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
Turkey sees 'village uprising' as rural areas hit hard by liberal economic policies In rural Turkey, farmers and livestock producers are fighting back against the government's new economic policies. Turkey
Surging imports wipe out Iran’s trade surplus Rapidly increasing imports wipe out the Rouhani administration’s positive trade balance, shining a light on the need to further promote exports. Iran
Senate challenges House on Western Sahara dispute Senate appropriators want to tighten restrictions on US aid to Morocco-occupied Western Sahara one year after the House first made assistance available. Algeria
Russia's balancing act in North Africa Despite Russia's very different relations with Algeria and Morocco, Moscow takes pains to treat them the same. Algeria
Is Jordan planning major change in Red Sea-Dead Sea project? Amid rumors that Jordan is freezing out Israel and the Palestinian Authority with regard to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project, officials remained silent. Palestine
Deal with Iran boosts Turkey’s hopes of trading in national currency Turkey has long sought to increase the use of its national currency in trade with Russia, China and Iran, but due to significant trade imbalances with the others, only Iran appears to offer a viable prospect. Turkey
Egyptian government making headway in fight against Cairo's 'black cloud' While finding solutions for clearing the black cloud of smog produced from burning rice straw in Cairo, the Egyptian government is hoping to simultaneously create a boon for Egypt’s economy. Egypt
West Bank telecom authorities flounder in flood of Israeli phone tech Increasing numbers of Palestinians are using Israeli SIM cards for better cellular service despite their illegality, and the West Bank's economy and security are paying the price. Palestine
Palestinian farmers go global to claim their rights Palestine will witness the birth of the first movement of farmers in the Arab world, which will advocate the rights of Palestinian farmers before Arab, regional and international institutions. Palestine
Gazans abroad eager to visit, but unready to move home Although the burgeoning reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah has given hope to thousands of Palestinians, Gazans abroad remain cautious about resettling in the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Polarization increases in Egypt as election draws near Efforts to launch President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's re-election bid are underway in Egypt amid fears that he will only face, by hook or by crook, a token opposition. Egypt
Israeli tech companies start contracting in Gaza Israeli IT companies have started contracting Gazan engineers to work on projects in a move that will not please Hamas but could improve Gaza's economy. Palestine