A tall order
The African Union was inaugurated this week. Gamal Nkrumah, in Durban, examines what lies behind the name-change

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

Paving the way
Egypt's peacemaking efforts have borne some fruit, writes Nevine Khalil

Explosive differences
The divisions inside the Nasserist Party reached the point of explosion -- literally. Soha Abdelaty reports

Bringing back the goods
Egypt's stolen antiquities continue their journey home. Nevine El-Aref watches as the inscribed limestone relief used to convict an antiquities smuggler in New York was returned to Egypt this week

Trying torture
Two trials involving senior police officers accused of torturing suspects to death witnessed surprising turns this week, reports Khaled Dawoud

Region

When children run from shells
Reports by an American human rights group and the BBC presented information that raises questions about Israel's use of live ammunition near Palestinian civilians. Khaled Amayreh reports from Jerusalem

The walls around Jericho
Even Jericho, the only West Bank town not directly occupied by Israel's army, is not really free, Jonathan Cook visited a town under siege

Strongmen brought low
In an audacious, but carefully executed decision, Yasser Arafat has sacked his powerful security chief. Khaled Amayreh reports from Jerusalem

Untried, untested
As the Belgian case against Sharon collapses, Frederick Bowie, in Brussels, goes in search of international justice

International

Blunder after blunder
First the US Air Force turned a wedding into a massacre, then Afghan Vice-President Haji Abdul-Qadir was murdered. What else can go wrong, asks Iffat Malik from Islamabad

But can they afford it?
Not content with destabilising several Latin American economies the US is spearheading more political interventions, writes Hisham El-Naggar from Buenos Aires

British big brother
A proposal that all Britons carry identity cards has sparked off a debate that is polarising attitudes towards privacy and immigration, reports Mukul Devichand from London

Lashing out in LA
The buzzword in the US is more security in the wake of the El Al shooting as Arab Americans brace themselves against racist retaliation, reports Negar Azimi from New York

Economy

The first-ever Arab Human Development Report reveals serious deficits in freedoms, gender equality and the dissemination of knowledge. Reviewing its findings, Gihan Shahine asks its lead author some tough questions and sifts through mixed reactions

The Arabs at a crossroads

'A person who is not free is poor'

1952 - 2002

Interview

All is not lost
Continuing Al-Ahram Weekly's series of interviews with prominent public figures on their memories of the 1952 Revolution, Gamal Essam El-Din talks to Diaaeddin Dawoud, former minister of social affairs under Nasser and now head of the Arab Nasserist Democratic Party

Features

Heritage

Learning to be a woman
Amira El-Noshokaty attends the graduation of a group of women whose job it is to demystify sexual health in the Egyptian Delta

Sports

Travel

Primal giants
Photographer Farid Atiya encountered these Risso's dolphins early one morning between Jackson Reef and Laguna north of Tiran island in the Red Sea. He counted seven of the giant dolphins, each four to six metres long. -read on-