US President George Bush apologises for the torture of Iraqi prisoners in this interview with Al-Ahram Board Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Ibrahim Nafie. The interview was published in Arabic in the daily Al-Ahram on Saturday 8 May

Lakhdar Brahimi, UN special envoy to Iraq, speaks with Omayma Abdel-Latif about the powers of, and limitations on, an Iraqi caretaker government

Iraqis have been talking about torture in prisons long before the Abu Ghraib scandal broke last week; but why has the IGC failed to take a strong position? Nermeen Al-Mufti, in Baghdad, reports

Images depicting the torture of Iraqi detainees are just one aspect of the occupation forces' daily war crimes. Amira Howeidy monitors Western 'democracy' on the ground

Ariel Sharon emerged on Sunday from the referendum of Likud Party members on his unilateral "disengagement" plan from Gaza stranded in a political cul de sac. Jonathan Cook writes

US Congress members threaten to draw up a new law against Syria if the Bush administration continues to postpone the implementation of sanctions. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

An attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia poses the biggest challenge yet to the kingdom, writes John R Bradley

The rising tide of violence has triggered introspective thinking about Saudi Arabia's political future, writes Muqtedar Khan

Hizbullah remains an iconic resistance movement, writes Omayma Abdel-Latif from Beirut

Cairo plays host to ITU Telecom Africa 2004 and has staged its day of welcome well, writes Gamal Nkrumah

In two speeches this week, President Mubarak dealt with Egypt's efforts to contain regional instability and generate economic development. Dina Ezzat reports

Is the working class moving forward? Fatemah Farag reports on the issues raised by May Day

Plans to develop mass tourism on the Red Sea's Giftun island have been shelved -- for now. Yasmine El-Rashidi reports

Although this month's Shura elections will be almost void of any opposition candidates, NDP leaders say they are preparing themselves for a tough battle. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

The banking sector took centre stage at a conference scrutinising financial reform last week. Niveen Wahish and Sherine Abdel-Razek report

Egypt, Yasmine El-Rashidi boasts, has something few other nations can claim

FIFA needs to look no further than Egypt if it hopes to stage a safe World Cup. Alaa Abdel-Ghani examines the state's security

Two American explorers completed an epic four-month journey up the Nile last week. Yasmine El-Rashidi spoke to them about the voyage