With the stand-off over the fate of the Rafah border crossing persisting, Gazans find some freedom marred by violence, writes Erica Silverman

While the Israeli media made much of Arafat's leaked media records, Palestinians are apathetic, even resigned to the worst, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank

As the battleground between the American occupation and insurgents in Iraq moves towards the Syrian border, ordinary Iraqis are caught and killed in the middle, writes Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

Arab foreign ministers agree to open an Arab League office in Iraq. But will this be enough to preserve the country's Arab identity, asks Magda El-Ghitany

The team in charge of investigating the assassination of Rafik Al-Hariri takes its questions across the border into Syria, Serene Assir reports