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
Gazoz, Turkey's eclectic national drink, recaptures its old fizz Gazoz, a light, fizzy and delicious drink that symbolized the recklessness of Turkish youth in the post-World War II era, is making a comeback. Turkey
US outsources Syria aid to Gulf In an apparent win for the Donald Trump administration, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to pick up the tab to stabilize Syria. Saudi Arabia
Can Qatar and Germany save Turkey’s economy? The Turkish lira was up a few points after Qatar's leaders pledged to help Turkey and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made some positive statements, but will this be enough to get Turkey through its currency crisis? Qatar
Not everyone in Iraq welcomes peshmerga's possible return to Kirkuk As Iraq's central and Kurdish governments tentatively make nice again, the potential return of the Kurdish peshmerga to Kirkuk has some groups in the country on edge. Iraq
Kurdish farmers hit by water crisis With neighboring Iran diverting rivers and building dams, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is in the midst of an already severe water crisis that threatens to get even worse, thanks to national and regional governments failing to acknowledge the urgency of the problem. Iraq
Egypt taps investors to develop nature reserves Egypt’s Ministry of Environment is planning to open the country's underdeveloped nature reserves to investment projects to make the best use of their resources. Egypt
Egypt looks to foreign university campuses to boost education President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently approved a law allowing foreign universities to open branch campuses across Egypt as part of efforts to increase education levels in the country. Egypt
Turkey shares municipal expertise with Syrian engineers The municipality of the Turkish city of Kilis held a training for Syrian engineers in Syria’s Euphrates Shield area to help develop municipal services. Syria
Hamas pursues truce with Israel, but not all factions approve Despite recent clashes between Hamas and Israel, the former seems to be taking steps toward a truce brokered by Egypt and the UN. Palestine
Syrians flock home from Turkey for Eid despite danger Syrian refugees living in Turkey are returning home by the thousands for Eid al-Adha, and the border crossing facilities are working overtime to facilitate the process. Syria
How deep is Dahlan involved in Israel-Hamas talks? According to some sources, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejects the Israel-Hamas truce deal over the involvement and mediation of his archenemy Mohammed Dahlan. Palestine
Humanitarian disaster looms over Idlib as raids escalate Rights and aid organizations in the Syrian province of Idlib are warning of the humanitarian disaster that could follow an imminent regime offensive on the last rebel-held territory. Syria
