Now the Shias
It was supposed to have been the day when Iraq's Shia Muslims celebrated their main religious festival in the freedom of a post-Saddam Iraq. It ended in carnage. Graham Usher reports from Karbala

'Suicidal, spectacular and symbolic'
While American and Iraqi officials fear the Tuesday Ashura attacks on Shias in Baghdad and Karbala will inflame sectarian violence, Shia hostility targets neither Sunnis nor Kurds, but rather Americans, writes Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Baghdad

The end of Arafat?
After three days of acrimonious discussions in Ramallah, the Fatah Revolutionary Council adopted decisions to save the mainstream PLO faction from what seems an incipient state of disintegration, Khaled Amayreh reports

No Arabic at McDonald's Israel
Discrimination against Israel's Palestinian citizens has been expanding to include a total ban of the use of Arabic language by workers, reports Jonathan Cook

The whistleblower returns
With less than two months left before Mordechai Vanunu completes his prison term for revealing 18 years ago the existence of a large Israeli arsenal of nuclear weapons, the government launched the first stage of a damage limitation exercise. Jonathan Cook reports

Success story needed
The Bush administration is holding intensive negotiations behind the scenes to renew implementation of the road map ahead of upcoming presidential elections, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

Who's next?
Last week's deadly siege in Assiut has uncovered police complicity in the buildup of one clan's drugs and weapons empire. Reem Nafie reports

Egypt:

Asserting home-grown reform
America's Greater Middle East Initiative has exacerbated the already strained relations between Cairo and Washington, writes Gamal Essam El-Din

Catching up with high-profile corruption
Gamal Essam El-Din looks at draft laws submitted by three independent MPs aimed at fighting corruption in high places

To fingerprint or not
The US's decision to fingerprint its visitors -- among other heightened security measures -- has been met with indignation by many Egyptian public figures. Yasmine El-Rashidi investigates

International:

A Caliphate in the mountains
The Americans insist that Al-Qa'eda and Ansar Al-Islam are now the main "strategic" threat facing Iraq. Graham Usher went to the mountains on the Iran-Iraq border where Ansar was born

Devil in the details
After some serious disagreements, common ground was reached on an interim constitution for Iraq and mechanisms of sovereignty. If it sticks, it could be the first of its kind in the region

Must the show go on?
With Aristide seemingly ousted, American and French troops have once again landed in Haiti to run the island's affairs, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Better than Bush, barely
If elected president, John Kerry will moderate American foreign policy in the Middle East but will not correct long-standing biases, reports Paul Wulfsberg

Spy catcher
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in deep trouble over a new spy scandal involving the UN, reports Alistair Alexander from London

Economy:

Hold your breath
The Agadir Agreement may finally mean serious Arab economic cooperation, writes Niveen Wahish

Living:

Party's over
With foreign belly dancers banned from performing in Egypt, the industry struggles to meet the demand, Reem Nafie reports