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
Small business lending on the rise for Egyptian women Small business lending for Egyptian women has increased significantly in 2018, allowing more women, especially in rural areas, to start their own enterprises. Egypt
Netanyahu’s government neglects scientific education Judging by budgets and funding, Israel is focused on settlements, not advancing scientific education. Israel
US cuts Iran oil waivers in move to force Tehran out of nuclear deal Washington is letting sanctions waivers for countries that import Iranian oil expire as it tries to make Iran quit the 2015 nuclear deal before a UN arms embargo is lifted next year as part of the agreement. United States
How incompetence, sanctions jointly hit Iran’s economy Facing stagflation, the Iranian authorities must shift course and de-politicize economic decisions such as foreign exchange policy and management of the country's money supply. Iran
Israelis not giving up on moon mission Despite the crash of the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet on the surface of the moon, young Israelis feel inspired. Israel
Egypt presses ahead with nuclear power Egypt's al-Dabaa site in the northern Marsa Matrouh governorate has won permits to begin construction for the country's first nuclear power station. Egypt
Banking on higher reserves, Egypt’s gas grid expands Egypt’s National Gas Grid is growing thanks to new natural gas discoveries. Egypt
Iranian hard-liners leverage IRGC terrorist designation to kill FATF bills The US designation of the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization has empowered Iranian hard-liners seeking to halt the passage of bills that would have Iran meet international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. United States
What does timing of Lavrov’s visit to Cairo mean? Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other officials during his visit to Cairo, focusing on political, economic and security ties between the two countries. Egypt
Can Russia, Iran, China agree on division of roles in Syria reconstruction? Moscow, Tehran and Beijing are all vying for a piece of the Syrian reconstruction business, but will they be able to divide their interests civilly, or are they doomed to rivalry? Syria
Is Egypt’s strategic financial plan overly ambitious? The Egyptian Ministry of Finance has an ambitious strategy for the next three years and the International Monetary Fund says Egypt is capable of achieving greater strategic objectives, but some economists on the ground have their worries. Egypt
Protests drag on as Algerians demand real change Protests in Algeria continue even with an interim president in place and fresh elections set for July, and the country’s economy may soon suffer. Algeria