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
10 years on, Tunisians protest government, corruption The government ordered a total lockdown on Jan. 14. What should have been a celebration of 10 years of democracy turned into a clampdown under the pretext of COVID-19 sanitary measures. The country exploded in angry revolt with running battles with police in the burning nighttime streets of popular neighborhoods across Tunisia. Originals
Israel bans flights amid virus surge Israel is also experiencing violent clashes over virus restrictions as well as relative success in administering coronavirus vaccines. Israel
Missing Turkish worker follows similar pattern of forced disappearances Human rights experts consider the involuntary disappearance of opposition activists at the hands of the state to be "sheer lawlessness." Originals
UN-led Syria Constitution talks resume in Geneva Representatives from the Syrian government, opposition and civil society are meeting this week to discuss the “basic principles” of a future Syrian charter. Syria
Hi-tech rivalry between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh heats up Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman is sparing no effort to lure business from the IT and other sectors in Abu Dhabi to the kingdom. Originals
Iran demands answers from Indonesia over seized oil tanker Indonesia seized an Iranian fuel tanker on Sunday, accusing the vessel of failing to respond to radio calls and disabling its identification system. Iran
Israel extradites Australian woman accused of child abuse Australian authorities sought the extradition of former teacher Malka Leifer for several years. Israel
Iranian lawmaker under fire for slapping traffic cop Iran's judiciary is set to look into a case involving a parliamentarian under investigation for slapping a traffic police officer. Originals
Iraq's reform budget heads to parliament Parliament is debating the 2021 budget, which is the first budget drafted based on the White Paper for economic reform. Iraq
Israel’s Cabinet approves diplomatic relations with Morocco The agreement calls for "diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations" between the two governments. Israel
Israel opens embassy in Abu Dhabi Ambassador Eytan Na’eh arrived yesterday to Abu Dhabi, officially opening Israel’s first embassy to the United Arab Emirates. Israel
Turkey faces mysterious jihadi enemies in Idlib Turkish forces continue to expand their presence around the key M4 highway in Idlib as attacks by new groups fuel uncertainties in the rebel-held region. Syria
