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
History repeats itself in Iran's currency exchange market The Iranian rial continues to lose value against foreign currency, as exporters face high costs due to sanctions and the government continues a policy of forcing them to accept low exchange rates. Iran
East-Med undersea pipeline project now ratified by Israel Advancing the East-Med project one step further, Israel’s government ratified the agreement signed last January with the governments of Cyprus and Greece. Israel
Closing borders due to COVID-19 revives Iraqi agriculture Iraq's agriculture sector has been revived in the past few months, after the government closed its borders and banned the import of agricultural produce as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outbreak. Iraq
Russia considers Saudi Arabia as trial site for COVID-19 vaccine The two countries are also discussing having Saudi Arabia manufacture the drug. Saudi Arabia
Jordan's international airport to reopen in August Jordan has had relatively few COVID-19 cases, but some citizens are upset at the damage to the economy during the pandemic and accompanying restrictions. Jordan
Egypt accuses Ethiopia of stonewalling on Nile dam Egypt has accused Ethiopia of resisting making any of the concessions needed to reach an agreement on Addis Ababa's controversial dam on the Blue Nile. Egypt
UN high court sides with Qatar in aviation dispute The aviation row centers on a years-long air boycott imposed by Qatar's regional rivals. Qatar
Is it 12% or 52%? Turks disagree on jobless rate Turkey’s unemployment problem is unlikely to scale down to pre-pandemic levels, bound to remain the main pressure factor on the country’s economy and politics. Turkey
Virus survivors rake in cash for plasma on Iraq’s black market Recovered coronavirus patients in Iraq are selling their blood plasma for $2,000 per liter on the black market as health leaders watch in dismay. Iraq
The long road to post-COVID economic recovery in the Middle East Indicators show that economic recovery across the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf following the coronavirus pandemic may take longer and more effort than initially thought. Gulf
Cairo cozies up to Baghdad, condemns Turkish attacks in Iraq Egypt's efforts to sideline Turkey in Iraq have expanded as Cairo cements economic and military ties with Baghdad. Egypt
Israel creates plan to develop, protect Sea of Galilee The Galilee Sea development plan aims to regulate the local tourism industry and protect the region’s sensitive ecosystems. Israel
