The killing of six soldiers in Gaza has exposed the weakness of Ariel Sharon's leadership, writes Graham Usher in Jerusalem

In the images coming from Iraq, racist occupation rears its ugly head , writes Amira Howeidy

While the handpicked Interim Governing Council has fallen out of American favour, it remains unclear if an interim Iraqi government will have any power after 30 June, reports Ahmed Reda

The former Iraqi minister of human rights, who resigned over the indifference of Coalition authorities to complaints he brought before them, confirms that top US officials knew the full extent of the torture of Iraqi prisoners, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

The fate of Bush's loyal defence secretary remains in question as senior officials acknowledge that "the worst is yet to come" in the ongoing scandal over the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

Arab countries say they are on their way to a summit -- " inshallah ". Dina Ezzat reports

On the eve of clinching a comprehensive Sudanese peace deal, Khartoum and opposition forces need to rebuild trust

Newly restored Libyan-Western relations come under pressure as six foreign medics receive death sentences, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Having killed the two-state solution, Sharon has left Palestinians little choice but to demand what to him would be a nightmare -- a democratic, bi-national state, writes Mustafa Barghouti

Al-Awda's recent conference in New York underlined the inalienable nature of the Palestinian cause, suggesting concrete means by which to take the struggle forward, writes Musa Al-Hindi

Some believe force is justified in opposing Israeli occupation, but international humanitarian law is binding on both sides, writes Asem Khalil

The prognosis amongst parliamentarians and politicians is unanimous, reports Gamal Essam El-Din. The Abu Ghraib torture scandal ensures Arab hate and distrust of American policies for generations to come

With Egyptians horrified at photos showing Americans torturing Iraqi prisoners, the US ambassador to Egypt accused some publications -- again -- of needlessly inflaming an already heated atmosphere. Shaden Shehab reports

Breaking the $40-a-barrel barrier last week, oil prices might cause another international economic downturn. Sherine Abdel-Razek investigates the causes and repercussions of rising prices

African countries invite foreign investors into their telecommunications markets at the Telecom Africa 2004 forum. Niveen Wahish studies the implications

The desolation of the Mountain and of its people awes, dares and invites. Fatemah Farag revisits Gurna

After nine years of hewing obstinate Aswan granite the city's International Sculpture Symposium has revived large-scale stone sculpture, reports Nevine El-Aref