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 readies to host international biodiversity conference Cairo hopes that in hosting the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, it can both take great strides toward protecting Egypt's ecosystems and promote tourism. Egypt
Friction heats up between Russia, Israel over downed aircraft Jerusalem is worried that the conflict with Moscow caused by the downing of a Russian jet in Syria will paralyze IDF activities and enable Iran to transfer arms to Hezbollah. Israel
Egypt mulls community service over prison time The Egyptian parliament will debate a bill to replace jail terms with community service for minor offenses to reducing costs and overcrowding in prisons. Egypt
Palestine stock exchange defies all odds The Palestine Securities Exchange (PEX) announced profits of around $167 million in the first half of 2018; however, the general economic situation in Palestine is going downhill. Palestine
Will Egypt get handle on its public debt? Parliamentary committees are making noise about plans to address Egypt's public debt, in part by establishing mechanisms to optimize the use of loans and grants. Egypt
Israeli culture scene target of domestic censorship, international boycotts Major Israeli film festivals are operating under an impossible Catch-22: on one front, Culture Minister Miri Regev threatens to slash funds of works that contradict her right-wing worldview, and on another front, Israeli cultural institutions are viewed as part and parcel of an occupying government uninterested in peace. Palestine
For Abbas, it’s not too late to negotiate Israel’s next prime minister should not give up on meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and reaching a peace agreement, even if it means a limited one to be implemented only in the West Bank. Palestine
Damascus puts on elections while Russia is busy with geopolitics While Moscow has been busy with the situation in Idlib, Damascus has held municipal elections, where its candidates won. Syria
Turkey downsizes economic growth outlook as crisis bites Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has unveiled a much anticipated plan to rescue Turkey from its economic woes, pledging to adhere to stricter fiscal policy and focus on financial stability. Turkey
'Gezi generation' flees Turkey Well-educated, qualified young people from Turkey’s “Gezi generation,” which led mass anti-government protests in the summer of 2013, are increasingly emigrating to the West, having lost hope in the future of their country. Turkey
Fate of jailed Kurdish leader questioned as Turkey shuns peace As a showdown looms in Idlib between Syrian government forces and Turkish-backed opposition rebels, Ankara faces the prospect of further turmoil, while long-stalled Turkish-Kurdish talks seem unlikely to be revived nearly 20 years after Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was jailed. Syria
Mandatory hijab hunger strike enters 50th day An Iranian activist, Farhad Meysami, under arrest in Evin Prison for openly opposing mandatory veiling, has been on a hunger strike for 50 days. Iran
