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
Iraqi youths form political parties to join early elections Groups of young people set up political parties as they seek to take part in early elections next year, in an attempt to present themselves as an alternative to the existing parties. Iraq
Druze education success story threatened by Israel’s political crisis Israeli Druze high-schoolers have excelled in matriculation exams since 2013. What’s their secret? Israel
Sudan’s military council revives disputed area with Cairo Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of state in Sudan's transitional government, has brought up once again the disputed Halayeb border area with Egypt at a time when relations between the two countries are witnessing rapprochement following the ouster of Omar al-Bashir. Egypt
Alleged sexual offenders face social media barrage in Egypt Despite rising online calls for sexual offenders to be held accountable for their crimes and a new amendment to the anti-sexual harassment law guaranteeing confidentiality of survivors, many women in Egypt are still reluctant to report sexual harassment incidents for fear of being stigmatized. Egypt
First commercial flight from Tel Aviv lands in Abu Dhabi El Al Flight 971 makes history, as first commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates
Lebanon-IMF talks make little progress despite bank collapse The Lebanese ruling elite is still bargaining over the economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund, while the country’s economic situation continues to go downhill. Lebanon
Egypt sends signal to Turkey by deepening ties with Jordan, Iraq Amid accelerated regional threats and economic repercussions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a tripartite summit was held between the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq Aug. 25 to develop a security, diplomatic and economic bloc. Egypt
Jordan emphasizes economic benefits of ties with Egypt, Iraq While Jordan's King Abdullah focused on economic relations during the trilateral summit Aug. 25, the two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian issue and the recent Israel-UAE normalization agreement were also discussed by the three countries. Jordan
US government seizes control of websites allegedly involved in Iran-Venezuela oil deal The seizure follows the US interception of fuel tankers from Iran en route to Venezuela this month amid increased US pressure on both countries. United States
Report: US plans to freeze aid to Ethiopia amid Nile River dam dispute Foreign Policy reported the proposal by the US State Department could affect up to $130 million in aid as negotiations with Egypt and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam continue. Egypt
First commercial flight from Israel to UAE follows historic deal The flight is a first step in a normalization process between the countries as an official signing of the agreement is expected next month. United Arab Emirates
Is Syria’s eastern front about to boil over? Another tough week for US-Turkey relations as Erdogan accuses US of "sick mentality." Syria
