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
Israel wins this round against Iran in Syria According to security sources, the Iranians, headed by Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani, prepared its recent attack from Syria against Israel for weeks. Israel
Egypt's new administrative capital getting its own 'Nile' Egypt has undertaken an ambitious project within an ambitious project, to provide its new, green capital with its own river. Egypt
Controversy implodes at Al-Azhar in the wake of PDA incident Although Al-Azhar’s grand imam reversed a decision to expel a female university student for hugging a male friend, the issue has revived fears over conservative and religious views rampant in Egypt’s universities. Egypt
Egypt declares support for Sudan during upheaval As deadly anti-government protests enter their sixth week in Sudan, Egypt has announced its full support for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in what could indicate improved relations between the countries. Egypt
Former IDF chief launches shocking right-wing campaign Having come under harsh criticism from the right, the chief of staff during Operation Protective Edge, Benny Gantz, indicates in a video clip that he took pride in returning Gaza to the Stone Age. Israel
First Russian female running for mayor of Turkish city Russian-born Anastasia Petrova Cetinkaya is running for mayor of Turkey's southern resort city of Alanya in a bid to better serve residents and strengthen the two countries' bilateral relations. Turkey
Congress in no hurry to act as Palestinians reject security aid A new law has unintentionally ended security assistance for the Palestinian Authority, and Congress is in no rush to fix it. Palestine
Tunisia’s democracy on life support as politicians squabble Eight years after the Tunisian Revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisia's transition to democracy remains complex, unfulfilled and at risk. Tunisia
Meet Iran’s next, non-turbaned head hard-liner Despite his attacks on the Qom Seminary, Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi continues to rise as a prominent and popular figure among a new generation of hard-liners in Iran. Iran
Turkey seeks life sentence against US Consulate employee A Turkish national and liaison officer for the DEA at the US Consulate in Istanbul has been indicted for espionage. Turkey
Ankara set to boost naval posture with major exercise Turkey may be planning an ambitious air-naval military drill that would span three seas. Palestine
