Stranded!
Life since the fall of Baghdad has been particularly difficult for certain people who have long called Iraq their home, Galal Nassar discovers at the border crossing to Iran near Basra

Protests without borders
The last two weeks have been tense ones for Iran's Islamic leadership, writes Negar Azimi

Overseeing the disintegration
Shimon Peres is taking temporary control of the Labour Party at the most crisis-ridden point in its history. Jonathan Cook reports

Mujahidin go down with Saddam
With Iran already the focus of international attention over student protests and US criticisms of its nuclear programme, French police last week arrested hundreds of Iranian exiles accused of engaging in terrorism. David Tresilian, in Paris, writes

Playing for keeps
The fallout of the triumphant liberation of traditionally Kurdish regions in the north of Iraq has shifted a heavy burden onto local authorities, reports Nyier Abdou

Witnesses to war crimes
The trial of Israeli peace activists Neta Golan and Shelly Native opened 19 June in a Kfar Saba courthouse...

Washington pipe-dreams
If the president of the US can't stand up to Israel, who can? asks Mohamed Hakki

Dummy outposts
Settlers quietly re-establish outposts after Israeli army dismantles them. Jonathan Cook reports from the West Bank

Back to parliament
Jordan's parliamentary elections held few surprises. Lola Keilani reports from Amman

Rolling bulldozers
The apartheid wall is turning the life of Palestinians in Rafah into an even greater nightmare. Annika Hampson reports from Gaza

The heat is on
Lebanon and Syria are facing US pressure to back the "roadmap" peace plan, even while it leaves them out in the cold, writes Mohalhel Fakih

No two ways' about the League
In the course of attempting to reform the criticism-battered Arab League, the organisation's secretary-general is advocating new approaches to relations among Arab countries. Dina Ezzat reports

'Determined to move ahead'
MENA Board Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Mahfouz El-Ansari spoke exclusively with US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns about the next steps on the road to Middle East peace

Short on miracles on the Dead Sea
Business and political leaders from around the world dipped their toes in salty waters and promised to bring health to an ailing region. Reda Helal, in Jordan for the extraordinary meeting of the World Economic Forum, finds that miracles require more attention to detail

The language of bloodshed
By targeting Hamas activists, Israel is pulling the rug from under a looming truce. Khaled Amayreh reports from Jerusalem

Roadmap timeline
18 June: Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas holds separate meetings with Hamas and Islamic Jihad but no cease-fire agreement is reached...