Ten weeks after Iraq's January elections the political stalemate comes to an end with yesterday's naming of Jalal Talabani as president. Al-Ahram Weekly interviews Iraq's first ever Kurdish head of state

Finally, the Iraqi parliament has a speaker, though further hurdles remain before a political process is in place, reports Mohamed Al-Anwar in Baghdad

Palestinians know Jewish settlements are illegal. What is needed are not words but action to enforce on Israel the rule of law, reports Khalid Amayreh from the West Bank

Much to the chagrin of the Sudanese authorities, the UN hands war crimes prosecutors documents and a list of people suspected of committing war crimes in Darfur, writes Gamal Nkrumah

As the number of street demonstrations in Egypt increases, 2005 may well turn into a year of major political upheavals, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

The fourth round of national dialogue seems to have brought the opposition and ruling party closer to agreement, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Magda El-Ghitany reports on Egypt's reaction to Israeli official honouring of Egyptian Jews involved in a 1950s espionage scandal

Cairo International Book Fair was not quite a beacon of free expression, reports Mustafa El-Menshawy

Sami Moubayed highlights the considerations and concerns of upcoming Baath Party Conference, and the likelihood of reform from within

Larsen emphasises the urgent need for free and fair elections in Lebanon and Syria, reports Mohalhel Fakih from Beirut

Popular movement renounces attempts to curb resistance to the apartheid wall. Jamal Juma' reports

Ibrahim Nafie in Caracas interviews Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel

Samia Nkrumah witnesses the transformation of Rome as pilgrims pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II

Salah El-Amrousi argues that politics lie at the heart of the agreement establishing Qualified Industrial Zones in Egypt

Will new leadership resuscitate the all-but-dead body of the Egyptian Writers Union, asks Rania Khallaf

Waleed Marzouk investigates a cheering initiative

In the wake of acting legend Ahmed Zaki's death of lung cancer, Yasmine Fathi investigates the deathly scope of the ubiquitous cigarette