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
Turkey, Iran seek to boost trade as mistrust lingers Turkey and Iran have activated an accord to reduce tariffs and increase bilateral trade to $35 billion in 2015, but mistrust lingers between the two neighbors, with Turkey seeking international arbitration over the price of Iranian natural gas. Turkey
Lapid tries to become a statesman The Gaza war tampered with Finance Minister Yair Lapid's plan to pass a bill on housing prices, but did not delay his initiative for a regional conference. Israel
Turkey’s only Greek-language newspaper faces closure Turkey's only Greek-language newspaper is threatened with closure due to declining revenue following the financial crisis in Greece. Turkey
Iraqi prime minister’s task not an easy one Amid the security, political and social unrest, the tasks of Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Haider al-Abadi, will be hindered if the people do not unite. Iraq
Egyptians tolerating cuts in subsidies — for now The government mobilized its police forces to prevent any massive protest against its reduction in fuel subsidies; road infrastructure improvements also helped soften the blow of increased prices for consumers. Egypt
Iran’s oil minister accuses former officials of $2.7 billion oil fraud Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has claimed that former ministers under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration cooperated with billionaire Babak Zanjani to steal $2.7 billion in government money. Iran
Austerity measures won't save Egyptian economy Although Egyptian officials contend that recent austerity measures are designed to protect the poor in the long term, the immediate burden will fall on low-income households. Egypt
Will Turkey face another credit rating downgrade? Fitch Ratings has warned of high risks in Turkey, sparking concern that the agency, the first to raise Turkey to investment grade back in 2012, may now be the first to downgrade the country. Turkey
Power outages add to Aleppo’s suffering The electricity network in Aleppo has been severely damaged by the war, with power outages of more than a year in some neighborhoods. Syria
Liberman calls for economic boycott of Israel's Arabs Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's call for a boycott of the businesses of Arabs who identified with Gaza residents has added fuel to the fire that threatens the delicate relationship between Israel's Arabs and Jews. Israel
Turkey’s exports decrease amid regional tension Turkey has suffered unexpected declines in its exports to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine and Russia, though Turkish exports to Russia may have more potential following its recent foodstuff import boycott of the United States and European Union. Egypt
Will US court’s Argentina verdict impact Turkey? Argentina's recently declared bankruptcy may set a risky precedent for high-debt countries like Turkey. Turkey
