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 upgrades Giza Plateau to attract tourists back to Pyramids The Egyptian authorities are advancing their plans to develop the Giza Plateau, where the Pyramids are located, as part of efforts to boost tourism. Egypt
Amazon seeks development of Egypt e-commerce market Amazon is planning on expanding the services it provides to the promising Egyptian market in the field of e-commerce, but some obstacles might slow down growth in this sector. Egypt
Is Oman next in line to normalize relations with Israel? On the backdrop of the recent agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Oman Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah discussed on the phone strengthening bilateral ties. Israel
Kushner: US won’t sign off on West Bank annexation 'for some time' Top US presidential adviser Jared Kushner has said the focus will be implementing the agreement reached last week between Israel and United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates
Intel: Iran paid bounties to Taliban for US soldiers, influencing Soleimani strike US officials tell CNN the administration took no action against the Taliban in order to preserve its peace deal with the insurgents. United States
Firefight with US-led coalition leaves Syrian soldier dead, state-run news says A lethal clash between Syrian forces and a US patrol occurred after Syrian troops allegedly refused to allow a US patrol to cross a checkpoint. Syria
Turkey takes aim at Biden after old comments on Erdogan resurface Turkish politicians are expressing outrage over presumptive US presidential candidate Joe Biden calling for the Turkish president's ouster back in December, likely because Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using them to whip up nationalist fervor against the United States. Turkey
Pope Francis urges Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to resume Nile dam talks The pope urged the three Nile states to "continue on the path of dialogue." Egypt
Surge in coronavirus cases continues in Lebanon following explosion COVID-19 cases have increased dramatically following the blast in Beirut's port on Aug. 4, when hospitals filled and people took to the streets. Lebanon
UAE, Israel continue normalizing ties The two countries are working on direct flights and now allow phone calls to one another. Israel
Israel's president invites UAE crown prince to Jerusalem President Reuven Rivlin said Monday he extended a formal invite to Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. United Arab Emirates
Islamist parties challenge Iraqi domestic violence draft law The potential enactment of a domestic violence bill into law has engendered a major struggle between civil society activists and Shiite Islamist parties that believe the law will split families. Iraq
