Corruption and nepotism

The casket of Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen arrives for a prayer service at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, New Jersey, on Oct. 24, 2024.

Analysis

With Gulen dead, Turkey sees chance to weaken group, improve US ties

How Turkey will shape its strategy against Gulenists after the death of their leader, Ankara's arch nemesis?

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea (R) and Ronen Bar (2nd L), chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency, attend a ceremony.

Analysis

Iran expands spy network in Israel, recruiting Jews and Arabs for attacks

Iran is actively trying to recruit both Jews and Arabs for different spying tasks and to attack Israeli senior officials.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel arrests 7 nationals suspected of spying for Iran: What we know

Israeli authorities are saying the affair is one of the most serious espionage cases in recent Israeli history.

Mayor Eric Adams arrives for a press conference at 1 Police Plaza on April 18, 2023, in New York City.

What we know about Turkey-related charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

The indictment against Adams is largely based on his dealings with Turkish nationals and includes illegal travel benefits worth over $100,000.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran coal mine tragedy highlights prevalent corruption, workers' plight

Iranian miners look on at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran's Khorasan province on September 22, 2024. The blast caused by a gas leak at the coal mine in eastern Iran has killed at least 50 people, state media said on September 22, in one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. (Photo by Mohsen NOFERESTY / IRNA / AFP) (Photo by MOHSEN NOFERESTY/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Lebanon arrests ex-Central Bank chief Riad Salameh on embezzlement charges

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

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Analysis

How close is Lebanon to being added to FATF grey list for money laundering?

A clerk counts banknotes at a currency exchange office in Lebanon's capital Beirut, on January 20, 2023.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

What’s behind Algeria’s decision to send fuel to Lebanon?

Marwan Tahtah/Getty images

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

People pass in front of the shuttered door of a pharmacy during a nationwide strike of pharmacies to protest against a severe shortage of medicine, Tripoli, Lebanon, July 9, 2021.

Pharmacies in Lebanon shut, as bankrupt government plans airport expansion

Gas stations are also threatening to close as long as authorities continue to ignore the economic collapse, while protests resumed on Tuesday.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon’s bank chief charged with corruption, snubs EU investigators

Visiting Beirut, World Bank’s regional Vice President Ferid Belhaj has set three conditions to reconsider financing the country’s dilapidated electricity sector.

Lebanese protesters demonstrate against the monetary policies of Lebanon's Central Bank governor in the capital Beirut on January 25, 2023. - European investigators will question Lebanon's central bank chief Riad Salameh (portraits) next month as part of a probe into his and his brother's affairs, a judicial official told AFP earlier this week. Investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg heard witnesses in Beirut last week as part of the case of suspected financial misconduct including possible money

Lebanon's pound hits new bottom, ahead of Riad Salameh interrogation

A French judge arrived in Lebanon this week to question central bank head Riad Salameh over his alleged financial crimes.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh gestures during an interview with AFP at his office in the capital Beirut on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon’s bank chief Salameh in hot seat as French judge arrives in Beirut

The French judge will question Riad Salameh over the central bank governor’s alleged involvement in financial crimes.

Officers of the Directorate of Narcotics Control of the Interior Ministry sort through tablets of Captagon seized during a special operation and presented before AFP afterward, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2022.

UAE busts 4.5 million Captagon pills in food cans after smuggler arrest

Amphetamine fenethylline, known by its brand name Captagon, has increasingly become the drug of choice among youth in Gulf Arab states.

United Arab Emirates

Middle East corruption rankings: Syria most corrupt, UAE least, Turkey slipped

Corruption remains rampant across the Middle East and North Africa, Transparency International reports, with the region’s average score in combating corruption hitting a new low of 38.

A man walks past the World Bank building in Washington on April 21, 2022.

World Bank says debt increasing in Middle East countries

Egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (C) arrives at the parliament ahead of a confidence vote on a new government, Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2022.

Iraqi PM tries to assure skeptics of anti-corruption initiative

The new Iraqi prime minister says there will be no tolerance for human rights abuses in battling corruption.

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani addresses the Iraqi parliament on Oct. 27, 2022.

Will Iraq’s new anti-corruption campaign succeed?

New Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani started his government by announcing an anti-corruption program. Many great challenges, however, remain in his way.

Palestinian journalists protest in Gaza City against attacks on journalists in the Palestinian territories, Aug. 28, 2007.

Hamas cracks down on journalists, activists in Gaza

Hamas police forces continue to raid the homes of activists in the Gaza Strip who expose the corruption of Hamas figures and members.

Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather outside the parliament building on the seventh day of protests against the nomination of a rival Shiite faction for the position of prime minister, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 5, 2022.

What Iraq's rival Shiite forces want

The Shiite political parties are split into two rival camps, the Sadrists and the Coordination Framework, which is far less than unified.

A picture shows the damaged grain silos at the port of Beirut.

World Bank blames Lebanon for 'deliberate' economic crisis

The World Bank accused Lebanon’s elites of conducting “Ponzi finance” and deliberately pursuing harmful fiscal policies. Meanwhile, the Beirut port has caught fire again.