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
Zarif: Attack on Iran would mean 'all-out war' Iranian officials have said that if the United States or Saudi Arabia strikes Iran over the recent attack on Saudi oil facilities, it is prepared to defend itself. Saudi Arabia
Dead are last to leave ancient Turkish town before submerging In a grim postscript, former residents of the town Hasankeyf are relocating the remains of the dead before the unique settlement dating back 12,000 years is engulfed by water from the construction of a dam. Turkey
Beirut municipality fails, again, to preserve green spaces The destruction of one of Beirut’s last green spaces, as well as the eviction of several startups, points to the government's disregard of the public sector. Lebanon
‘I just want to be me’: Being transgender in Lebanon Despite the negativity surrounding the transgender community in Lebanon, social media influencer Gigi tries to use her online fame as a means to help other transgender individuals to express themselves. Lebanon
Uighur students in Egypt face arrest, deportation to China Cairo seems to be trying to please Beijing by continuing to arrest Uighur students in the country. Egypt
What is happening behind the scenes in the Yemen talks? Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are trying to consolidate their military influence in Yemen through talks in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia
Abbas dissolves tribal affairs committee in Gaza Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered the Higher Committee for Tribal Affairs in Gaza disbanded over ties to exiled Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, but the group is committed to continuing its work. Palestine
Syrians fill language classes as Russian influence grows Syrian students, aware that Russian influence is in their country to stay, see learning Russian as a key to both higher education and employment. Syria
Intel: How Syria is driving a wedge between Russia and Israel The show of unity during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Russia on Sept. 12 can’t paper over the sharp differences between the two countries over Syria. Israel
Trump, Europeans push to keep space for Iran diplomacy after Saudi attacks Following strikes on Saudi oil facilities, Donald Trump stated his desire to avoid escalation with Iran. Saudi Arabia
Congress aims to restore Syria stabilization aid Congress is calling for the State Department to spend $130 million on stabilizing Syria next year, a rebuke to the Trump administration’s efforts to zero out the fund in its 2020 budget proposal. Syria
Turkey at odds with US and Russia over northern Syria As Ankara loses ground in Idlib, President Erdogan’s threat of military action east of the Euphrates raises the stakes for Turkey. Syria
