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
Hamas leadership woos Egypt's top imam A Hamas delegation recently met with Al-Azhar officials in Egypt, where the movement received support for the Palestinian cause. Palestine
Turkey’s agricultural decline drags down related industries The alarming decline in Turkey’s agriculture, the core reason behind soaring food prices, is having a spillover effect on agro-industries, especially the food and beverage sector as well as other industries that manufacture inputs for the agricultural sector. Turkey
From refuge to recreation, Kurdish hikers rediscover their mountains In the last decade, Iraqi Kurdistan has experienced a boom in mountaineering and hiking groups who weather challenging conditions including land mines and drone strikes to enjoy and reconnect with their mountainous homeland. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan still working out kinks in new parliament After several months of stalemate, Iraqi Kurdistan's two ruling parties announced this month a draft agreement on how to share power for the next four years — but the deal is already fraying. Iraqi-Kurdistan
New START withdrawal would ease path for bomber sale to Israel Debate over whether to renew the 2009 nuclear treaty with Russia could have implications for US defense ties with Israel. Israel
Moscow keeps calm with Palestinian reconciliation, undermines Trump's 'deal of the century' Palestinian factions failed to reconcile during the Moscow meeting, but Russia didn't come away empty-handed. Palestine
Why Iran’s service startups scream for workers despite jobs crisis Despite a national jobs crisis, Iran’s online service providers are finding it hard to hire staff on account of a combination of old mentalities toward employment and the novelties of new working conditions. Iran
Patients left without medicine amid Turkey’s economic woes Turkey's economic turmoil, coupled with restrictive government regulations, has led pharmaceutical companies to curb supplies, with 20% of patients returning empty-handed from drugstores, according to sector representatives. Turkey
Cairo metro drillings put heritage buildings at risk Construction work on Cairo's third metro line caused cracks in the heritage building that houses El-Galaa Hospital, and residents wonder if more old buildings are at risk. Egypt
Baghdad defends advantages of Iraq-Jordan agreement from critics Iraq's recent agreement to exchange Iraqi discounted oil with imported goods from Jordan free of customs fees has stirred the outrage of Iraqis. Iraq
Iraq bulks up border presence as IS escapees try to enter Iraqi forces have sent reinforcements to the border area and are engaging in nightly artillery strikes on IS positions in eastern Syria ahead of an expected US pullout in the near future. Iraq
