CONTEMPLATING DESPAIR: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat takes a break during a meeting at his Ramallah headquarters, where he remains immobilised -- Israel's prisoner

Opinion

WAR COVERAGE

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Going home
After twice cancelling hearings, the Court of Cassation announced yesterday that Saadeddin Ibrahim would be granted a re-trial. Jailan Halawi attended the courtroom

Egypt

Intensive contacts for peace
Egypt is pushing ahead on all tracks to restore calm in the region. Nevine Khalil reviews the latest diplomatic moves

The tip of the iceberg
As European countries step up their cooperation with Egypt in the global war on terrorism, a human rights organisation has expressed concern about the future of those extradited, reports Jailan Halawi

Economy

Old ties, new money
An Egyptian ministerial delegation recently visited India to stimulate economic ties. Mukul Devichand reports on how the free market is changing the relationship between the former pillars of Third World unity

Where has all the money gone?
As figures dribble out revealing how badly Egypt was hit by 11 September, Jasper Thornton looks at the state of Egypt's foreign revenue earnings

IT

Smooth sailing in troubled waters
The clash of civilisations may be upon us, writes Mukul Devichand, but one Cairo-based Web site is opening up a profitable chink of light in our suspicious world

The strides ahead
Free Internet, the CIT Ministry and Telecom Egypt were the stars of this year's Cairo Telecomp exhibition. Amira Howeidy went along

Region

The Sharon sidestep
Ariel Sharon uses diplomacy to avoid politics. Graham Usher writes from Jerusalem

Not beyond the Green Line
The ranks of a new vanguard of opposition to Israel's military occupation of Palestinian land -- a group of reserve soldiers in the Israeli army -- were swelling this week. Jonathan Cook reports from Jerusalem

Arafat's dilemma
The resumption of Israel's policy of assassination, destruction and bloodshed flies in the face of intensive diplomatic efforts aimed at reviving the peace process.Khaled Amayreh reports from Hebron

The road to Baghdad
Despite a backdrop of overt US threats against Iraq, the Arab League secretary-general is urging the resumption of Baghdad-UN negotiations. Dina Ezzat writes

International

Winner's rules
Nyier Abdou sifts fact from fiction on the legal status of the prisoners taken to Guantanamo Bay

Keeping the fight alive
Violent upheavals in Gardez and Mazar-i Sharif reveal that international efforts to restore order in Afghanistan may not have been enough, reports Absar Alam from Islamabad

'One more misery'
Fatemah Farag follows the cruel saga of an American reporter's abduction in Pakistan

Rearranging the chessboard
The United States has gained a foothold in Central Asia. Now it has to dig its heels deeper, writes Galal Nassar

Features

A people at ground zero
Although a semblance of peace has been restored to Afghanistan, refugees from the war-torn country face a bleak future, writes Iffat Malik from Islamabad

1952 Special

Sent away
Who was King Farouk? Fayza Hassan attempts to understand the last monarch of Egypt: failed king, cheap crook and philanderer, or misunderstood sovereign and maligned ruler?

Happy birthday, Your Majesty
King Farouk's birthday celebrations in 1952 were unusually subdued. Amina Elbendary reads through the pages of Al-Ahram to gauge the popular mood in that fateful year

Living

Travel

Love and hardship
They threw caution to the wind, but now they are paying the price. Romeo and Juliet? Hardly. Niveen Wahish looks at the daily travails of Egyptian women married to foreigners

Sports