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
Bahrain sentences 51 accused of Iran-linked terror plots Investigators said the defendants received orders from Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to stage attacks in Bahrain. Bahrain
Iran's supreme leader breaks silence on US election In his first public speech on the US presidential election, Iran’s supreme leader said victory by a Democratic or a Republican candidate will not trigger any change of policy in Tehran. United States
Trump's former national security adviser says reentering Iran deal would be 'huge mistake' Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as national security adviser from 2017 to 2018, assesses Trump’s Middle East record, reflecting on his career in the region’s battlegrounds. United States
Inflation rises in Turkey as lira falls for ninth consecutive day Turkey’s lira hit new lows Tuesday, becoming the worst-performing emerging market currency of the year following a rise in inflation last month. Turkey
Vienna shooter tried to join Islamic State in Syria Kujtim Fejzulai shot dead four people Monday night in the Austrian capital before being killed by police. Syria
Miracle rescues in Izmir provide Turks hope following earthquake A second 3-year-old girl is saved from the rubble, bringing optimism to Izmir even as the number of deaths rise from the 7.0-magnitude quake. Turkey
Bahrain approves Chinese COVID-19 vaccine for front-line workers The experimental vaccine is currently in phase III clinical trials. Bahrain
Arabs in Israel join anti-French demonstrations, boycott Demonstrations against French President Emmanuel Macron were staged in Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Jerusalem, and now east Jerusalem shopkeepers are boycotting French products. Israel
Islamic State resurfaces with attacks in Iraq’s Diyala province The Islamic State's gruesome killing of a sheikh and some of his relatives by rigging his corpse with explosives has led to security concerns in the multiethnic region bordering Iran, long a hotbed for extremism and susceptible to sectarianism. Iraq
US warns Egypt to avoid Chinese companies on 5G connections As part of the growing conflict between Washington and Beijing over the introduction of 5G networks in the world, the US State Department warned Egypt against resorting to Chinese companies for the launch of 5G networks and called on Egyptian companies to boycott their Chinese counterparts. Egypt
Egypt, Ukraine discuss cooperation in furniture industry Egypt and Ukraine step up cooperation in the furniture industry, as both countries eye new markets in Africa and Eastern Europe. Originals
Netanyahu putting all his eggs in Trump’s basket By backing Us President Donald Trump against Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jeopardizes Israel’s most significant strategic asset — American bipartisan support. Israel
