Civil peace in Lebanon was hanging by a thread yesterday, as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese buried their former prime minister in an emotionally charged funeral. Mohalhel Fakih reports from Beirut

Hazem Saghieh detects promise in the panic that followed the assassination of Rafiq Al-Hariri

News of Al-Hariri's assassination took the Syrian capital by storm, and accusations that Damascus ordered his elimination are empty, writes Sami Moubayed

The assassination of Rafiq Al-Hariri has galvanised Lebanon's opposition

Faleh A Jabar unravels the seeming paradoxes of the Iraqi election

The Iraqi elections asserted the preeminence of the united Shia groups and put an end to the ambitions of a number of political claimants. The challenge now is to properly integrate the Sunna, writes Abbas Kadhim

Abu Mazen faced down one test to his leadership this week but there are graver ones to come, writes Graham Usher in Jerusalem

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit was grilled about the Ayman Nour case in Washington this week, reports Khaled Dawoud

While its leader remains incarcerated, the Ghad Party's unity is being put to the test. Mona El-Nahhas reports

At the latest national dialogue meeting, ruling and opposition party leaders launched a united attack against foreign intervention, and agreed to delay crucial constitutional issues. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

Egypt is in the process of naming its ambassador to Israel after a four-year hiatus, reports Nevine Khalil

Former Queen Nariman died in Egypt today from a brain hemorrhage. She was 72. Nariman was married to the last king of Egypt, Farouk. They were later divorced. See Queen Nariman profile

The consequences of Al-Hariri's assassination go beyond Lebanon's borders. Dina Ezzat reports on the concerns of many

Abu Mazen solicits Syrian help in restraining militant Palestinian and Lebanese groups, writes Sami Moubayed from Damascus

Were the Iraqi elections a solution or a quandary? Mohamed El-Anwar from Baghdad assesses the post-elections results

In the United Nations, too, business comes before politics, writes Ayman El-Amir

The movement to refuse military service in Iraq is on the rise, reports Sharif Abdel-Kouddous from Washington

A sudden shortage in gasoline has prompted anxiety among consumers about an imminent price increase, Sherine Nasr reports

The celebrated scriptwriter Wahid Hamed tells Salonaz Sami about the characters in Alaa El-Aswani's immensely popular novel, The Yaqoubian Building

Injy El-Kashef questions the meaning of national treasure

How can it be possible that three years after 400 people were burned alive in a third-class train carriage the authorities have yet to hold anyone accountable, asks Fatemah Farag

On a third-class train ride, Mustafa El-Menshawy observes the plight of the dispossessed