A false vacuum
Bush's call for Arafat's ousting has little support, even among Washington's closest allies, writes Jonathan Cook from Jerusalem

Charge of the upstarts
The World Cup form book was thrown out the window as established teams fell to previous nobodies. Alaa Abdel-Ghani reviews an egalitarian event

It's July and, already, unbearably hot. Time to hit the beach. For a comrehensive guide of where to go -- for a vacation or just a week-end
See The heat is on (Travel Supplement)

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

No closer to a resolution
As Washington's fuzzy vision for peace in the region became clearer, Cairo's apprehensions about its implementation mounted, write Nevine Khalil and Soha Abdelaty

A race against time
The controversy surrounding the four Egyptian students in desperate need of medical treatment abroad, and the UK's refusal to grant them visas, continues to heat up. Jailan Halawi reports

Bad times for the Brotherhood
The ruling party clinched a victory over the banned Muslim Brotherhood in the controversial parliamentary elections of Alexandria's Al-Raml district. Gamal Essam El-Din saw it happen

Control without bounds?
Human rights activists called a Cairo court's decision to sentence a web designer to one year's imprisonment for posting a poem on the Internet a "dangerous precedent". Khaled Dawoud

Region

Locking down the territories
With most West Bank Palestinians stuck in their homes following the expansion of the curfew, Israel continued to wreak havoc by destroying a historical building. Khaled Amayreh reports from Hebron

Curfew!
Jonathan Cook visits Jenin refugee camp and experiences a life that is not a life

Beyond the impasse
Palestinians could transcend the US's demand to remove Arafat by initiating a genuine process of democratic reform, Mohamed El-Sayed Said, in Washington, writes

Leadership litmus test
President Bush's demand for a "moderate" Palestinian leadership to replace Yasser Arafat is doomed from the start, writes Ayman El-Amir, it being impossible to find a leader who will both fulfil Palestinian aspirations and meet Sharon's demands

Economy

A decade of budget deficits
Gloomy budget figures have led MPs and experts to reckon that a balanced budget is nowhere near the horizon. The government, meanwhile, remains optimistic. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

To be competitive
That Egypt is under-performing in export markets is a well known fact. How might it improve? Sherine Nasr listened to the experts

International

Interview

As corrupt as they come
Corporate America is fraught with fraud, corruption and financial misdemeanours, reports Anayat Durrani from Washington

African anguish
In Kananaskis, African leaders were rudely reminded that they are no less peripheral to the new world order scheme of things, writes Gamal Nkrumah

A turbulent birth
Courting controversy once more, the Bush administration is waging a fierce battle against the International Criminal Court, reports Judit Neurink from The Hague

The feel of religion
A former Christian nun and author of books on many of the world's religions including Islam, English writer Karen Armstrong spoke to Omayma Abdel-Latif in London about Western views of Islam, the mood after 11 September and her hopes for better relations between Islam and the West

Features

'All our destinies'
The Palestine solidarity demonstrations may have faded for now, but not the spirit they awakened. Whatever the coming period may hold in terms of solidarity activism, Amira Howeidy finds 'the Palestinian dimension' firmly entrenched in Egyptian national consciousness

Living

Travel

Do it till you drop
Forget Singapore, Hong Kong and Port Said. If you're looking for a trading post head northwest, advises Jenny Jobbins

Tour lines
Compiled by Rehab Saad

Sports

The best of Brazil
Brazil is back on top of the footballing world, as its most impressive team for 20 years celebrated a record fifth World Cup title

Top that
Ronaldo probably cannot do much better than two goals in a World Cup final -- although Brazilian fans will demand a repeat four years from now

Cream of the cup
These are the stars who lit up the World Cup

1952-2002

Heritage