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
International Oil Companies Gamble on Turkey’s Shale Gas While information on Turkey's hydrocarbon reserves remains elusive, some shale investors are willing to take the risk. Turkey
Turkey's Choice: Chinese Missile Defense Or NATO? If Turkey moves ahead with the purchase of a Chinese missile defense system, Ankara will be opting out of a NATO system. Turkey
Chinese Clothing Imports on the Rise In Iraq As with other local markets around the world, availability of cheap Chinese-made clothing in Iraq has largely run the country’s secondhand-clothing merchants out of business. Iraq
Egypt-Qatar Relations Sour Over World Cup Broadcast Rights Qatar’s ties with Egypt have been further strained by a dispute over broadcast rights for soccer matches. Qatar
Iraq’s Film Industry Hits Bottom Once a popular pastime among Iraqis, cinema attendance has all but disappeared since 2003, to the detriment of youth aspiring to study cinema at Iraqi universities. Iraq
Aleppo's war economy Residents of Aleppo have moved beyond the initial shocks of war and are adjusting to make ends meet. Syria
Turkey's Road to China Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said NATO or any other country does not have the right to question Turkey’s decision to co-produce missiles with China. Turkey
Iran Export-Led Growth Strategy Depends on Sanctions Relief The government of President Hassan Rouhani is seeking to boost Iranian exports in order to grow the economy. Iran
Turkey’s Online 'Halal' Sex Shop Draws Ridicule, Criticism The Turkish media's response to the nation's first "halal" online sex shop has been a mixture of criticism and ridicule. Turkey
Iraq's Rare Animals Threatened by Violence A general lack of awareness has led to increasing cases of local Iraqi populations randomly killing rare animals they encounter. Iraq
Khaleeji Cities Are Present, Future As argued by Sultan al-Qassemi, the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi deserve to be recognized as the new, 21st century centers of the Arab world. Pan Arab
Gulf Cash Gives Jolt of Life To Egypt's Economy About $12 billion in aid and bank deposits are helping the Egyptian economy in the short term, but structural reforms are needed to sustain the economy in the long term. Saudi Arabia
