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
Syrian businessman denies ties to Beirut explosives Businessman George Haswani told Reuters the accusations against him are a fabrication. Lebanon
Turkish firms fined over 'exorbitant' food prices as inflation soars Turkey’s Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday it would issue nearly $500,000 in fines for companies it found to be charging "exorbitant" prices for food as the nation grapples with high inflation. Turkey
Iran demands answers from Indonesia over seized oil tanker Indonesia seized an Iranian fuel tanker on Sunday, accusing the vessel of failing to respond to radio calls and disabling its identification system. Iran
Israel's subsea gas, oil fields heat up International consortiums are showing increasing interest in developing Israel’s offshore oil and gas fields. Israel
Etihad to resume flights to Doha as Gulf crisis ends Following the United Arab Emirates reopening its airspace to Qatar, the Abu Dhabi-based airline will restart flights to the Qatari capital next month. United Arab Emirates
Privacy concerns mar Israeli deal with Pfizer Some Israelis are worried that the agreement with Pfizer prioritizing Israel in its vaccine distribution involves the provision of personal information to the company. Israel
Turkey faces alarming increase in public debt Turkey’s public debt has swelled more than 40% over a year, adding to economic risks despite a relative recovery in the second half of 2020. Turkey
Iraq approves Paris climate accord in step toward curtailing oil dependence Iraq faces significant hurdles in transitioning to an economy without oil dependence, and future trends can be expected to exacerbate those challenges. Iraq
Twitter, Pinterest face ad ban in Turkey under new social media law The Turkish government issued advertising bans for Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest Tuesday when the platforms refrained from complying with a controversial social media law human rights advocates say will stifle free speech online. Turkey
Egypt resumes trade at Sinai port as Islamic State threat regresses Egypt has recently reopened the Al-Arish port in North Sinai as part of efforts to revive the economy in the area that has struggled under years of Islamist insurgency. Egypt
Palestinian factory workers strike in West Bank industrial zone Palestinian workers at the Yamit factory in a West Bank industrial zone are striking for their first substantial raise in decades. Palestine
Egypt reopening airspace to Qatar after 3½-year row Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have already announced the end of their bans on flights from Qatar. Gulf
