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
Will latest interest rate hike break Tunisia’s back? Following Tunisia's third interest rate hike in 12 months, economic and political experts sound the alarm on shrinking purchasing power while the nation's largest trade union calls for protests. Tunisia
Egypt finds its nationals new job markets abroad The difficult economic conditions and nationalization of jobs in Gulf states have caused a problem for Egyptians willing to work overseas, and prompted thousands to return home. Legacy: Gulf
Planning for Yazidi genocide museum underway in Iraq Officials have found nearly 70 mass graves of Yazidis slaughtered by the Islamic State in Iraq, and are working to create a memorial to the victims in cooperation with UNESCO. Iraq
Netanyahu’s war against the ex-generals Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sticks with the same strategy that worked for him in the past: depicting his rival as a "leftist." Israel
Hundreds of Jordanians march toward capital demanding jobs As unemployment rates rise, youths from different parts of Jordan have begun marching to the Royal Court in Amman for sit-ins demanding job opportunities. Jordan
Will Israel release Palestinian prisoners re-arrested in 2014? Thirty-one prisoners who were arrested in 2014, three years after their release in the Shalit prisoner-exchange deal, are now petitioning the Israeli High Court of Justice against their incarceration. Palestine
Egyptian public universities seeking to make profits Egyptian universities and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research are seeking to pass a law that will allow public universities to establish nonprofit universities in partnership with international universities, which raised fears over free education. Egypt
Is Netanyahu’s election campaign on the way to war? Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in 2008 that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had no moral authority to launch peace talks in Palestinians, so he should now implement the same rule on himself and avoid generating a war. Palestine
Moscow looks to boost support for Syria campaign with traveling exhibit As the Russian public's enthusiasm for the Syria campaign wanes, Moscow has sought to rally support for its Syria successes by hosting a traveling exhibit of war spoils. Syria
Jordanian trail-blazer empowers women through kickboxing Lina Khalifeh began learning martial arts for fun, but helping a friend showed her it can do much more. Jordan
US shifts weapons from Iraq to Syria The Pentagon rerouted millions of dollars’ worth of weapons and vehicles from Iraq to Syria in the second half of 2018. Iraq
Is Erdogan's airport dream turning into nightmare? The Istanbul New Airport's current and projected damage to ecosystems, its subpar construction and its woeful financial setup is turning the project into a grandiose failure — one that will cost the Turkish public dearly for decades to come. Turkey
