Working against the clock
The countdown to war may have begun in Washington and London, but regional leaders are still hoping for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis. Nevine Khalil reports

What truce?
Cairo managed to bring 12 Palestinian factions to the table for the first time in 20 years. But, reports Amira Howeidy , the results may not have been exactly what the hosts had in mind

'Your voice is your dignity'
Only in the final straight of Israel's general election were passion and drama briefly injected into one of the most lacklustre campaigns ever among Israel's one million Palestinian citizens. Jonathan Cook reports from Nazareth

Jenin massacre comes to DC
The brutal massacre of Palestinian civilians in Jenin by Israeli troops was re-enacted in a main square in Washington. Khaled Dawoud was there

Plea from Iraq
Voices from Baghdad are calling for peace, warning that war will be catastrophic not just for Iraq, but for the entire world, writes Michael Jansen in Baghdad

Toppling Saddam
Although US President George W Bush stopped short of a unilateral declaration of war on Iraq in his annual State of the Union address, all indications are that war is imminent, reports Khaled Dawoud from Washington

"We are all Iraqis"
Arab and Western human shields stream into Baghdad in a last bid of protest against an impending Anglo-American military onslaught. Omayma Abdel-Latif talked to key organisers on both sides

Old, but still kicking
With US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's dismissal of "Old Europe" unleashing a storm of protest in France, European hostility to an American-led war on Iraq is growing, writes David Tresilian in Paris

'Hear her breathe'
Impending war and the triumph of Lula's Workers Party in Brazil set the stage for this year's World Social Forum, writes Hani Shukrallah from Porto Alegre

Driven to Davos
Uncle Sam refuses to be everyone's favourite aunt Sally, writes Gamal Nkrumah

A plea for Muslim unity
Speaking to Gamal Essam El-Din in Cairo before he left for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Asia's most strident voice, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, described the United States as 'the man with the biggest club'

Floating the pound
Bankers and economists are still discussing the implications for the economy of a free-floating pound. Niveen Wahish reports

Preparing for the worst
The Egyptian business community is bracing itself for more economic hardship in the event of an attack against Iraq. Mona El-Fiqi reports

>i< An all-inclusive guide to goings on around Cairo >i<

Anyone for coffee?
The 35th Cairo International Book Fair opened to an anxious reception, writes Amina Elbendary

Mobile dialogues
This year's book fair provides for a variety of not exclusively literary pursuits, finds Youssef Rakha

Ahram Weekly joins the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the launch of their campaign "Children and War"

Copts in Canada
Following the success of the museum set up by the Coptic emigrant community near Toronto, plans are being drawn up for a Canadian-Coptic village to provide a community centre and teach the younger generation about their heritage. Jill Kamil visited the organisers

Egypt gets hyper
As the second Carrefour opened last week in Alexandria, Al-Ahram Weekly explores whether Egyptians will buy the concept, as well as the goods, of a hypermarket

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Not done yet
Egypt is among 16 teams left in the world handball championship in Portugal but as Inas Mazhar reports, the world's fourth best team should go much farther

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The great sand stakes
Wildlife photographer Ahmed Sherif took these pictures of the camel race in the Wadi Al-Zalaga, between St Catherine's Monastery and the Oasis of Ain Umm- Ahmed near Nuweiba...

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