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
Is Iran's inflation deflating economic recovery? Will the domestic pressures Rouhani is facing force him to abandon his goal of single-digit inflation? Iran
Car smuggling business revs up as Palestinians skirt Israeli restrictions Some car smugglers in Palestine are carrying out covert importation operations of Chinese cars from Egypt through the tunnels. Palestine
New gas fields add more heat to already simmering Mediterranean The recent gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have given the concerned countries, mainly Egypt, Turkey and Israel, a new urgency in settling their maritime border disputes. Egypt
An immigrant himself, Chobani yogurt founder becomes icon for refugees A Kurdish immigrant from Turkey, Hamdi Ulukaya became the founder and CEO of the top-selling Greek yogurt in the United States and has now pledged to donate much of his wealth to refugees. Turkey
Will new trade hall bring forth better Palestinian-Israeli economic relations? Economic relations between Israelis and Palestinians might be on their way to seeing improvement, but businessmen, mostly Palestinians, are still treading carefully. Palestine
Iraq's failing construction projects Corruption seems to be behind the failure of construction and development projects in Iraq. Iraq
Can Iran shield its embattled auto sector? Amid a parliamentary move to hike car import tariffs, debate surfaces on the wider problem of what to do about Iran's troubled auto sector. Iran
The changing fabric of foreign companies in Turkey The number of European companies in Turkey has stagnated, while the number of Asian companies is booming. Syria
Should European states transport refugees themselves? Refugees and migrants are paying thousands of dollars to smugglers to reach Europe, so why don't European governments cut into the trade and provide the migrants safe transportation? Iraq
Solar power pays off for enterprising Palestinians Palestinians are installing mini solar stations at home to produce electricity at affordable prices. Palestine
Tunisian prime minister promises economic, security reforms The head of Tunisia’s government says the country will have a new investment code soon and that despite emergency measures to deal with terrorism, there is no going back to authoritarianism. Tunisia
Imprisoned 'economic basij' pleads case to Rouhani Babak Zanjani, the former "economic basij" imprisoned for allegedly using international sanctions to keep $2 billion from the Oil Ministry, has claimed innocence in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani. Iran
