Waiting for the UN
Bombings in Iraq continue to claim more lives while Iraqis await the outcome of today's meeting between the UN team and the country's leading cleric, Omayma Abdel-Latif reports

Too true to be good?
Coalition forces say a newly discovered memorandum outlines plans to destabilise Iraq and points to Al-Qa'eda involvement in anti-Coalition attacks, reports Ramsey Al-Rikabi from Baghdad

Another dead end
Palestinians are discovering that Ariel Sharon's announcement of "unilateral disengagement" from Gaza is a cleverly constructed trap, writes Jonathan Cook

Preparing for the Arab summit
Cairo was the site of intensive preparations for the upcoming Arab summit. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

No sir, Yasser
An internal crisis that rocked the Palestinian movement Fatah this week highlighted its dire need for reform. Khaled Amayreh reports

Cowboy without a horse
His credibility in question, US President George Bush is struggling to patch up his image in time for the November elections. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

'I, for one, am not voting'
With the Iranian elections set to take place within a matter of days, the country has been thrown into its worst political crisis in 25 years, Roshanak Taghavi reports

Egypt:

Ascribing culpability
Prime Minister Atef Ebeid's government found itself being pummelled in parliament again this week, Gamal Essam El-Din reports

Time bombs in our basements
The rubble may have been cleared, but the ramifications of an 11-storey building's collapse look to linger for a while. Gihan Shahine sifts through a corrupt and ineffective housing licensing system

Region:

Rulers no more
The Sunnis feel they are the big losers in the new Iraq. Graham Usher in Baghdad reports on a community divided, disempowered and fearful of the future

Blood and ashes in Arbil
The last year was a good one for Iraqi Kurds. It ended in carnage, writes Graham Usher in Arbil

International:

Cold financial logic dogs Liberia
Liberians await their country's reconstruction, but on a wing and a prayer, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Sports:

Speared
The Indomitable Lions were conquered at the African Nations Cup. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab relates the crash

When life began
Football is one of the threads that make up Egyptian culture and social life. Mohamed El-Sayed looks at the history of this intertwining