Reopening the FIS file
Two presidents and a bloody civil war in Algeria should have closed the FIS file, but the release of its two leaders, writes Amira Howeidy , gives every appearance of having reopened it

Politics take backseat in Kuwait poll
Kuwaiti elections brought lots of new faces to parliament, and for the first time in years, domestic issues top their agenda, writes Sherine Bahaa

The end of the affair
Turkish-US relations nose-dived last week when American troops detained 11 Turkish soldiers and held them for nearly 60 hours. Gareth Jenkins reports from Ankara

Bring them on
The Bush administration is under pressure to increase the number of US troops in Iraq to combat growing resistance, reports Khaled Dawoud from Washington

Prisoners as hostages
As Israel drags its feet on the release of Palestinian political prisoners, anger rises in the Palestinian territories, writes Khaled Amayreh

Roadmap timeline
2 July: Isreali occupation forces (IOF) redeploy from Bethlehem but tighten seige around the city...

Facing resistance
The Anglo-American military conquest of Iraq is starting to be seen, experienced and resisted as just that -- a military conquest. Graham Usher writes from Baghdad

Water under the bridge
In spite of European countries' interests in Iran, the EU seems to be following the US's lead as Washington steps up its threats against Tehran, Mustafa El-Labbad reports

Mismanaging history
The US had hoped to score a public relations victory with its opening of the antiquity museum in Baghdad, but as Michael Jansen discovers, the move pointed to a host of problems

Enemy at the gates?
Sudanese peace talks resume in Kenya against the disquieting backdrop of a renewed campaign against secularist and democratic forces in Sudan, reports Gamal Nkrumah

Grasping the connections
Whether the US will change the Middle East is an open question, what is certain is that the region will change it, Mohamed Hakki , in Washington, writes

Making unity attractive
The Arab League is pushing hard for development and unity in Sudan. Dina Ezzat reports

Clashes in the kingdom
Saudi Arabia's crackdown on Islamists continues with the government's issuing a stark warning to the sons of Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden, reports John R Bradley from Jeddah

Torching the right of return
In this last of a four-part series addressing the main points of the roadmap, Muna Hamzeh argues that Israel plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinian refugees from West Bank and Gaza camps

Refugee short takes
UN Resolution 194 was issued in December 1948 and has been ratified 135 times since then...

View from above
From a remote camp in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan, prominent KADEK leader Osman Öcalan talks to Nyier Abdou about Kurdish resistance, the post-war era and the end of the nationalist fight