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
Ankara hardening anti-PKK strategy Turkey's strategy against the Gulen movement has worked so well, Ankara looks to be extending it to eradicate the Kurdistan Workers Party as well. Iraq
Iran wary groups might use Syria cease-fire to rearm Iranian officials have welcomed the Syria cease-fire agreement but have warned that it may be used by armed opposition groups to rearm and resupply. Syria
Netanyahu cries 'ethnic cleansing' after offering to negotiate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he is willing to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but then quickly released a video clip accusing those who call for the evacuation of the settlements of supporting ethnic cleansing. Palestine
Is Bibi a secret Trump supporter? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remark that ''Societies that demand ethnic cleansing don’t pursue peace'' could have been meant to damage US Jews' support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Israel
Are Saudis open to rapprochement with Iran? Despite a war of words between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other tensions, some observers believe relations between Riyadh and Tehran could improve. Saudi Arabia
Kerry: Going after al-Qaeda in Syria 'not a concession to anybody' US Secretary of State John Kerry warns armed groups that "it’s wise to separate" from Jabhat al-Nusra. Syria
Palestinian women take to social media to reveal their names The non-identification of women’s names in electoral lists and wedding cards triggered a campaign on social media calling for the empowerment of Palestinian women. Palestine
Thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan finally back in school Child refugees from Syria are excited to go to school after the Jordanian government rolled out new measures to ease access to education for young refugees. Jordan
Clinton, Trump enter the homestretch With less than nine weeks to go before Election Day, the candidates came up short at the Commander-in-Chief Forum. Iraq
Anti-Wahhabism spreading in Muslim world The Shiism-Wahhabism conflict is expanding among other Islamic denominations, as several Sunni schools are taking actions against Wahhabism. Saudi Arabia
Will 9/11 lawsuit vote sabotage US arms sales to Riyadh? The Obama administration has offered to sell Saudi Arabia a record $115 billion in weapons. Does the Sept. 9 vote to allow the families of terrorist victims to sue the kingdom mean an end to business as usual? Saudi Arabia
Erdogan’s 'win-win' on the world stage Lately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a master poker player with global leaders: He not only plays his own cards well, but he can also see the cards in the hands of others. Syria
