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 remains stable after US sanctions Turkey’s currency remained relatively stable Tuesday after the United States imposed limited sanctions on Ankara for acquiring Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. Turkey
Critics say Turkey’s unfinished nuclear plant already redundant Turkey’s power plant building spree has resulted in an enormous idle capacity but the construction of new plants continues at the expense of taxpayers despite the country’s bruising economic woes. Turkey
Egypt embarks on ambitious Red Sea yacht harbor project Egypt has begun construction of a yacht harbor in Dahab to promote yacht tourism with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia
Normalization with Morocco warms Israeli hearts Unlike the normalization deals with Bahrain and with the United Arab Emirates, the imminent deal between Israel and Morocco will be built on centuries of common history and heritage. Israel
Ex-Israeli space program head claims aliens exist and Trump is aware Haim Eshed told an Israeli newspaper that the US government had struck an "agreement" with the extraterrestrials. Israel
EU to sanction Turkey over gas-drilling activities At a summit in Brussels Thursday, European leaders appeared ready to impose sanctions on Turkish individuals and companies linked to energy-prospecting activities in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that have raised regional tensions over the last year. Turkey
Opposition turns up pressure on Erdogan over defense dealings with Qatar Turkey’s political opposition has stepped up pressure on the government over its often-opaque dealings with Qatar as the country’s tank production contract, awarded to a Turkish-Qatari joint venture, remains bogged down. Qatar
Egypt wins strong foothold in Iraq’s reconstruction Millions of Egyptian workers may benefit from their government's involvement in Iraq’s massive reconstruction process. Egypt
Egypt, Iraq deepen defense ties Egypt and Iraq are expanding defense industry ties in a sign of deepening engagement among Cairo, Baghdad and Amman. Egypt
No relief in sight for Mideast hotspots after catastrophic 2020 Conflict, disease, famine compound crises in Gaza, Yemen, Syria. Regional
How realistic are Turkey’s ambitions over strategic corridor with Azerbaijan Turkey is pinning high economic hopes on a transport link that would connect it to Azerbaijan and beyond, but Russia and Iran have caveats and the viability of Turkey’s projects are open to question. Turkey
Bahraini minister comments on Israeli settlements products label controversy Commerce Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani said Bahrain "has no issue with labeling or origin" of Israeli products during a visit to Israel, which angered Palestinian officials. Bahrain
