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
Will Egypt stop listing religion on official IDs? The draft bill to remove the religion field from national IDs and official documents sparked a debate among Egyptians, with some supporting the decision as it would eliminate discrimination and others arguing that it would further entrench sectarian tension. Egypt
Israel's six options for peace If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were interested in peace, he would have a Knesset majority to back him and at least six options to pursue. Palestine
Revolutionary computer game faces crackdown in Iran Iranian authorities are attempting to block a new computer game offering players a first-person perspective of the 1979 revolution, claiming it is anti-Iran. Iran
Iran denounces Orlando terror attack, ignores gay venue While its Foreign Ministry condemned the deadly attack in Orlando, Iran's media seemed split on whether to mention that it took place at a gay nightclub. United States
Egypt launches new initiative to control goods prices during Ramadan In light of the difficult economic situation in Egypt, the Ministry of Supply announced May 20 the implementation of the initiative known as “Ahlan Ramadan,” offering goods at low prices. Egypt
Will Turkey sacrifice even more civil rights to battle terrorism? Turkey is planning measures that could suspend freedoms to achieve operational effectiveness with a controversial "legal shield" for soldiers. Turkey
How one Palestinian cafe in Lebanon is breaking stereotypes A Palestinian refugee from the Rashidiya camp in southern Lebanon has invested all his money to open a cafe in another Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, offering space to young refugees to blow off steam. Palestine
Erdogan scores no points at Muhammad Ali's funeral The Turkish president fought hard to associate himself with the infamous boxer's image in the last of a long history of such attempts by Turkey, but observers were unmoved by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fancy footwork. Turkey
How will Palestinians resolve internal divisions? In an interview with Al-Monitor a few days after her release from an Israeli prison, Khalida Jarrar, a member of the PFLP and PLC, talked about ways to solve the Palestinian dispute and electing a new president. Palestine
Turkey's southeast beginning to resemble Syria As clashes in Turkey's southeast between government forces and the PKK worsen, some cities mirror the destruction across the border in Syria. Syria
Iranians denounce BBC report claiming secret contact between Khomeini, US Many Iranian officials have expressed outrage over a BBC report claiming Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made secret contact with the United States leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. United States
Why many Iranians are feeling the Bern Many Iranians and Iranian-Americans are still pulling for US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, whose "real" image has "managed to change the general narrative about the United States." Iran
