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
Energy tops agenda of Turkish FM's meetings in Iraq Turkey’s foreign minister is touring Iraq in a likely bid to boost ties with his country's oil-rich neighbor as the United States ends the waivers that allowed Turkey to buy oil from Iran. Iraq
Algeria’s army moves from arbiter to central player in politics The protests have thrust Algeria’s behind-the-scenes kingmaker into an unwelcome limelight. Algeria
Zarif criticized for showing ‘weakness’ in proposing Iran-US prisoner swap While Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has floated the possibility of talks with the United States over prisoners, others in Iran have rejected showing any signs of "weakness" amid ramped up outside pressure. United States
Bill to restrict consecutive MP terms raises debate in Iran A bill to limit the number of consecutive terms of Iranian parliamentarians is stirring debate amid accusations that it may be a hard-liner plot to seize the legislative branch. Iran
Case of runaway sisters highlights ongoing plight of Saudi women After their case made international headlines this month, one of the Saudi sisters who fled abroad spoke to Al-Monitor about the kingdom’s “flawed justice system” and called on the leadership to carry through with better reforms. Saudi Arabia
Brain drain saps Turkey's defense industry Turkey is holding a mammoth defense industry fair, looking to boost its exports and counter a saturated domestic market, but the sector is suffering from a serious lack of manpower. Turkey
Why some Iraqis want the PMU to be dissolved The Popular Mobilization Units rushed to aid Iran in the wake of punishing floods, leaving many Iraqis to believe that the PMU overlooks Iraqi suffering. Iraq
Iraq's pigeon breeders get ahead in international game Iraq's pigeon breeders, once disdained, are making a name for themselves in international competitions, as well as profiting off the sales of birds in auctions. Iraq
How the Green Line became a red line in Israeli education Significant number of voters in the 2019 elections were taught in school that the State of Israel extends from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River and that anyone challenging this view is denying the truth. Palestine
Israel tries rescuing PA from collapse, after instigating crisis to begin with Israel must now face the economic crises of the Palestinian Authority, which was generated by the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut Palestinian tax revenues over stipends to families of assailants. Palestine
Did Netanyahu cut deal with Assad? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the release of two Syrian prisoners was merely a goodwill gesture and not a part of a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Israel
Christians in northeastern Syria seek to revive Easter spirit following IS ouster After the fall of IS, Easter celebrations were held in only in some northeastern Syrian areas. Syria
