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
German interview could cost Turkey’s opposition leader dearly Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is under attack by media outlets loyal to the ruling party for allegedly telling a German magazine that German tourists should not visit Turkey. Turkey
The real footprint of the IRGC in Iran's economy Given the important footprint of the IRGC in the Iranian economy, the Rouhani administration appears to be confronting the Guards by co-opting them. Iran
Egyptian lawmakers rile Congress with US gun violence jab In a letter to Congress protesting a US travel advisory, an Egyptian parliamentary delegation downplayed the threats to Coptic Christians in the country, comparing the statistics on violence against them to shootings in US cities. Egypt
Gaza’s little chefs have big dreams Zad Al Khair, a local restaurant in Gaza City, launches a culinary arts program for children. Palestine
Egypt's middle class gets creative to cope with economic crunch As Egypt's economy suffers and inflation soars, middle class citizens are turning to Airbnb, Uber and other nontraditional means of earning extra income. Egypt
Egypt’s outer space ambitions face real world setbacks While Egyptian officials have said that the country’s first space agency would be launched in September 2018, the law to create it has not been introduced in parliament yet, to many Egyptians' chagrin. United Arab Emirates
With tourism in decline, Egypt hopes to repurpose former hotspot An Egyptian member of parliament has completed a study on the establishment of a free trade zone in the tourist city of Sharm el-Sheikh, which many criticized for its potentially harmful effects on tourism. Egypt
Cash-strapped young Egyptians forgo popular wedding traditions As their cost of living gets higher, Egyptian couples are being forced to go without the traditional, more expensive wedding festivities. Egypt
Clouds gather over Turkish-German economic ties Exasperated over Turkey’s disregard for the rule of law and its arrest of German nationals, Berlin has raised the specter of economic sanctions against Turkey. Turkey
Iran's economy a 'masterpiece of structural ambiguity' For President Hassan Rouhani to realize his campaign pledge to revive the Iranian economy, he must find a way to rein in the quasi-state sector. Iran
Istanbul residents chase the Aegean dream Many Istanbulians dream of leaving the hustle and bustle of the city behind for a quiet life on the Aegean coast, and some are doing just that. Turkey
Iraq oil pipeline comes with major environmental costs A gas pipeline that runs from Iran to the suburbs of Baghdad has caused environmental pollution and damaged agricultural land and archaeological sites in local areas. Iraq