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
Qatar to fund Gaza's new industrial zone The Israeli blockade has crippled Gaza's exports, but a new industrial zone funded by Qatar in Gaza might alleviate the coastal enclave's financial burdens. Qatar
Rouhani out of time, support for revised nuclear deal US sanctions and Europe's failure to come up with a satisfactory substitute for the nuclear deal are weakening the moderates in Iran's government while inflaming the hawks. United States
Ankara goes on risky quest to cut interest rates Bent on lowering interest rates, Turkey’s president took the extreme step of ousting the central bank governor, but his insistence on rate cuts is fraught with risks that could fan fresh economic turmoil. Turkey
Can West Bank break free economically from Israel? The Palestinian government has decided to kick-start its economic disengagement plan from Israel in the city of Hebron. Palestine
Is Lebanon caught in the crossfire of the current US-Iranian standoff? With Iranian-backed Hezbollah playing a role in Lebanon's government, how much might the country suffer in case of a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran? Iraq
Will Palestinian private sector rescue national economy? Business owners are trying to launch an initiative to lend the financially struggling Palestinian Authority as much as $200 million, but this effort has yet to take shape. Palestine
Corrupt economy fuels Algerian revolt The North African country’s rentier model is collapsing. Algeria
New Israeli pipeline makes its way to Gaza An Israeli water company has started working on extending a water pipeline from Israel to Gaza with Qatari funding. Palestine
Israel bans Palestinian dairy, meat exports to East Jerusalem Israel has decided to ban Palestinian dairy and meat exports to East Jerusalem, which if the decision actually enters into force would result in the Palestinian government banning a number of Israeli firms from exporting their goods to the Palestinian territories. Palestine
Egypt-Saudi Arabia maritime demarcation agreement makes headlines again The governor of the Red Sea in Egypt revealed great gains for the Egyptian economy unknown by those opposing the controversial maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Solar, wind projects to help power West Bank A project jointly funded by the EU Commission and France will build infrastructure to harness renewable energy in the northern West Bank. Palestine
Settlement agreement ends Egypt's long-simmering gas dispute with Israel Egypt and Israel reached a settlement deal ending a long-standing dispute over Egypt’s decision to cancel gas exports to Israel. Egypt