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
Holocaust scholars slam Netanyahu's deal with the devil Historians warn the upcoming summit of the Visegrad Group in Jerusalem is a cynical play by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ally himself with human rights abusers and Holocaust deniers for political gain. Israel
Iran's education minister teaches lesson to country's powerful publishers Iranian education minister’s campaign against the country’s unchallenged educational book publishers seems to be getting him top marks among the public. Iran
Top Russian security officials tour Egypt, Gulf to discuss Syria, Libya Over the space of a week, top officials in the Russian security apparatus toured Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt with some intriguing proposals on Syria and Libya. Saudi Arabia
Erdogan equates PKK, pro-Kurdish opposition to court nationalist voters As municipal elections near, the Turkish president is ramping up his rhetoric against his pro-Kurdish opposition, equating Turkey's third largest party with groups Ankara considers terrorists. Turkey
Intel: Why Trump’s Iran policy is sparking Iraqi outrage President Donald Trump’s pledge to use a US base in Iraq to “watch” Iran has triggered a furious reaction from Baghdad. Originals
Why Europe's payment channel may be too little to keep Iran in JCPOA Iran is inching closer than ever to withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as it finds European steps toward maintaining the deal too little, too late — a perception exacerbated by more European non-nuclear sanctions. Iran
Turkey’s ailing agriculture faces even bleaker future Turkey's leaders are accusing grocers of price gouging amid soaring food prices, but refuse to acknowledge the cause of the problem: the country’s shrinking agricultural supply. Turkey
Gadhafi-linked Libyan oil tycoon enters Washington lobbying fray Libyan oil tycoon Hassan Tatanaki has begun lobbying in the US in an effort to get the Donald Trump administration to get behind the push for fresh elections in the war-torn country. Libya
Detained Iranian environmentalist says she was tortured After a year behind bars, eight Iranian environmentalists appeared in court with the presence of court-approved lawyers. Iran
Numbers of Turkish universities soar, but quality falls Quality in education hasn't kept pace with the phenomenal increase in enrollment and facilities in Turkey's university system. Turkey
Abbas seeks to free Palestinian economy from Israel Palestinians are determined to revisit the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations, which they have said deepens their subordination to Israel. Palestine
