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
Intel: Democrats condemn US broadcasting CEO’s Middle East purges after expanding office’s powers President Donald Trump’s new CEO of the US Agency for Global Media on Wednesday fired the heads of at least three of its outlets who collectively oversaw its Middle East and Iran coverage. The move sparked immediate condemnation from key Democrats despite their previous bipartisan support for expanding the CEO’s powers. Congress
Egypt says dam negotiations with Ethiopia make 'little progress' Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been discussing Ethiopia's planned filling of its dam on the Blue Nile River all month, but an agreement has yet to be reached. Egypt
Syrian torture victims file complaint in Germany over prison sex abuse The criminal complaint accuses nine high-ranking Syrian officials of various sexual and gender-based crimes. Syria
Intel: Bolton says Trump sought to drop charges against Turkish bank at Erdogan’s behest President Donald Trump allegedly sought to convince the Justice Department to drop charges against Turkey’s Halkbank at the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, The Wall Street Journal reported in an overview of former national security adviser John Bolton’s tell-all book. Turkey
Under pressure, pro-Kurdish party holds democracy rally in Istanbul Despite a ban on protests, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party held a demonstration in Istanbul Thursday following removal of two deputies from Turkey’s parliament. Turkey
Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone again A series of such attacks is happening as the United States and Iraq discuss the future of the US military presence in the country. Iraq
Intel: Russian-built aircraft actively using Libya’s Jufra air base Russian fighter aircraft recently delivered to Libya in support of Khalifa Hifter's campaign against the Tripoli-based government are now being put to use. Libya
NATO to investigate France-Turkey standoff in the Mediterranean NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc will probe France's accusations that Turkey harassed one of its ships in the Mediterranean. Turkey
Iran says 10 provinces have reached peak coronavirus numbers Iran says coronavirus deaths in the country will continue until there is a vaccine. Iran
Jordanian foreign minister makes unannounced visit to West Bank for Abbas meeting Ahead of Israel's proposed annexation of parts of the West Bank, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi flew to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestine
Emirates resumes flights to Istanbul and Beirut The Dubai-based airline has been adding destinations since resuming passenger flights in late May. Originals
EU ratifies aviation agreement with Israel despite annexation strain The European Parliament has ratified the landmark Open Skies agreement with Israel, but warns that there could still be sanctions if annexation goes forward. Israel
