Enter Michel Aoun. Omayma Abdel-Latif reports from the Lebanese capital on the implications for Lebanese politics

The battle for creating a new Sudan is tight and peace talks are a travesty of democracy, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Hopes for democratic reform in Syria may have been put on hold, but they are not dead, writes Sami Moubayed from Damascus, as he also profiles the great survivor of Syrian politics Abdel-Halim Khaddam who finally stepped down this week

Iran is embroiled in presidential campaigning and constitutional debate, writes Mustafa El-Labbad from Tehran

The sectarian forces drafting the new Iraqi constitution do not reflect grassroots sentiment, writes Hana Al-Bayaty

Even as Saddam's trial commences, Iraq's Sunni community does not believe it is time to bury the hatchet, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

With the Israeli-Palestinian truce heading towards collapse, Ian Douglas in Nablus spoke to Mohammed Aside, leader of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank