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
How exploitation of Crimea benefits Syria Over Crimea's five years under the Russian rule, the peninsula has been used in a number of ways to support various Russian activities in Syria. Syria
New program pushes role for Egyptian women in sustainable energy An international bank is working to increase the presence of Egyptian women in the field of green energy. Egypt
Barzani: Russia key to settlement between Assad and Syrian Kurds Manbij leaders prefer the United States, but would rather deal with Russia and Syria than Turkey; Amberin Zaman gets exclusive access to a prison for IS terrorists; did HTS force the resignation of a Syrian opposition leader?; Syrians protest Turkish truckers; Rouhani’s meeting with Sistani is "crowning achievement" of trip to Iraq. Iraq
Could Egypt turn into police state with new law proposal? In a move described by human rights activists as further restriction on people’s freedom, the Egyptian government agreed to a proposal to force landlords to report their tenants' information to the police. Egypt
Trump officials warn more Iran sanctions are coming State and Treasury department experts today warned a roomful of businesspeople that trade that is legal now may not be in the near future. Iraq
Despite friction, Egypt retains economic ties with Turkey, Qatar Some Egyptians have been calling for the government to seize Turkish and Qatari assets, but so far that hasn't seemed to sour foreigners on Egypt's investment offerings. United Arab Emirates
Moscow monitors situation in Algeria as protests continue Russia is watching widespread Algerian protests with caution, wanting to preserve its assets in the country, as well as its strategic relationship. Algeria
Iran's hard-liners praise Rouhani for boosting trade with Iraq Iran's hard-liners are over the moon that President Rouhani is listening to their advice and capitalizing on Iraq as a key trade partner in the wake of reinstated US sanctions. Iraq
Tunisia ends decadeslong agreement with France Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed decided to terminate an agreement with a French company exploiting sea salt, ending France’s monopoly over Tunisia’s salt market, which has been ongoing since the colonial era — but is this move part of an early electoral campaign? Tunisia
Profiteering, smuggling push Iran to consider ‘electronic’ food stamps Rampant profiteering and smuggling are forcing Iranian authorities to move toward a revamped system of direct subsidies for essential goods. Iran
Turkish-Iranian trade disappoints big time Turkish-Iranian trade has declined to its lowest level in nine years despite political rapprochement, a preferential trade agreement and the use of local currencies in economic ties. Turkey
Syrian truckers fear for jobs as Turkish drivers cross border Turkish trucks have been entering Syria through the recently opened Bab al-Salam crossing, to the protests of Syrian truckers and shippers. Syria