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

Maha El-Nahas pays tribute to Rachel Corrie, a little over a year after her brutal murder

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

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

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

By Sinan Antoon

Are Americans beginning to understand the reasons for continued Iraqi resistance to US occupation, asks Mark LeVine

Torture is about physical subjugation; but then so is occupation, writes Azmi Bishara. The two go hand

The release of photographs showing the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers dealt a severe blow to the Bush administration. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

Media coverage of the torture and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners has deflected from the vile acts perpetrated against the Iraqi people and has instead served to shield the occupation from public disgust, writes Kamil Mahdi

As the Italian hostage crisis deepens, opposition to Italy's military involvement in Iraq is growing, reports Samia Nkrumah from Rome