Not quite the same boat
Arafat and Sharon both face the prospect of unwanted elections, reports Jonathan Cook from Jerusalem

A parallel divergence
Everyone agrees the Arab-Israeli conflict must be steered to calmer waters. There is difference over how, though, writes Nevine Khalil

Barghouti tortured
Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the Fatah organisation in the West Bank who has been held in detention by Israel since 13 April, yesterday urged Palestinians to press ahead with their resistance to Israel's military occupation --read on--

Opinion

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

Tunisian riddle
Egypt's aviation minister dismissed the theory that a mechanical problem might have caused EgyptAir Boeing 737 to crash in Tunisia. Amira Ibrahim reports

Solidarity struggles on
The Palestine solidarity movement in Egypt seems determined to maintain a high level of activism, despite the lull in the occupied territories and tough government "messages". Amira Howeidy reports

Serri released
Although Britain dropped most of the charges against Yasser Serri, the Egyptian Islamist still faces the possibility of extradition to the US. Serri spoke to Khaled Dawoud minutes after his release

Taking the stand for Ibrahim
There was no shortage of defence witnesses to vouch for Saadeddin Ibrahim during two consecutive court sessions of his retrial last week, Jailan Halawi reports

Region

Bantustans on the West Bank
Israel's army has turned major West Bank towns into veritable detention centres. Khaled Amayreh reports from Hebron

Looking inwards
Prodded by serious US and Arab pressure, Palestinians are rethinking the wisdom of suicide operations against Israeli targets

Time for change
Following Israel's devastating reoccupation of the West Bank, Palestinians are expecting the Palestinian Authority to do more than clear away the rubble, Talal Jabari reports from Ramallah

The Nativity 13
As European countries finalise their arrangements for taking in the 13 deported Palestinians, the justifications Israel gave for its 39-day siege of the Church of the Nativity are being revealed as largely false. Michael Jansen reports from Nicosia

International

Clouds over the subcontinent
Tensions in India and Pakistan are running high, reports Iffat Malik from Islamabad

Whose right to return?
Growing anti-Semitism in France has renewed calls for Jews of the Diaspora to emigrate to Israel. Iason Athanasiadis on the Zionist version of the right to return

Between the devil and the deep blue sea
Assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn continued to be at the forefront of Dutch politics as voters gave the major Dutch political parties the thumbs down reports Judit Neurink from Amsterdam

Memories of Chechnya
With nearly 40 US casualties in Afghanistan and Taliban leader Mullah Mohamed Omar and Osama Bin Laden making defiant remarks in the media, the war against terror is far from over, reports Anayat Durrani from Washington

Economy

Money cleanup
Is the new law against money-laundering designed to catch crooks, or fetter anyone the US labels a terrorist? Gamal Essam El-Din follows the debate in parliament

'Where's the meat?'
IT giant LinkDotNet has bought nine Internet companies and promises to make "Internet history." Unfortunately, it's a little foggy on the details. Amira Howeidy reports

Exports: The five-piece puzzle (2)
In the second of a two-part article, Talaat Abdel-Malek continues to fit the remaining pieces of the puzzle

Features

Living

Sports

Travel

Both brilliant
Ahli and Ismaili showed why they are currently Egypt's best two football clubs. Alaa Shahine reports on the cream at the top

Aladdin's cave
Exploring in the Western Desert, Jenny Jobbins finds the magic beneath the surface -- but fears it is all too vulnerable to plunder and desecration