corruption

Killer profits in Lebanon’s medicine trade reveal the dystopia faced by its people

The story of the pharmaceuticals crisis reveals the country's wider social, political, and economic dynamics

Lina Khatib 02 December 2023

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani takes oath after parliament gives a confidence vote to Cabinet led by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in Baghdad, Iraq on October 27, 2022.

One year on: How has Al-Sudani's government performed in Iraq?

Rhetoric and internal political manoeuvring need to be put to one side, and the prime minister must deliver tangible improvements to the everyday quality of life for millions of Iraqis.

Ayad Al-Anbar 28 October 2023

People attend a collective funeral for victims of the wedding hall fire in Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniyah, on September 29, 2023.

AFP

Iraq and death have formed a bond its corrupt leaders leave unbroken

The political elite vies for influence and wealth, while blind to its own inability to provide the basic form of government needed to keep people safe in this land of an ever-rising death toll

Ayad Al-Anbar 03 October 2023

The origins of this mafia class can be traced back to the power vacuum the US invasion of Iraq created in 2003. 20 years later its influence is pervasive and its presence ostentatious.

AP/AFP/MAJALLA

The conspicuous rise of Iraq's mafia class

The origins of this mafia class can be traced back to the power vacuum the US invasion of Iraq created in 2003. 20 years later, its influence is pervasive and its presence aggravating.

Ayad Al-Anbar 13 August 2023

A handout photo made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service shows Russian peacekeepers attending a welcome ceremony upon returning from a mission in Kazakhstan on the military base in Ivanovo, Russia, 15 January 2022. RUSSIAN FEDERATION (EPA Photos)

Kazakhstan’s “Bloody January” and its Aftermath

Kazakhstan has just weathered a major crisis sparked by skyrocketing fuel prices. Dissent is rare in Kazakhstan as a result of the fact that it is one of the least free countries in Central Asia run…

Maia Otarashvili 04 February 2022

This aerial image taken on Jan. 23, 2022, shows police cars guarding the crime scene where journalist Lourdes Maldonado was murdered in Santa Fe, Tijuana's outskirts, Baja California, Mexico. (Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Mexico Must End Killings of Journalists

On Jan. 23, Mexican journalist Lourdes Maldonado López was shot dead in her car in front of her home in Tijuana. She was the third Mexican journalist to be murdered that month, after another Tijuana…

Miriam Davidson 31 January 2022

Tunisia's President Kais Saied, center, leads a security meeting with members of the army and police forces in Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, July 25, 2021. (Photo by Hedi Azouz/AP)

Tunisia’s Challenge to Keep the Boat Afloat

Tunisia; the geographically small, historically ancient, and demographically young and vibrant North African country, which is located at one of the most beautiful spots at the southern Mediterranean…

Dalia Ziada 06 August 2021

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This handout photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 10 November 2025, shows US President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington DC.

SANA / AFP

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Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

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Since Trump began lifting sanctions in May, no time has been wasted. US investment delegations have been flocking to Damascus, and security cooperation has already started.

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Can Trump make peace or just ceasefires?

12 November 2025

The US president hasn't invested enough political capital in the painstaking details of peacemaking. Instead, he has focused on short-term truces he can boast about in his quest for a Nobel prize.

Christopher Phillips