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 Turkish Stream a pipe dream? Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved. Turkey
Libyan air force attacks Turkish ship Turkey’s foreign policy was the real target when Libyan forces struck a Turkish freighter off the coast of Derne, killing one crew member and wounding five others. Turkey
Egypt outlaws workers’ right to strike A court ruling in Egypt has criminalized the right to strike, which not only violates the Egyptian Constitution, but also the UN’s International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural rights. Egypt
New marketplace brings Egyptian manufacturing online Tajerinn, a new website, may help local manufacturers in Egypt by connecting buyers and sellers of raw materials and developing an efficient local marketing strategy. Egypt
What will lifting sanctions do to Iran's rial? The removal of sanctions will likely substantially strengthen the rial and could lead to a wave of cheap and wasteful imports into Iran, economists have warned. Iran
Egypt's independent media outlets face closures A dip in profits is pushing Egyptian media institutions to become government mouthpieces, negatively impacting their content. Egypt
Gaza's honey production slows to a drizzle Beekeepers in Gaza are currently experiencing a low in honey production due to the latest Israeli war on Gaza, during which the Israeli army destroyed vast agricultural lands. Palestine
Islamic loans give Gaza's women chance to survive poverty Poverty and unemployment have pushed many women to become the source of income to their families, thus seeking to open their own enterprises through Islamic loans. Palestine
Turkey avoids economic pain with EU trade agreement Turkey would have suffered heavy economic consequences if it was left out of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the world’s largest free trade zone. Turkey
Ultra-Orthodox start to join 'startup nation' Six high-tech startups by ultra-Orthodox Israelis, some of them women, were selected by the Kamatech accelerator project for mentorship and funding assistance. Israel
Price impact of Iranian oil uncertain, says US official In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, says Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in renewables, international oil companies are returning to Egypt and Israel needs get its regulatory house in order if it wants foreign investments in offshore natural gas. Gulf
Restricted by Israeli boats, Gaza resorts to fish farms Israel prevents Gaza’s fishermen from going too far from shore to fish pushing consumers to buy from fish farms at lower prices. Palestine
