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
Israel and Turkey, first signs of warming up? The recent publication over Turkey selling to Israel medical equipment to fight the coronavirus could signal a small, yet significant warming up of relations. Palestine
Why didn’t Erdogan let Turkey’s interior minister resign over coronavirus curfew fiasco? The attempted resignation of Turkey's powerful interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, has exposed the emerging cracks in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party Turkey
Coronavirus outbreak in Turkish prisons leaves three inmates dead The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit several Turkish prisons, infecting at least 14 inmates so far and killing three. Turkey
Independent filmmakers dramatize COVID-19 in videos posted online With art and culture temporarily confined to the internet, Egyptian artists are documenting the pandemic in short films, graffiti and creative photography. Egypt
Virtual tours bring Egypt's museums, archaeological sites online Cairo had hoped that 2020 would be a golden year for Egyptian tourism, but the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the industry. Egypt
Calls for release of prisoners grow in Egypt despite arrest campaign Egyptian security forces launched a campaign of arrests against human rights activists, politicians and left-wing activists who had been calling for the release of prisoners in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Egypt
As foreign reserves dip, Egypt’s economy slows down Analysts study the sharp decline of Egypt’s foreign reserves due to the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with fears that the Egyptian pound would further weaken against the dollar. Egypt
Mothers versus minister as Egyptian students go online because of COVID-19 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has done much to secure women's support, but angry mothers may be a major crack in the relationship. Egypt
Israeli Labor to unite with Blue and White? If the Israeli Labor party would indeed unite with Blue and White, the party could be perhaps saved and even rejuvenated. Israel
Can fight against COVID-19 unite Palestinians? Despite a slight warming in relations between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas earlier this year, the two parties initially appeared to be pursuing separate paths in combatting COVID-19 outbreaks in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestine
Battles rage in Syria despite coronavirus cease-fires Clashes are raging between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Syrian Kurdish groups east of the Euphrates River in what Syrian Kurds claim that is a Turkish effort to prevent displaced civilians from returning to their homes. Syria
Baghdad's monuments fall apart or destroyed despite laws Laws cannot protect Baghdad's monumental buildings, particularly when owners prefer that they fall down so they can replace them with modern buildings. Iraq
