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
Mideast airlines out $7.2 billion so far as flights scrapped Airlines have already lost more than $7 billion as the coronavirus tears through the Middle East. Business
Egypt and Turkey's energy face-off in the Mediterranean Egypt signing an agreement with five major energy companies to start drilling in the Mediterranean off its coast near Libya raises the prospect of more friction developing with Turkey. Egypt
North Africa braces for coronavirus It remains unclear how the coronavirus outbreak will affect the economies and social fabric of North African countries. Algeria
Egypt suspending all flights amid coronavirus spread As the number of Egypt's COVID-19 cases rise to 150, Cairo says that all flights will be suspended for nearly two weeks and that tourism sites will be thoroughly sanitized. Egypt
Lebanon struggles to cope with COVID-19 amid financial crisis As Lebanon reels under the brunt of the worst financial crisis in its recent history, the government struggles to provide the necessary equipment to be able to cater for a potential increase in novel coronavirus cases. Lebanon
For Tunisia, recovery means modernizing economy Tunisia’s new government faces the formidable task of reversing the economy's downward spiral of the post-revolutionary years with an eye toward becoming a gateway to Africa. Tunisia
US prepares biting Syria sanctions as Assad pummels Idlib The United States is preparing to slap stringent sanctions on the Bashar al-Assad government as it pummels Idlib, raising questions about Syria’s long-term reconstruction. Syria
Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus. Iran
Mideast oil producers brace for impact of price slide The global coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices could spell a massive economic slowdown for oil-producing countries in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia
Does Moscow’s withdrawal from OPEC-plus deal end Russia-Saudi honeymoon? Russia’s decision to break off from the Saudis in the OPEC-plus agreement has some merits. Saudi Arabia
Coronavirus damages Iraqi economy with fall in tourism, oil prices COVID-19 has harmed both the private and public sectors of the Iraqi economy. Iraq
UAE shows path for peaceful nuclear development Fuel assemblies have been loaded into the first of four UAE nuclear power plants following the country's yearslong effort to develop major national and international support for nuclear energy. United Arab Emirates
