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
New oil, gas field in Egypt promises more discoveries Egypt’s successive governments have largely ignored drilling of oil and gas in the Western Desert given the high cost of such an operation, although the area is rich. Egypt
Turkish troops in Syria threatened at Idlib outposts Turkey could be seriously sidelined by a highly effective operation undertaken recently by Syrian forces. Syria
Turkey accepts invitation to deploy troops to Libya, Erdogan says The Turkish Parliament will vote on sending soldiers to the north African country to support its internationally recognized government, but the deployment could entrench Turkey in Libya’s long-running internal strife as well as intensify regional tensions. Turkey
Syrian Christians on front line have sad Christmas, again Turkey's Operation Peace Spring has made life ever more difficult for Syrian Christians, some of whom decided not to celebrate Christmas. Syria
Tehran clamps down as Iran mourns protesters The Iranian authorities prepared for events commemorating 40 days since the November protests with arrests, internet disruptions and a heavy police presence. Iran
Expressing solidarity with protesters, Iraqi minorities cancel celebrations Iraqi minorities cancel celebrations of major events such as Christmas and New Year's in support of the protesters. Iraq
Building the revolution’s memory: Coders archive Lebanon’s protests A collective of activists in Lebanon and abroad are archiving the Lebanese protests that broke out more than two months ago as a way to preserve the materials for future analysis. Lebanon
Reshuffle of HTS-linked government fails to bring hope in Idlib It appears that the new cabinet of an Idlib-based opposition government connected to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will not earn the trust of the public, which continues to suffer under tough economic and humanitarian conditions. Syria
Renaissance Dam talks snarl over drought The third technical meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ended without reaching conclusive results, sustaining the dispute over the definition of droughts in the Blue Nile and how to deal with them. Egypt
Cappadocia's fairy chimneys, pristine snow beckons winter tourists Cappadocia offers intrepid tourists and art lovers alike plenty to do and see during the winter months. Turkey
Could Congress' latest Syria sanctions bill backfire? The congressional bill will exacerbate the economic situation in Syria and ultimately increase Syria’s dependency on Iran. Syria
Tehran convenes allies against threats that include US Iran outlined many concerns it shares with other participants at its recent security conference, especially about Afghanistan and the US presence there. Russia
