Corruption and nepotism

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq arrests deputy oil minister in anti-corruption push

The arrest of Adnan al-Jumaili marks a second signification step against corruption by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s government amid growing pressure from the Trump administration.

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Six months before Israel's next elections, opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid have decided to run on one anti-Netanyahu ticket.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A member of the Alawite community pastes on a wall, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli , on December 6, 2007, pictures of Syrian opposition leader Rifaat al-Assad (R) and his son Ribal.

Rifaat al-Assad, perpetrator of Syria's 1982 Hama massacre, dies at 88

Known for his role in the 1982 Hama massacre, the late member of Syria’s former ruling family oversaw the killing of tens of thousands of civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the State Dining Room at the White House, on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

After Trump’s pardon letter to Herzog, 4 scenarios emerge for Netanyahu’s trial

President Donald Trump again asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been on trial for over five years.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

French cement giant Lafarge on trial for ‘funding terrorism’ in Syria: What to know

Former Director General of Lafarge Bruno Lafont (C) and French lawyer Jacqueline Laffont arrive on the opening day of the trial.

Morocco arrests 400+ as youth protesters demand government steps down

ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT/AFP via Getty Images

5 years after Lebanon's port explosion: Can Beirut find accountability?

A picture shows a metal installation set up across from the destroyed Beirut port silos during a gathering to honour the victims of the catastrophic port explosion in 2020 and to call for accountability for the blast, in Beirut on August 4, 2025. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on August 4, vowed justice and accountability five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port, as the investigating judge finished questioning defendants, a judicial official said. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSE

Analysis

Trump’s intervention fuels debate in Israel: Will Netanyahu accept plea deal or pardon?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the District Court in Tel Aviv, on Dec. 16, 2024.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is seen in the court room as he waits for the judges at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem December 29, 2015. Israel's top court slashed Olmert's prison sentence to 18 months from six years on Tuesday after overturning the main count in his 2014 bribery conviction. Olmert, 70, will begin serving his term on Feb. 15, according to live reports from the Jerusalem courtroom, making him the first former head of government in Israel to go to prison. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool

Disgraced former Israeli PM drums up support for unlikely pardon

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has asked the president to expunge his criminal record so he will be again eligible for political office.

An Iranian woman pays a 20000 rial banknote (around 70 US Cent), bearing a portrait of Iran's late founder of islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to a grocer in Tehran on September 30, 2012. Iran's currency, the rial has lost over 60 percent of its value since the end of last year, as draconian Western economic sanctions take effect that has spurred already high inflation to even greater heights, with food costs soaring more than 50 percent. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read A

What's behind Iran's massive capital flight?

While a large amount of hard currency has left Iran in the years since the implementation of the nuclear deal, the picture is more complex than a simple case of investors rushing to move their capital outside the country.

Iranian conservatives ask supreme leader for reforms

Conservative officials and activists aligned with former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the need for reforms.

Jordan protests escalate as lawyers boycott court

Members of the Jordanian Bar Association are refusing to appear in the military-run State Security Court in defense of protesters arrested while demonstrating against the government's decision to lift bread subsidies.

Agricultural workers pick cotton from a field on October 8, 2017 in Hatay. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Virtual farming game cheats Turks out of real property

Turkish prosecutors have opened an investigation into a young man being accused of using a Ponzi scheme to bilk around 80,000 Turks out of millions of dollars.

Ahmadinejad attacks Quds Force commander Soleimani

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to discuss his government’s "working relationship" with Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

Lebanon elections pit old guard against new movement

Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, slated for May 6 under a new electoral law, include a new movement determined to break the control of political dynasties.

Some 40 million Turks ruled by appointed, not elected, mayors

Institutions, including private ones, whose officials were once elected are being taken over by government-appointed trustees in the president's ever-expanding arena of influence.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Special counsel Robert Mueller (C) leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. The committee meets with Mueller to discuss the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The dealmaker: Mueller witness helped broker $4.2 billion Iraq-Russia arms deal

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s latest interest, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, has a long history of mysterious dealings in the Middle East despite a low profile in Washington.

United Arab Emirates

Top officials in Netanyahu's party kept in the dark

Uncertainty within the Likud Party is growing as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not share with party seniors his plans to deal with the coalition crisis or with police investigations against him.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the UN Security Council at UN headquarters in New York, U.S., February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RC1A9D8FCE50

Abbas rivals abroad wary as PA joins Interpol

As Interpol's newest member, some rivals of President Mahmoud Abbas fear the Palestinian Authority may be tempted to misuse its new connections to pursue them.

Operation 'Save Netanyahu'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting police investigations into corruption by delegitimizing the police and legal systems and by preparing for early elections.