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
Why Egypt's 'white gold' production is now in decline Egyptian cotton exports take another thumping in the latest agricultural season, and local cotton consumption drops as cotton cultivation becomes too heavy a financial burden for Egyptian farmers to bear. Egypt
Are Gaza's mosques wasting electricity? In light of the Gaza Strip's electricity crisis, some Gazans believe mosques are largely contributing to the problem with unnecessary electricity consumption. Palestine
Why Tel Aviv's embrace of street art worries some artists While the Tel Aviv municipality usually condemns illegal street art, it sees value in its appearance in poor neighborhoods. Israel
Military trials are making a comeback in Egypt A new decree aimed at protecting public land allows civilians to be brought before military courts. Egypt
Why Iran should come off financial watchdog’s blacklist Given major international banks’ continued reluctance to engage with Iranian counterparts despite the nuclear deal, getting Iran off of the FATF blacklist is a key step in addressing this threat to the nuclear deal. United States
Why Gaza's beachgoers will be shelling out more money this summer This year, the municipality of Gaza reduced the number of licenses granted for beach resorts, allowing only four and raising license fees, which will affect the price of services offered to the public in these places. Palestine
Why beefing up private security could leave Turks feeling less secure A surge in the private security sector raises questions about the surge's cause, and about its potential to deteriorate quality of service and basic rights. Turkey
Poker-faced Netanyahu gambles with US aid money Top Israeli politicians and security officials are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the aid package offered by the United States and not take the needless risk of holding out for more. Israel
Iranian economists worry about both Clinton and Trump Iranian economists aren’t terribly excited about the departure of US President Barack Obama. United States
Gaza’s women use the internet to sell homemade meals In light of the harsh economic conditions in the Gaza Strip, some housewives have decided to sell their homemade dishes online, which has turned out to be popular, especially during the month of Ramadan. Palestine
How Turkish energy giant's plans to light up Iran could boost Rouhani The Belgium-based Turkish energy firm Unit International’s announcement that it will build seven natural gas-powered electricity production plants worth $4.2 billion in Iran could bring major benefits for the two countries. Turkey
Foreign investment in Turkey is rising, but not the type it needs In the past five years, 24,000 new foreign companies have set up shop in Turkey, but due to a lack of confidence they have avoided industrial production. Turkey
