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
Has Obama turned his back on the Palestinians? As Israel continues to build and expand settlements in the occupied territories, President Barack Obama appears to have reneged on the commitment he made in 2009 to resolve the Palestinian situation "with all the patience and dedication that the task requires." Palestine
Gulf-funded think tank to make Capitol Hill debut The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington promises a broader view of Gulf affairs. Saudi Arabia
Behind the Obama-Zarif handshake Senior Iranian officials reveal new details of the historic handshake between Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President Barack Obama. Iran
Four ministers secretly warn Rouhani about the economy, but why? Four ministers wrote a letter to President Hassan Rouhani warning him that the economic situation in Iran could lead to a serious crisis. Iran
An immigrant himself, Chobani yogurt founder becomes icon for refugees A Kurdish immigrant from Turkey, Hamdi Ulukaya became the founder and CEO of the top-selling Greek yogurt in the United States and has now pledged to donate much of his wealth to refugees. Turkey
Palestinian soccer scores goal in venue dispute Following popular anger from Palestinian fans, a decision to relocate a soccer match between the Palestinian and Saudi teams outside of Palestine has been revoked. Saudi Arabia
Vlad and Yuri: How Putin is applying the lessons of Afghanistan to Syria Russian President Vladimir Putin is using his regional allies to create "Alawistan," an enclave isolated from the rest of Syria. Saudi Arabia
Palestinians look to Turkey for substance, not show Although Turkey got its share of praise as the Palestinian flag was raised at the UN, Palestinians are still waiting for practical moves affecting their lives. Palestine
Will new trade hall bring forth better Palestinian-Israeli economic relations? Economic relations between Israelis and Palestinians might be on their way to seeing improvement, but businessmen, mostly Palestinians, are still treading carefully. Palestine
Ahead of elections, Turkey clamps down on press freedom The Turkish government’s mounting pressure on mainstream and opposition media ahead of the Nov. 1 elections results in a physical assault on a popular journalist. Turkey
Saudis investigate Mina stampede Since the deadly Mina incident, Iranian officials have been criticizing Saudi Arabia for its mismanagement of hajj affairs and its approach that seems focused on containing Muslim anger and avoiding a direct confrontation with Iran. Saudi Arabia
Egyptian women take to streets to fight stereotypes … by directing traffic The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Interior Ministry and Giza governorate are collaborating to recruit young women to help direct traffic. Egypt
