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
Upholding car import customs does not benefit Egypt's local industry With stagnation plaguing Egypt's domestic car market, Cairo has decided to postpone reducing customs on importing European cars until the completion of a strategy to support the local car industry. Egypt
Palestinians dread austerity measures by UNRWA As the organization scrambles to replace withheld US funding, some Palestinians fear the aid cuts could be the beginning of the end for UNRWA. Palestine
US uncertainty over nuclear deal complicates Iran's economy Far from an unintended consequence of President Trump’s posturing, the uncertainty around the future of the Iranian nuclear deal has slowed the re-entry of Iran's economy into the global market. United States
New Palestinian metropolis offers economic route around occupation Palestinian leadership should focus on advancing economic independence, and the new Palestinian metropolis Rawabi is certainly a first step in this direction. Palestine
Rouhani moves to leverage unrest to loosen IRGC grip on economy The Hassan Rouhani administration appears to be leveraging the recent protests in Iran to continue pushing for its agenda of greater accountability and lesser military involvement in the economy. Iran
Egypt's taxis continue court fight against ride-sharing apps A lawsuit calling for the suspension of Uber and Careem in Egypt continues to be delayed as efforts to accommodate the two companies alongside regular taxis progress. Egypt
Fearing aid slash, PA to collect more customs duties The Palestinian Ministry of Finance is increasing customs duties on a range of goods, allegedly to protect local production, in light of a budget deficit of $1.07 billion in 2017 and threats of a drop in international aid to the PA. Palestine
How Rouhani can combat corruption in Iran's budget The Rouhani administration’s shift toward performance-based budgeting could pave the way for a parallel reduction of corruption along with better addressing of grievances. Iran
Defiant Palestinians boycott US projects, products US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has prompted various Palestinian boycotts of US-funded projects and programs. Palestine
Saudi Arabia, Turkey watch Iran-Iraq oil rapprochement warily The oil swap deal between Iran and Iraq represents an opportunity to counterbalance Saudi-Iraq ties. Saudi Arabia
Ultra-Orthodox women fuel change in traditional communities Ultra-Orthodox demographics are changing, with less children per family and more educated and employed women. Israel
Egypt grounds unlicensed drones Security concerns have led Egypt to regulate the use of drones, even as the country strives to become a leading manufacturer of the unmanned aerial vehicles. Egypt