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
Iraqi Religious Tourism Declines Because of Weak Iranian Economy As the sanctions on Iran have reduced the number of Iranian tourists visiting Iraq, Baghdad should remedy the situation by diversifying its tourism sector. Iraq
US Pushes Palestine Economic Plan To Break Stalemate on Peace Talks As the Palestinian-Israeli talks reach a political deadlock, US officials are promoting a $4 billion economic plan to develop the Palestinian territories. Palestine
Israeli Job Market Closed To Arab Women Graduates The Israeli economy loses an estimated NIS 30 billion annually because most Arabs are not being employed. Israel
Will Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Reduce Economic Role? President Hassan Rouhani is carefully asking Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps to cut back on its economic projects. Iran
Iraq to Raise Bank Capital To Address Housing Crisis Iraq plans to increase the capital in the country’s two government banks from $23 million to about $360 million to address the growing housing crisis. Iraq
Turkey's New Prohibitions Lead To Underground Alcohol Market Many Turks are finding ways around the new restrictions on the sale of alcohol. Turkey
Iran’s Household Economics The Iranian government looks to control inflation, which is now surpassing 39%. Iran
Rouhani’s Central Asia Policies In Spotlight at SCO Summit Iran’s Central Asia policies under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani come into focus at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrzygstan. Iran
Syria War Paralyzes Region's Economies General instability in post-Arab Spring Middle Eastern countries, along with ongoing conflicts, has left the region's economic situation particularly dismal. Lebanon
Israel's Miscalculation On Egyptian Natural Gas Police protocols published this week shed light on the decision of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to solely rely on Egyptian natural gas, against partnering also with the Palestinians. Palestine
Iraq’s Faw Port Project Faces Continued Setbacks Iraq’s Grand Faw Port, planned to be one of the largest maritime ports in the gulf region, has been stalled due to political disputes. Iraq
Egypt Strives to Revive Tourism Sector With Egypt’s most vital economic sector, tourism, at record lows since revolution, the new government is launching a number of initiatives to attract tourists. Egypt
