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
Turkey remains defiant in row with US over pastor as deal falls through A possible deal to end the US-Turkish row over an American pastor detained in Izmir appears to have failed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heaped additional demands on an agreement. Turkey
Syria's Kurds cautiously progress in talks with Damascus According to the former head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, Salih Muslim, a recent Kurdish delegation to Damascus didn’t go into the talks with red lines, but rather focused on building confidence. Syria
How regional politics is restraining Kurdish militancy in Iran While some Iranian Kurdish armed opposition groups are intent on raising the heat on Iran amid ongoing US pressure, other groups are careful not to enter a conflict that may spiral out of control. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Turkey’s economy struggles with new political reality Turkey’s economic downturn has only grown worse since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed sweeping new powers after the June polls, as some observers fear that the economy might not be Ankara’s primary concern. Turkey
Zarif says US primary goal is to ‘create chaos’ in Iran Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif believes Iran can weather the storm of US sanctions. United States
Culture alert: Music mixed with history in August Some of the August festivals in the Middle East take place in spectacular settings, from Cairo to Byblos to Troy. Egypt
Is Israel's Mossad expanding scope of secret assassinations? The killing of a Syrian missile-engineer, widely attributed to the Mossad, is likely meant to serve as a message that the lives of those developing weapons against Israel are in danger. Israel
As ringmaster, Russia runs Israel-Iran balancing act in Syria A deal brokered by Russia has something for everyone involved — Syria, Israel, Iran and, of course, Russia itself — and has defused at least temporarily what could have become a deadly showdown between Israel and Iran. Israel
Egypt's Salafists start offering marriage counseling A Salafi association holding premarital courses strictly for girls is raising controversy in Egypt’s religious and legal circles. Egypt
Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal has wide-ranging implications By holding indirect talks with Hamas about a long-term cease-fire, Israel is indicating that it views and accepts the Islamist movement as the political sovereign of Gaza, a shift that could have significant repercussions. Palestine
Is Palestine prepared for a major earthquake? A string of minor earthquakes has drawn attention to the fact that in the event of a strong seismic activity in the West Bank, Palestinian lives are at risk and the infrastructure could be severely damaged. Palestine
Putin man in the middle between Assad, Erdogan over Idlib A Syrian government attack on Idlib could upend the Astana accord. Syria
