Election euphoria hits Iraq on the eve of the much-hyped polls, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

As the elections scheduled for 30 January draw closer it is fear, not optimism, that has come to determine how Iraqis think and behave, writes Aziz Jabour

The secretary-general of the Central Council of Arab and Iraqi Tribes talks to Mohamed Al-Anwar in Baghdad

The dead do not vote, writes Sinan Antoon. But neither, in Iraq, are they counted

Secular democracy in the shadow of occupation does not sit well with a deeply religious society. But can Iraqi voters abroad make a difference, asks Abbas Kadhim in San Fransisco

Jordan, alarmed by the prospect of a Shia-dominated government brought about by next week's election in Iraq, anxiously awaits its eastern neighbour's political fortunes, writes Mohamed Abu Ruman from Amman

With four months left until the parliamentary elections in Lebanon, internal dissent and international pressure to disengage the Syrian-Lebanese front are running high. Mohalhel Fakih reports from Beirut

What will become of Syrian overtures to Israel? Nothing, if Ariel Sharon has his way, writes Sami Moubayed

Washington's threats to bomb Iranian nuclear installations appear to be empty, or are they, wonders Mashaallah Shamsolvaezin

Iran and Syria might be next on Washington's hit-list, writes Patrick Seale

Palestinian journalists go against all odds to bear witness to the Israeli occupation army's crimes, for their people and for the world, writes Serene Assir from Gaza and the West Bank

Yossi Beilin talks to Graham Usher of the challenges facing Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon's intentions with the roadmap