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
The long road to labeling settlement products In a discussion with Al-Monitor, Charles Shamas, a Palestinian entrepreneur involved in exporting Palestinian products to Europe, traced the path to the European Union guidelines for labeling settlement products. Palestine
Former prisoners opening Palestinians' eyes onto Israel Palestinians who learned Hebrew while in Israeli prisons have established research and language centers in Gaza for Palestinians to learn Hebrew and about Israeli affairs. Palestine
Will Russia's economic restrictions on Turkey backfire? Some worry Turkey’s losses from an angry Russia could reach $20 billion, but others expect the figure to be much lower and point out that Russia’s losses will be no less painful. Turkey
Syrian war redraws country's economic map The Syrian war is not only breaking apart the country’s social cohesion, but also its economic unity. Syria
Is Netanyahu the 'great gas robber'? Appearing before the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee, Benjamin Netanyahu avoided answering questions before pulling out the national security card to defend the current natural gas outline. Egypt
Food trucks idle in Israeli bureaucracy The Israeli authorities are maintaining barricades on the route of businesses hoping to bring the trendy and profitable food trucks concept to Tel Aviv. Israel
Will Palestinians take advantage of EU decision to label settlement products? Palestinians are seeking to achieve economic gains from the EU decision to label products from settlements, by increasing their exports to EU markets. Palestine
Ankara falls into Moscow's trap Ankara is now being compelled to backtrack on its Syria policy in the face of Russian threats and sanctions, while the United States stands as one of the prime beneficiaries of the crisis. Syria
How to get Iran's drifting economy back on track Following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s call for a "command headquarters" for the economy in the post-sanctions era, there is increasing debate in Iran about the need for clear guidance of the economy. Iran
Why is the dollar surging in Iran? In Iran, the dollar rate is rising, potentially harming Rouhani and his allies ahead of crucial elections. Can, and will, Rouhani and the Central Bank move in to counter this surge? Iran
Will Turkey be able to replace Russian gas with Qatari imports? Although Qatar cannot replace Russian gas for Turkey, it is promising to see that Ankara is exploring new strategies for diversifying its long‐term energy supply. Qatar
Gazans' dark secret? They've become chocoholics Chocolate used to be on the Israeli list of banned items, but not anymore, as chocolate shops have been proliferating in light of the increasing demand in Gaza. Palestine
