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
Why Rouhani may become Iran's first one-term president Despite fulfilling his key campaign pledge of resolving the nuclear issue, Hassan Rouhani is still far from guaranteed a second term as Iran's president. Iran
US election 2016: Are US voters really that fed up with status quo? Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of Aug. 29. United States
Egyptian filmmakers take on IS with satire Egyptians' preoccupation with news of extremist Islamic organizations is spilling over into popular movies and TV shows. Egypt
Gulenist crisis sets off intra-Islamic debate in Turkey The failed coup attempt has not only set a new tone for Turkish politics, but also triggered wide soul-searching and finger-pointing within Islamist circles. Turkey
Turkish women in police force allowed to wear headscarves As critics continue to accuse the ruling Justice and Development Party of changing the nature of Turkey’s secular state, government supporters celebrate further relaxations of the earlier headscarf bans as more religious freedom. Turkey
Increased demands from within Fatah to dismiss Hamdallah Tension prevailed over ties between some Fatah members and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, particularly since Ahmed Halawa was beaten to death by security forces in Nablus, which prompted many Fatah leaders to demand that Hamdallah be dismissed from his post. Palestine
Why Is Jordan refusing entry to Gaza Palestinians? More than 50,000 Gazans living in the West Bank are essentially trapped there, unable to cross into Jordan or go to Gaza. Palestine
Can Trump win over US expats in Israel? The US Republican Party has launched a campaign to convince US citizens living in Israel to vote for Donald Trump. Israel
Hamas, Fatah exchange accusations of threats to electoral candidates The Central Elections Commission and rights organizations have received several complaints of threats against electoral lists and candidates in the Palestinian territories, shattering the Palestinians’ hope for smooth local elections. Palestine
How Iraq's political blocs are trying to win over youth The early electoral campaigns in Iraq have been focusing on the youth, while the political parties seek to amend the electoral law to allow Iraqis as young as 25 years of age to run as candidates. Iraq
Syria's Tourism Ministry hopes to lure visitors, despite war Domestic tourism failed to compensate for the major losses incurred by Syria’s tourism sector as a result of the war. Syria
Why plans for new stadium are sparking controversy in Egypt Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for a new stadium to be built in the city of Port Said has drawn criticism, with some accusing the government of attempting to erase the memory of the deadly riot that occurred at a soccer match in the city in 2012. Egypt
