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
Allure of riches draws young Iranians to network marketing Network marketing is growing increasingly popular among young Iranians looking for new ways to make a quick buck. Iran
Turkey’s construction boom: A blessing or a curse? The Turkish construction sector’s contribution to the local economy has almost caught up with that of the manufacturing industry, but this is hardly a reason to celebrate. Turkey
Iran’s private sector having hard time financing expansion While the Iranian debt market has greatly expanded in past years, providing an alternative to banks for financing, private sector firms are left out of this boom. Iran
Can 'uber for horses' stir up tourism in ancient Egyptian city? In an attempt to revive the ailing tourism industry, Egypt's government is trying out-of-the-box ideas, such as a ride-hailing app for horse carriages. Egypt
How forex market became a gambling house in Turkey Thousands of Turks, eager to make quick money, have acquired big losses in leveraged transactions at the foreign exchange market, leading the authorities to intervene. Turkey
Iraq, Iran agree to resolve dispute on joint oil fields After many years, Iraq and Iran have decided to form a joint committee to resolve differences about the oil fields between the two countries and the supply of a new oil pipeline to Iran. Iraq
Egypt hopes Chinese visitors can make up for Russian tourism decline Egypt's tourism sector is working to attract the largest possible number of tourists to offset its recent heavy losses, especially in light of the sharp decline in Russian tourism. Egypt
How Egypt plans to forge closer economic ties with France On a visit to Paris, Egypt's minister of trade and industry sought to attract French investments to his country. Egypt
Fictional president falls victim to censorship in Turkey A short comedy film becomes the latest victim of censorship in Turkey, as authorities seem to grow pricklier ahead of a critical plebiscite in April. Turkey
Turkey's AKP scrambles to contain crisis ahead of key vote Turkey’s government has enacted a series of economic measures to woo voters ahead of a key constitutional referendum, but the threat of the economic crisis is far from over. Turkey
Iran's priciest export at risk Overfishing and pollution are not only threatening production of Iran’s prized caviar, but also the health of millions of Iranians living along the shores of the Caspian Sea. Iran
In Palestine, no job means no health insurance The Palestinian government recently decided to halt health insurance for Palestinian unemployed citizens, sparking angry reactions among civil society organizations in light of the deteriorating economic conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian unemployed citizens. Palestine