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More corrupt or just more apparent? Lebanon is either becoming more corrupt or just appears so, according to the latest survey from the global corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI). The results of TI’s Global Corruption Barometer released last month showed that 82 percent of respondents think levels of corruption across 11 sectors and institutions have increased over the past three years. Over half the Lebanese surveyed (56 percent) believe that the government’s response to this perceived trend is also ineffective, which is more than the global and regional average. In fact, 34 percent of survey respondents stated that they paid a bribe in the past year to facilitate the provisioning of public services. The survey also revealed that the Lebanese think that political parties are the most corrupt entity in the country, followed by public officials and civil servants, MPs, the police, the judiciary and the media. Gas-inducing deals Israel