Courts and the law

TOPSHOT - A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in a school in the district of Agouza in the Egyptian capital's twin city of Giza on the first day of the 2025 Egyptian Senate elections on August 4, 2025. Egypt's two-day vote beginning on August 4 will elect 200 of the 300 seats in the upper chamber of parliament, with the remaining third appointed directly by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who came to power after ousting Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. (Photo by Khal

Egypt holds second Senate vote as pro-Sisi parties dominate: What to know

The Senate elections, dominated by pro-Sisi government parties, feature fewer party list and individual candidates compared to elections held in 2020.

Flags of Jordan and the Muslim Brotherhood are waved with other protest signs denouncing the US-led Middle East economic conference in Bahrain, in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on June 21, 2019.

Jordan summons suspects accused of holding Muslim Brotherhood assets: What to know

The Hashemite Kingdom has taken a number of legal actions against the Islamist organization since banning them in April.

Iranians cross a street by a billboard with a portrait of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Enqelab Square, Tehran, July, 9, 2025.

Iran executions double to 625 as parliament mulls harsher espionage penalties

The United Nations said executions so far this year stand at 625, at the least, more than double the number for the same period last year.

Members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the road near the border with Israel in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura on March 19, 2025.

UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon comes under attack: What to know

A group of men blocked a UNIFIL patrol in southern Lebanon, citing the absence of a Lebanese army escort, leading to brief clashes in the latest incident involving local residents and the UN peacekeeping mission.

Latest News

US sanctions UN official overseeing Palestinian rights

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese (L).

Jordan targets charities for alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties: What to know

Supporters of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood take part in a protest in the village of Sweimeh.

In first AI crackdown, Turkey blocks access to some Grok content

RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Sozcu TV forced off air in latest crackdown on opposition: What to know

Turkey protest

A protester holds a Turkish flag in front of police officers during a rally in support of Istanbul's arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025.

Turkey detains more than dozen over boycotts as crackdown on celebrities expands

The crackdown against boycott calls is expanding with blocking of social media accounts and removal of actors from TV productions.

People with placards during a demonstration in support of Ekrem Imamoglu and political prisoners in Turkey and in solidarity with the resistance to the Erdogan regime in Paris France March 29, 2025. (Photo by Bastien Ohier / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN OHIER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey fines Meta for refusing to restrict Facebook, Instagram over Imamoglu protests

Unlike X, which has suspended social media accounts at the request of the Turkish government, Meta says it has faced heavy fines in Turkey for refusing to do so.

Civil Guard agents are pictured in an anti-terrorist operation against a Hezbollah drone manufacturing facility in this undated photo.

Spain arrests 3 suspects accused of supplying Hezbollah with drone parts

This is the second time in under a year that Spanish authorities have arrested individuals with links to Hezbollah.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Former US President Donald Trump gestures as US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) addresses the crowd during a 2024 election campaign event in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 28, 2023. Trump hits the campaign trail Saturday for the first time in a third bid for the US presidency overshadowed by intensifying criminal investigations and a firestorm of political controversy. The twice-impeached Republican, whose party lost the White House and both chambers of Congress during his term, makes his case for anoth

Analysis

How criticism of Trump may have sunk Netanyahu's Shin Bet nominee

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s objection to Eli Sharvit’s nomination as the new Shin Bet chief may have been a key factor in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to rescind the appointment on Tuesday.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A picture taken on Oct. 17, 2017, shows excess flammable gasses burning from gas flares at the Havana oil field, west of the multiethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Exclusive

Iraq seeks more compensation from Turkey, 'blocks' reopening of Kurds' oil pipeline

Disputes over oil revenues and arbitration claims have kept the Kurdish pipeline closed.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Sharvit

Meet Eli Sharvit, Trump critic and Netanyahu's outsider nominee to lead Shin Bet

In a surprise move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nominated former Israeli naval commander Eli Sharvit to become Shin Bet chief despite his lack of intelligence experience.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

What does Netanyahu's judicial law mean for Israel's separation of powers?

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Yesh Atid's Karin Elharar slammed the new composition of the nominating committee for judges, a move, she said, toward the government’s goal of eroding the judiciary's power.

Ballot papers are counted after members of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipal Council cast their votes to elect an interim deputy mayor.

Turkey deports BBC reporter as detentions near 1,880 amid protest crackdown

A BBC journalist was deported as Turkish authorities widened their media crackdown, with around 250 people having been detained pending trial during protests.

Newly elected interim mayor of Istanbul, Nuri Aslan of CHP, waits to speak to the media on March 26, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey's opposition elects acting mayor as Imamoglu remains detained, protests persist

The Turkish president accuses opposition of sabotaging the economy amid ongoing detentions against protestors over the arrest of the Istanbul mayor.

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Emboldened by Trump, Netanyahu is driving Israel into judicial crisis

Empowered by moves in Washington, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and is pushing for the sacking of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Ronen Bar, chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency, attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery, on May 13, 2024.

How Netanyahu's sacking of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar could backfire on Israel

The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is likely to further erode Israel’s rule of law and democratic principles.

Turkey

Turkey suspends Imamoglu’s mayoral duties, keeps him under arrest as more protests expected

The Istanbul mayor was temporarily suspended from his duties after his formal arrest by an Istanbul court on Sunday.