Putin's tour of the Middle East has raised Russia's regional profile. But will it last, asks Dina Ezzat

Most Palestinians are with Mahmoud Abbas' policies -- it is their execution that is the problem, writes Graham Usher in Ramallah

Palestinian legislative elections will go ahead as planned, though the results are far from certain for the ruling Fatah faction, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank

Will a nation based on equal citizenship emerge in Iraq, or is it just the opposite, asks Mohamed El-Anwar in Baghdad

In what could be either the launch of his electoral campaign or his farewell message, President Mubarak looked back at his eventful career in a three-part television interview. Nevine Khalil tuned in

Yesterday, all across the country, writes Jailan Halawi, hundreds of Kifaya demonstrators were stopped in their tracks

The Tagammu Party has announced that they will nominate Khaled Mohieddin for president -- if fair play is the name of the game. Fatemah Farag reports

Deputies from the Muslim Brotherhood railed against the ruling party in parliamentary debates about Article 76 this week. Gamal Essam El-Din reports

The keyword these days is reform; but is there any chance of a spillover into the labour movement, asks Fatemah Farag

It is now up to the Lebanese to rebuild their polity, writes Mohalhel Fakih from Beirut

Islamists sweep the last round of Saudi municipal elections, reports Rasheed Abou-Alsamh from Riyadh

The last-ditch attempt to resolve Sudan's constitutional crisis hinges on this week's Cairo meeting of Sudanese government and opposition forces, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Notwithstanding 9/11, US-Saudi relations seem to have changed little in 60 years. Khaled Dawoud reports from Crawford, Texas, on the meeting between President Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah

From Barbie dolls in Ismailia to the catwalks of Paris: Reham El-Adawi traces a fascinating story of Suez Canal haute couture