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
Knesset’s winter session to focus on nationalism Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will advance in the coming months a controversial NGO Transparency law, the Greater Jerusalem law and other nationalistic bills. Israel
Egypt hopes for economic boost from Palestinian reconciliation Economic opportunities in the Gaza Strip following the Fatah-Hamas deal could prove beneficial to Cairo, yet the fragile security situation poses potential obstacles. Palestine
Ottoman fez gets face-lift in Beirut Two Lebanese designers are collaborating to reinvent the traditional tarboosh and give it a 21st-century look. Lebanon
Why did Saudi Arabia save Yemen's ex-president again? Saudi Arabia has once again rushed to the aid of Yemen's ailing ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, leaving many wondering why the kingdom continues to back the ineffective leader. Saudi Arabia
Deal with Iran boosts Turkey’s hopes of trading in national currency Turkey has long sought to increase the use of its national currency in trade with Russia, China and Iran, but due to significant trade imbalances with the others, only Iran appears to offer a viable prospect. Turkey
Khamenei: Iran won’t be first to abandon nuclear deal Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to kill the nuclear deal, Iran’s supreme leader said that Tehran won’t abandon the deal before the other side does so. United States
Trump’s new Iran policy seeks perennial conflict The Trump administration’s new Iran strategy not only shuts the door to diplomacy with Iran but also alienates ordinary Iranians. United States
Egyptian government making headway in fight against Cairo's 'black cloud' While finding solutions for clearing the black cloud of smog produced from burning rice straw in Cairo, the Egyptian government is hoping to simultaneously create a boon for Egypt’s economy. Egypt
Russia sandwiched in Syria between Israel, Iran Russia has many irons in the Mideast fire, and it must attend to them all to keep from getting burned. Israel
A unified Cyprus seems too much to ask Despite long and dogged efforts, hopes for a unified island of Cyprus diminish as too many factors seem to favor the status quo. Turkey
Turkish court accepts 'absurd' indictment of rights activists Amnesty International's Turkey leaders are among 11 human rights defenders indicted on terror charges for holding a workshop on information security and stress management, and the trial is set to begin Oct. 25. Turkey
Israeli Labor chief rules out alliance with Israeli-Arab party Israeli Labor Chairman Avi Gabbay surprised his party members when he announced that there was no possibility of forming a coalition with Arab Joint List party members, something that could restrict Labor's political prospects. Palestine
