Last ditch diplomacy
Any hopes raised by President Mubarak's US visit were quickly dampened following the arrival of Sharon, writes Mohamed El-Sayed Said from Washington

Collapse on all fronts
Much hinged on various Arab consultations with the US President. But it is Ariel Sharon who is gathering the fruits, writes Graham Usher from Jerusalem

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

Limits to 'reasonable response'
In the wake of President Mubarak's Camp David summit with President Bush, it appears that Cairo and Washington did not see eye to eye on how to overcome the crisis in the Middle East. Nevine Khalil and Soha Abdelaty report

The business of bribery
In the second harshest verdict handed down to an official charged with corruption this year, Maher El-Guindi, a former governor, was sentenced to seven years. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

Sifting through the evidence
Amid a war of words in the media, Egyptian investigators have begun their work to prepare a report on the EgyptAir 843 crash in Tunis last month. Amira Ibrahim reports

Clamping down on torture?
Human rights activists concede that the Ministry of Interior is now tougher on officers charged with torture, especially if the torture has led to death. Yet, they told Khaled Dawoud, a lot more needs to be done

Region

Routine invasions
Israel is averaging two to three invasions of Palestinian population centres a day. The shattering of Palestinian lives, reports Khaled Amayreh from Hebron, is now routine

Palestinian tragedy with a Greek ending
When Bethlehem deportees Mohamed and Mamdouh arrived in Athens, little did they know that they were arriving in Europe's most pro-Palestinian country. They gave an exclusive interview in Athens to Iason Athanasiadis

'Ticking timebombs?'
For the past few weeks Israelis have been fed a diet heavy with revelations of plans by the Arab population to overthrow the Jewish state. Jonathan Cook reports from Arrabe

A conference too far?
What could Arabs get out of the proposed conference on the Middle East? Dina Ezzat looks for an answer

International

Still on the brink of war
After a slow start, a flurry of Western diplomatic activity appears to have decreased the chances that war erupts between India and Pakistan, reports Iffat Malik from Islamabad

Feed the famished
The devastating famine in southern Africa highlights the region's contentious land question, reports Gamal Nkrumah

France turns right
French voters delivered the Left a massive defeat at last week's parliamentary elections and opened the door to five years of right-wing government, writes David Tresilian from Paris

No comedy of errors
The communication breakdown between the CIA and FBI before the 11 September attacks suggests incompetence or, worse, a sinister conspiracy. Anayat Durrani reports from Washington

Economy

Weathering tough times
The Egyptian economy is in a slowdown, not a crisis. In fact, Minister of Foreign Trade Youssef Boutros-Ghali tells Niveen Wahish, the economy is behaving quite predictably

Rumpus before recess?
Three controversial bills are coming up for parliamentary debate before the People's Assembly goes into summer recess at the end of this month. Gamal Essam El-Din investigates

Features

Heritage

Travel

New Kalabsha at Aswan
Twenty-three Nubian monuments were saved from the rising waters of Lake Nasser back in the 1960s, but only now is the Temple of Gerf Hussein seeing the light of day, writes Jill Kamil

Home from home
Egyptomaniacs can indulge their passion in London and, Jenny Jobbins says, they need move only a stone's throw from the British Museum

Sports

1952-2002

Two hot seats filled
Egypt and Ahli's new football coaches will be pressed to start winning and keep winning, respectively. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab profiles the country's latest hope while Alaa Shahine looks at a famed Dutchman taking the reins of an equally famous club