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
Egypt to boost spiritual tourism through the Holy Family trail The Egyptian government plans to revive the Holy Family trail, connecting locations visited by Jesus, Mary and Joseph some 2,000 years ago while fleeing King Herod’s soldiers. Egypt
EU slams Turkey on human rights in annual report In a progress report on would-be EU member Turkey, the European Union slammed the country's human rights record as an endless stream of damning accounts emerges. Turkey
Pentagon fears China’s growth in Middle East arms market The Donald Trump administration is worried that China is capturing a larger role in a Middle East arms market that the United States has traditionally dominated. United States
Who are the heroes, hustlers and innovators of Kurdish wedding music? In marathon-like Kurdish weddings that can last for days, local wedding singers steer their audiences between folk songs, national anthems and even techno music. Syria
Iranians shocked as former Tehran mayor confesses to killing wife Iranians are in a state of disbelief after a former senior Reformist politician and mayor of Tehran confessed to killing his wife in one of the most high-profile criminal cases in the country’s recent history. Iran
Intel: Why Russia is teaming up with China against US peace plan Russia officially rejected participation in next month’s US-sponsored peace summit in Bahrain, a day after Chinese ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei announced that Beijing and Moscow had struck a deal to boycott it. Russia
Ankara backs some Turkmens in Iraqi politics, shuns others By ostracizing Turkmen politicians who supported the 2017 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey could be shooting itself in the foot. Iraq
Why Israel is voting again The history of the draft law that took down one government brought about a second election within one year, divided ultra-Orthodox and secular, and has served as a moral bone of contention and fuel for a political fire for decades. Israel
The final round: Netanyahu versus Liberman Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman, by standing firm on his one condition for joining a government by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has set the stage for what looks to be the last round in the political struggle between the two men. Israel
Palestinian refugees return to streets as Lebanon camp clears weapons from public life A partial disarmament agreement has calmed the Palestinian refugee camp of Mieh Mieh, where violent factional clashes displaced residents for months. Palestine
Why Iran needs China to act on far more than oil imports China may be defying US sanctions by likely resuming limited oil imports from Iran, but even that is a largely symbolic move unless Beijing also steps up non-oil trade with Tehran. Iran
