leaving the country in Iranian hands. Iraq
Viral song spreads vivid debate on misogyny in Egypt A satirical song called "Salmonella" has stirred up public debate on misogyny and male chauvinism in Egypt. Egypt
Protests break out in Iran after admission of accidental plane downing Protests erupted in Iran after the government admitted, after three days of denial, that it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane; some of the demonstrations arose out of vigils for the victims. United States
What’s next for Oman following Sultan Qaboos’ death? Oman's new ruler Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said will work to stamp his own imprint on a nation often synonymous with its longtime leader. Originals
Israeli spyware company accused of hacking activists hires lobby firm Q Cyber Technologies has been sued by Facebook and WhatsApp and is accused of helping Saudi Arabia spy on murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia
Iraqi PM quietly working to keep US troops in country Iraq’s caretaker prime minister privately does not want US troops to withdraw, several American and Iraqi sources familiar with the situation told Al-Monitor. Iraq
Pakistan seeks to mitigate US-Iran tensions Pakistan, wary in part of tensions between Washington and Tehran negatively affecting the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran after the recent round of violence between them. Saudi Arabia
