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
New Turkish mayors weaponize transparency against wasteful spending Turkey’s new mayors are using transparency efforts to undermine AKP-majority governing bodies while protecting their work from obstruction. Turkey
Iraq throws Turkey curveball in bilateral trade Baghdad’s recent restrictions on imported goods have badly bruised Turkey’s food exporters, calling into question the target of $20 billion in bilateral trade. Iraq
Is Iran bargaining chip for Russia in relations with the US? Russia has a lot less incentives to bargain over Iran than the United States believes. Russia
Why Lebanon is against Kushner's deal of the century Lebanon supports the two-state solution for Palestinians and rejects the Trump administration's economic deal of the century. Palestine
Erdogan finds warm welcome, 'shared vision' in Beijing Turkey and China put their differences aside at a summit to expand trade and investment, but Beijing’s treatment of its Uighur minority and competition over foreign markets still trouble the relationship. Turkey
Iran exceeds enriched uranium limit set by nuclear deal Iranian sources have informed the media that Iran has exceeded a stockpile of 300 kilograms of 3.67% enriched uranium as a step toward reducing its commitments under the nuclear deal. United States
There is no room left for Erdogan in Sudan turmoil Sudan’s international failures have provided Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan several opportunities, but now some of the moves are likely to generate significant costs for Turkey. Gulf
Bahrain conference showcases Israeli ties with Gulf states A significant cornerstone on the way to overt normalization between Israel and the pragmatic Sunni states was laid this week in Bahrain at the US-led economic workshop. Saudi Arabia
Egypt reacts to Erdogan's murder charge with boycott Egyptians have called for a boycott campaign of Turkish products after the Turkish president accused the Egyptian regime of killing former President Mohammed Morsi. Egypt
Tel Aviv’s got scooter mania The Tel Aviv municipality is trying to bring order to the chaos unleashed across the urban landscape by the electric scooter craze. Israel
Ankara’s economic tasks grow tougher after election rout Reeling from a crushing defeat in a critical election rerun, Turkey’s government faces an uphill track in efforts to fix the economy, littered with major political risks, both at home and abroad. Turkey
Palestinians expect little from Bahrain summit Many analysts are skeptical about the economic plan for the West Bank and Gaza that the US administration has prepared for this week's workshop in Bahrain. Bahrain