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
What oil markets' 'bloody Monday' means for Gulf producers Gulf producers must navigate between an angry White House and Congress, with the threat of tariffs, and uncertainty regarding Asian partners and demand as a result of the pandemic. Gulf
Jordan eases lockdown, focuses on opening economy Jordan ends the lockdown in Aqaba while keeping certain restrictions in place and eases curfews elsewhere as the region's first country to enforce a nationwide lockdown now seeks to gradually reopen its economy. Jordan
Containing corruption key to Iran’s economic recovery Iran is struggling to restart its economy in the face of COVID-19, sanctions and unchecked government misconduct, yet a recent report indicates that addressing these problems could fuel economic growth by next year. Business
Repatriation flights take stranded workers home to Pakistan from UAE The first flight of 20 special flights to repatriate Pakistanis stranded in the United Arab Emirates left Dubai on Saturday. United Arab Emirates
Erdogan’s dream airport in dire straits amid pandemic The company operating Istanbul’s new mega airport appears unlikely to hold on for even a few months without assistance, as the COVID-19 pandemic hits Turkey’s aviation industry. Turkey
Arab Israelis prepare for subdued Ramadan Ramadan is just a few days away, but in Arab Israeli towns and villages there is no holiday spirit in the air. Israel
For Gulf, South Asia countries, worst is yet to come The pandemic is expected to be especially hard on migrant workers in the Mideast and South Asia, as it has left many of them unemployed and struggling to return home to an uncertain future. Gulf
How US dumping duties will affect Egypt’s aluminum industry The United States, one of Egypt’s key target markets, intends to impose customs duties on Egyptian aluminum sheets imports, which could hamper expansion and production increase. Egypt
How is Palestine dealing with added hunger, poverty from COVID-19? Thousands of new Palestinian households fell below the poverty line due to COVID-19 which is an additional challenge to the government’s efforts in the fight against the epidemic and ramifications on the community. Palestine
Mideast economies to see biggest downturn in four decades, IMF projects Almost every country in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia is expected to have negative gross domestic product this year, and the overall GDP for the region is expected to contract by an average of 3.1%. Gulf
Dubai to reopen some food stores to pre-Ramadan shoppers UAE grocers will be allowed to briefly reopen ahead of Ramadan, with stores subject to social distancing and sanitation inspection. United Arab Emirates
Banks can't save Gulf economies Because of the way they are set up, GCC banks will have a hard time providing the funds that could help jump-start regional economies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll. Gulf
