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
US citizen’s torture suit to test Egypt relations under Biden The Joe Biden administration may take a position on the immunity of Egypt’s former prime minister in a lawsuit brought by an American human rights activist. Egypt
Jerusalem deputy mayor advances embassy district Jerusalem's deputy mayor responsible for international affairs, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, is promoting a plan to develop an embassy district in the south of the city. Israel
Egypt fines farmers for wasting water as Nile dam crisis drags on Cairo has begun fining farmers for inefficient irrigation practices as it promotes a series of projects to enhance water security. Egypt
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham shuts down arms stores across Idlib The Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib issued a decision to shut down all weapons stores in the areas under its control as a result of accidental shootings and explosions taking place inside these stores. Syria
Russia, Iran compete for influence in Syria via private security companies Private security companies in Syria with ties to Russian and Iranian forces are busily recruiting young men with attractive salaries. Syria
Egypt seeks completion of pan-African road through 10 countries to Cape Town Egypt plans to work with nine other countries to complete the construction of a highway linking the country’s north to Cape Town in South Africa by 2024, with hopes of expanding trade in the African continent. Egypt
Syria reports Israeli airstrikes in south The news follows reports of suspected Israeli airstrikes against Iranian and Syrian military targets in the country in December and January. Syria
The Takeaway: Egypt welcomes US mediation to help break high-stakes deadlock over Nile dam Motaz Zahran, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States, says Ethiopia has "no political will" to resolve dam dispute; who’s buying Golani’s makeover?; former ambassador to United States says Israel needs "united front" against Iran nuclear deal; Egypt’s first female mixed martial arts fighter. Egypt
State Department condemns Turkey's anti-LGBT rhetoric against protesters Turkey's president and other officials have used inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric to describe the student-led protests in Istanbul. Turkey
Initial data from Israel unclear on preventing infections Data from Israel's vaccination campaign only shows the vaccine against COVID-19 prevents serious illness so far. Israel
Tax injustice worsens in Turkey Two-thirds of the Turkish government’s tax revenues have come from indirect taxes on consumption, adding to the burden of low- and middle-income groups. Turkey
Timur Goksel, former Al-Monitor editor and UN diplomat, dies Timur Goksel, a former UN diplomat and editor of Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, was best known for his unique contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. Lebanon
