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
Blame Media: Washington Faces Inevitable Predicament in Egypt The Egyptian government demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how the US press operates. Egypt
Syria’s Kurds Divided Over Geneva II Conference Syria’s Kurdish parties consider whether to be represented independently or as part of the Syrian National Coalition. Syria
Chinese Billionaire Invests In Israeli Tech Institute The $130 billion donation by Li Ka-shing to establish a joint Israeli Technion-Chinese research center is just the first step toward unlimited technology cooperation between Israel and China. Israel
Turkish Court Confirms Military Coup Attempt In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeals in Ankara upholds the heavy prison sentences to top ex-officers accused of attempting to oust the government in 2003. Turkey
Iraqi Ministry of Culture Curtails Performing Arts With the acting minister of defense also taking on the role of minister of culture, as well as an increasing outcry from religious figures against artistic liberties, arts and culture in Iraq are facing a dire situation. Iraq
Sex Trafficking Open Secret In Northern Cyprus A lawmaker reignites a debate on white-slavery trafficking in Turkish Cyprus, where the smoke screen of the “Las Vegas” myth obscures abuse and suffering. Turkey
Syrian Kurdish Leader Urges Turkey To End Support for Salafists Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, had messages for Ankara in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. Syria
Three Reasons Why Turkey Is So Polarized The ruling Justice and Development Party can bridge the gaps by not responding to the provocations of the Kemalists. Turkey
Egypt-Gaza Border Quiet Despite Political Rhetoric There is no major military buildup on the Gaza border to suggest Egypt might attack the Hamas-held territory anytime soon. Palestine
London, Tehran Take Historic First Step to Rebuilding Ties A further upgrade in bilateral relations between Iran and the United Kingdom will require action by the Iranian parliament. Iran
Will 'Oct. 10 Revolution' Materialize Against Hezbollah? Secular Shiite opponent of Hezbollah Rami Ollaik has declared his is leading a movement against the party, though many believe nothing will come of it. Lebanon
Iraq's Sunni Protesters Divided Over Government Negotiations The formation of a delegation from the Anbar protests to negotiate with the Iraqi government has been stalled by objections within the protest movement, claiming misrepresentation. Iraq
