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
Turkish lira slump continues as foreign tensions simmer The Turkish lira continued record losses Tuesday against major currencies as analysts questioned Central Bank independence and Ankara saw political spats deepen with foreign allies. Turkey
Iran downplays impacts of new US sanctions on oil industry A set of new US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector was shrugged off by officials in Tehran, who have been scrambling to keep the lifeline industry up and running in the face of US pressure. United States
Why Israelis flock to the Emirates The normalization agreement with the Emirates was signed just a few weeks ago, but Israeli businesspeople, athletes and tourists are already flocking there. United Arab Emirates
Israel-Emirates peace: An inside look Crisscrossing Dubai, journalist Ben Caspit says that his four-day visit to the emirate this week reveals the intense potential that lies in the recent outing of Israel’s covert relations with the United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates
Ghana signs joint airline deal with Egypt, bypassing Ethiopia EgyptAir has signed an agreement with Ghana to create a national airline after a similar deal with Ethiopian Airlines fell through. Egypt
Erdogan distracts from plummeting lira with call to boycott France Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused France’s Emmanuel Macron of pandering to anti-Muslim "fascists" in a desperate bid to bolster his electoral fortunes ahead of presidential elections in 2022, yet many would agree that Erdogan’s anti-Western tirades are designed to divert attention from his country’s mounting economic woes. Turkey
Can Gulf states adopt universal basic income? Existing social welfare systems have insulated Gulf nationals from changing economic realities and the likelihood of a major global energy transition in the coming decades. Gulf
Iran desperate to maintain Iraqi financial lifeline Iran seeks to maintain the flow of hard currency from Iraq to help it overcome the US sanctions. Iraq
Turkey-Egypt conflict in Libya goes to market Ankara held an economic forum to introduce Turkish products to the Libyan markets, prompting the Egyptian-Libyan Joint Economic Chamber to warn against Turkish efforts to seize Libyan wealth. Egypt
Israel, UAE agree Emiratis can stay without visas for 90 days Diplomats from the two Middle East countries also struck agreements on investment and aviation. United Arab Emirates
Israel, Bahrain sign air travel agreement The two countries agreed to establish weekly passenger and cargo flights between each other. It follows a similar arrangement between Israel and the UAE. Bahrain
Turkey blasts Greece, Cyprus, Egypt for 'baseless' Mediterranean accusations The three countries accused Turkey of threatening regional stability with its renewed exploratory mission in the contested waters. Turkey
