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
Can the Kurds Redeem Erdogan’s Faltering Image? If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can achieve a peace deal with the Kurds, he will have earned a place for himself in the history books. Turkey
EU Decision Leaves Hezbollah More Resolute Than Ever At a critical time in Lebanese politics, the EU decision to classify Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization has reopened debate about the party’s participation in government and its right to possess arms. Lebanon
The Struggle for Justice In Aleppo, a 'Feral City' Divisions among Syrian opposition groups have made life even more unbearable for Aleppo’s residents. Syria
Iran's Ramadan: Behind the Canvas Iranians who choose not to fast during Ramadan must find ways to not offend the religious sensibilities of those who do. Iran
Egypt’s Precarious New Reality One month after the June 30 demonstrations that led to the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's civilian leaders are becoming increasingly marginal to the broader changes taking place in the country. Egypt
Saudis Divided Over Egypt Saudi fears of a democratic Egypt are deferred as long as Egypt is crippled by post-revolutionary turmoil. Saudi Arabia
Iraq Suffers Power Crisis As Temperatures Soar Frustration continues to mount in Iraq with the government unable to deliver sufficient electricity despite eight years of promises by officials. Iraq
UAE Needs More Transparency On Human Rights A string of recent human rights abuses has placed the UAE under international scrutiny. United Arab Emirates
Peace Talks in Need of Clarity Legal clarity will be crucial as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume. Palestine
American Jewry Embraces Netanyahu's Decision on Peace Talks Senior leaders from the American Jewish community have sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter congratulating his decision to hold negotiations with the Palestinians. Palestine
Is Audit of Koc Companies Erdogan’s Revenge for Gezi Park? Police-accompanied tax audit raids against three companies of Turkey's largest industrial group, Koc, is putting into deeds Erdogan’s threats against capital owners he holds responsible for the Gezi Park events. Turkey
Erdogan Threatens to Settle Score With The Times Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to “do what we can in the legal sphere” against the British daily The Times for publishing an advertisement denouncing his government. Turkey
