Struggles over power sharing have brought Iraq's political process to a woeful standstill, Mohamed Al-Anwar reports from Baghdad

As Hamas joins the mainstream the landscape of inter-Palestinian politics and the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict will change, writes Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank

Settler violence against Palestinians is burgeoning at an alarming rate, writes Khaled Amayreh from Ramallah

The disarmament of Hizbullah seems off the agenda, at least for now, as Lebanon struggles in political turmoil, writes Mohalhel Fakih

Unemployment, democratisation -- the government's getting it all wrong, says the opposition. And the alternatives? Well, they are far less obvious, as expected, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

The Al-Ghad Party chairman is determined to contest the presidential elections despite his forthcoming trial

By taking their case for political reform to the street the Muslim Brotherhood are helping to reshape the politics of dissent, reports Omayma Abdel-Latif

An international anti-war conference in Cairo ended this week with a call for domestic reform. Gihan Shahine reports

In Baghdad Mohamed El-Anwar interviews Mishaan Al-Juburi, member of the National Assembly, and key advocate of Sunni Arab rights in Iraq

With Hamas consolidating its legitimacy in Palestinian society, Ian Douglas in Nablus speaks to Mohamed Ghazal, a key political leader of the movement in the West Bank

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected warnings that the push for democracy in the Middle East would lead to instability. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

The popular revolution in Kyrgyzstan that ousted the regime of President Askar Akaev ushers in a new era of Central Asian politics, writes Shohdy Naguib

Washington positively contributing to the propagation of democracy in the Arab world, asks James Zogby

There is no panacea to upgrade the SMEs sector in Egypt as over-regulation turns entrepreneurs away from the formal sector. Sherine Nasr reports

After a crash course in the complex antics of independent film, Iman Hamam decides this is more than a case of wobbly camera syndrome

Mohamed El-Assyouti reviews a string of screenings that look war in the face

Cairo traffic is out of control, reports Mustafa El-Menshawy, and the city's largest public transport service is only making it worse

In the light of recent efforts to open up Lake Nasser to the private market, Dena Rashed looks into the resource's unexplored potential