For months, some of Israel’s top political figures have been embroiled in a series of growing corruption scandals that threaten to bring down the government. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has also been implicated and could face increasing pressure to resign from office as the story unfolds. In an email interview, Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf explains the backdrop of the multiple corruption investigations, what it all means for Netanyahu’s position as prime minister, and why Israel’s corruption problems date back decades. WPR: Can you describe the current set of corruption scandals unfolding in Israel and who is involved? Noam Sheizaf: There [...]
The legislative and local elections currently taking place in the Republic of Congo are intended to complete the process of installing a new government following a deeply divisive constitutional reform process in 2015. But government critics believe the first round of voting that took place Sunday was significant for another reason: It highlighted, they say, authorities’ struggle to confront an array of social and security challenges as President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s political legitimacy weakens. With the exception of a five-year span from 1992 to 1997, Sassou Nguesso has served as president of the central African nation since 1979. Facing term [...]
