Turkey lifts veil on unemployment data, revealing bigger army of jobless A new, broader set of labor statistics has exposed a big gap between Turkey’s official unemployment rate and the actual joblessness in the crisis-hit country. Turkey
Rights group criticizes Jordan over debt imprisonment Human Rights Watch has highlighted the plight of poor Jordanians imprisoned for failing to pay back loans taken out to meet basic needs. Jordan
COVID accelerates evolution of Gulf economies The economic policy response to COVID-19 is an acceleration of specific trends already underway across the Gulf Cooperation Council members, variously affecting tax policy, labor market regulation and immigration policy. Saudi Arabia
Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together. Iran
After big boom, Turkey’s aviation sector heads for turbulence Led by national carrier Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s civil aviation sector has grown impressively since 2003, but its heyday may be over due to the strain of economic and political factors. Turkey
Palestinians determined to reopen West Bank mushroom farm Local Palestinian agricultural products are a powerful way to resist economic dependency on Israel, but barriers have plagued the West Bank's first mushroom farm. Palestine
Turkey mulls 'national' bitcoin A government-promoted push for the "native and national" in almost every realm has reached the sphere of cryptocurrency despite Turkey's lingering mistrust of bitcoin. Turkey
'The World According to Netanyahu' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's character will not allow him to surrender until he knows he no longer has a chance of prevailing in the face of police allegations of involvement in criminal activity. Israel
US pressure on Hamas risks new era of enmity As Washington moves forward on sanctions to pressure Hamas to accept a US-brokered deal with Israel, the efforts could backfire and spark new violence. Palestine
Congress skeptical of Saudi nuclear energy demands Lawmakers are making it clear that any proposal to share civilian nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia must include robust nonproliferation safeguards. Saudi Arabia
Makeshift school teaches marketable skills in Cairo slum With paltry government support, the Stabl Antar Dream School is providing both a basic education and vocational training to the children of a shantytown in south Cairo. Egypt
Six factors driving Iran’s sudden currency devaluation A confluence of political, economic and psychological factors appears to be behind the recent plunge in the Iranian currency’s value on the free market. Iran
Anxious Turkish investors eyeing opportunities abroad Mounting political tensions, uncertainties and declining rule of law in Turkey are pushing Turkish entrepreneurs to consider investing abroad. United Arab Emirates
Old meets Magic Kingdom: Disneyland-style park comes to Egypt After years of planning, Egypt is finally making progress toward establishing its own Disneyland-style theme park. Egypt
Turkish-Egyptian war of words in eastern Mediterranean heats up In an official statement, Egypt warned of any violation of its rights in the eastern Mediterranean region in response to the official Turkish position, which refused to recognize the legality of the agreement between Egypt and Cyprus on the exploitation of natural resources of the two countries’ exclusive economic zones. Egypt
Turkey eyes Indian weddings to prop up tourism industry The Turkish tourism industry, scrambling to recover from its worst crisis in years, seeks to grab a share from India’s lucrative wedding market. Turkey