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
Egypt's battle against Facebook continues Calls for blocking Facebook in Egypt will not yield the desired results, according to some experts, as terrorist ideas and rumors can continue to spread on other websites. Egypt
Iran's lucrative kidney market Home to the world's only legalized kidney market, Iran is seeing a boom in the kidney trade. Iran
Why it's time for Saudi Arabia to take the lead on Israeli-Palestinian peace process While Israel and Saudi Arabia share common interests, these can only be expressed if the Saudis take a leading role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process toward a statehood based on their 2002 initiative, with the United States, Egypt and the Arab League engaging as well. Palestine
Turkey pays hefty price for interest rate obsession Under government pressure to keep interest rates low, Turkey’s Central Bank has failed to act against the free fall of the Turkish lira, leading to a massive burden on the foreign debt stock. Turkey
Khamenei says sanctions must be removed, not suspended Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke in detail about the need for sanctions to be removed, rather than suspended, in regard to the comprehensive nuclear deal. Iran
Small quakes shake loose big fears in Tehran A recent series of small quakes near Tehran revives fears of the consequences of a major tremor striking the Iranian capital. Iran
The invisible Saudi king Though breathless press reports predicted the Saudi leader would attend Russia’s MAKS-2015 air show, it seems that King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud never intended to visit Russia so soon after accepting the invitation to do so and will likely make the trip in the fall. Saudi Arabia
Is Turkey driving down road to environmental disaster? The Turkish government’s Green Road Project has turned the quiet residents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s home region into feisty street protesters as they struggle to protect the environment on which their livelihoods and traditions rely. Turkey
Egypt limits ability of imams to run for office A few Ministry of Awqaf-affiliated officials announced their intention to run for election, which brought about criticism by religious and political authorities about the extent to which the executive and legislative powers can mix. Egypt
Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon becomes battlefield for Fatah-Islamist conflict The precarious security situation in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon has been reignited by recent clashes between the Fatah movement and Islamist militants inside the camp. Palestine
Shopping in Gaza's flea market Gaza’s markets offering secondhand goods are frequented by the poor and rich who are searching for high-quality goods at reduced prices. Palestine
New Istanbul bookstore-cafe focuses on Arab culture, refugee experience A small group of Syrian intellectuals has founded a bookstore-cafe in Istanbul, hoping to bridge cultures and promote Arab refugees' rich literary and cultural heritage. Syria
