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
Opposition retakes Istanbul mayor's office to find powers shrinking As Istanbul’s new Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu retakes office after beating the ruling party's candidate a second time, reports are emerging that his powers and those of other Turkish mayors are already being whittled down. Turkey
Ankara’s economic tasks grow tougher after election rout Reeling from a crushing defeat in a critical election rerun, Turkey’s government faces an uphill track in efforts to fix the economy, littered with major political risks, both at home and abroad. Turkey
Palestinians protest US ‘Peace to Prosperity’ plan Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza protested the US "Peace to Prosperity" plan, as it ignores their basic demands of freedom and dignity. Bahrain
Basra protests build in Iraq as substandard services persist As summer arrives in Iraq, a new wave of demonstrations is beginning in the south, possibly jeopardizing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government. Iraq
How Qatar's grant to Gaza gives Israel leverage Israel is reducing the number of beneficiaries of a Qatari cash grant in the Gaza Strip intended to help the needy. Qatar
Will government's new rules control fake news or control Egyptian media? Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation claims that its new rules for radio and television broadcasts are intended to regulate the media environment in a rational and constitutional way but others see censorship at work. Egypt
Amendments to electoral law stir controversy in Tunisia The Tunisian parliament has approved controversial amendments to the electoral law that could exclude candidates for the presidential and legislative elections at the end of 2019. Tunisia
Israeli theater world struggles with self-censorship Israeli theater leaders held an emergency conference to discuss self-censorship after Culture Minister Miri Regev intimidated Israeli film festivals and venues out of screening the award-winning film "Advocate." Israel
Damascus vies with Saudi-Kurd union for tribal support Saudi Arabia is backing Kurdish efforts to win over Syrian tribes' loyalty from the regime. Saudi Arabia
Israeli, Russian, US interests converge on Iran in Syria At a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem, the national security advisers of Israel, Russia and the United States confirmed their common interest in limiting the presence of Iranian forces in Syria when peace finally comes. Israel
Congress advances bill sidelining Turkey on Mediterranean gas dispute The Senate advanced a bill rebuking Turkish attempts to drill for gas near Cyprus. Turkey
2020 Democrats bash Trump for Iran crisis While one Democratic presidential candidate calls Trump's Iran policy reckless and another says the only reason there is a crisis is because of Trump, there are questions as to whether the issue will resonate with voters if no war takes place. United States
