No reason to rest
One year on from the fall of Baghdad into the hands of US-led occupation forces, anti-war sentiment in the West remains strong, organised and active, reports Serene Assir

Free to be like US
Freedom of speech only means so much in the new Iraq, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti

Going down
Attempts to pressure the US media not to show the grisly pictures of Americans dead in Iraq failed to save Bush's popularity ratings from falling to an all time low, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

Impossible
The official account of the killing of two Al-Arabiya journalists leaves a lot to be desired, writes Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Baghdad

Shards
By Sinan Antoon

Homeward bound
One year on from the fall of Saddam's Baghdad, Iraqi Shia expatriates are still looking for a safe haven. Peter Willems reports on their conditions in Yemen

Looking for trouble
Israel this week upped the ante at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque when hundreds of policemen indiscriminately attacked thousands of Muslim worshippers, reports Khaled Amayreh

Peace by transfer
Creating realities on the ground ought to be a euphemism for Israeli state policy of ethnic cleansing, writes Amy Mina

The Hamas factor
Palestinian factions have been holding intensive meetings to formulate a joint command that would run Gaza if and when the Israeli army leaves, Khaled Amayreh reports

Qualified green light
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is likely to gain the conditional backing of the Bush administration for his Gaza disengagement plan at a time both leaders are eager for even small successes, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

Fighting through listening
A clampdown on Al-Qa'eda members has been going on for the past months, but dialogue may be a more positive approach. Peter Willems reports from Sana'a

Sudanese uncertainties
Washington's latest reprimand is set to rile the Sudanese as they struggle with stalled peace processes in the south and the west of the country, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Global goals, local needs
So many UN goals remain unfulfilled -- will the Millennium Development Goals mark a break with tradition? Fatemah Farag attends a conference in Beirut where Arab civil society activists discussed MDG strategies

Ominous implications
Recent escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border raises the question of whether Lebanon will again be dragged into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Christian Henderson reports