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
Fuel shortage chills northeast Syria as oil production lags The fuel shortage in northeast Syria has left civilians struggling to find cooking and heating fuel this winter. Syria
Kuwait’s new government takes charge following latest showdown with parliament A new Cabinet is sworn in to address economic and COVID-related challenges. Kuwait
Lebanon's Salameh threatens to sue Bloomberg over sanctions report Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the United States is considering sanctions on Lebanon’s central bank chief, Riad Salameh. Business
Oil prices continue to rise as Saudi Arabia and Russia talk production The price of Brent crude continued to increase above its pre-pandemic levels during the OPEC+ meeting Thursday. Gulf
Are Gulf oil giants ready to go green? As European and American oil companies face increased pressure and scrutiny on new climate restrictions, the Gulf has so far been avoided the heat. Saudi Arabia
Turkish inflation rises, raising expectations of further rate hikes Turkey’s inflation rate rose to 15.61% in February, marking the fifth month of consecutive increases and raising expectations for the central bank to introduce further rate hikes. Turkey
The Netherlands puts Qatar trade event on hold over foreign workers' deaths The Dutch government postponed a trade mission in Qatar after a report on thousands of workers dying there since the country was awarded the 2022 World Cup. Qatar
Lebanese pound falls to all-time low on black market as people protest Lebanon's harrowing economic crisis worsened when the pound fell against the dollar again on the black market. Lebanon
Dubai restaurants offer discounts for vaccinated diners A group of Dubai restaurants is offering discounts to customers who have been inoculated against the novel coronavirus as the emirate fights to control the pandemic without closing its doors. United Arab Emirates
Rise of Turkish lira is not felt by citizens in Syria’s Idlib Civilians in the areas controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in northwest Syria are reeling under exorbitant prices of goods and the lack of a strict supply control, while the Turkish lira, which is in circulation in those areas, rises against the US dollar. Syria
Lira slides as Erdogan defends former minister’s economic policies In response to criticism from the opposition, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the record of his son-in-law and former finance minister, sparking a 1% slide in the Turkish lira Monday after weeks of steady gains. Turkey
GCC states race for foreign investment Despite the Saudi-led effort to bury the hatchet with Qatar, unified economic policies are coming up against by GCC countries’ needs to win foreign investment post-COVID. Saudi Arabia
