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
How MasterCard debacle got one Iranian minister in trouble When Iran's Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi was recently quoted as saying that MasterCard services were coming to Iran, the reports were quickly denied as a misunderstanding, though a MasterCard-affiliated debit card service is set to begin issuing prepaid cards. Iran
Biden’s diplomatic triage in Turkey Ankara reconsiders its Syria policy amid strains in US-Turkey ties and a reset in Iran-Turkey diplomacy. Syria
Egypt resorts to drastic proposals to solve dollar crisis Egyptians are at odds over how to solve the country's fiscal crisis, with parliament speaker Ali Abdul Aal calling for shutting down currency exchange companies. Egypt
US election 2016: Polling history suggests Trump can still win Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of Aug. 22. United States
How glorification of martyrdom produces child suicide bombers in Turkey A majority of Turkish children are exposed to Islamic education and media indoctrination that glorifies martyrdom. Turkey
Has Turkey really stepped into 'Syrian quagmire'? Political developments in the region will determine the fate of the recent Turkish incursion into Syria. Syria
Was wedding blast in Gaziantep revenge for IS defeats in Syria? Some suspect the Aug. 20 suicide bombing of a Kurdish wedding party in southern Turkey was the work of the Islamic State avenging its recent losses in Syria. Syria
Social media becomes electoral war zone for Hamas, Fatah While the official campaign period for Palestinian local council elections doesn't begin until Sept. 24, Hamas supporters have already launched several social media initiatives aimed at drumming up support. Palestine
