Troops seal Egypt's crossing into Gaza, Serene Assir reports from the border

For the last week Palestinians in Rafah were reminded of what was, what could be and what is, writes Graham Usher in Rafah

Gamal Essam El-Din reviews NDP plans for the forthcoming parliamentary elections

Who will be the next Press Syndicate chairman? Shaden Shehab looks for clues

Egypt's security role in Gaza is becoming a source of concern, reports Dina Ezzat

What does all the talk about corruption within state-owned news organisations tell us about the condition of the press in Egypt, asks Fatemah Farag

A storm of controversy is raging over an edict by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar supporting normalisation with Israel. Gihan Shahine samples the opinions

The Gaza disengagement was just an Israeli smokescreen to hide extremely sinister developments in the West Bank, writes Deborah Stokes

While Sharon warns against Hamas's participation in the upcoming Palestinian elections, the resistance group is resolute that it will, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank

Iraqis lived through another round of bloodletting this week as controversy swirls around Zarqawi's alleged call to fight the Shia people of Iraq, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti from Baghdad

Germany's political future appears uncertain with both the German chancellor and his conservative challenger claiming a mandate to govern, writes Gamal Nkrumah

The costs of the war in Iraq came into sharp relief for the Americans in August, with two far-reaching crises for the Bush administration, writes Anthony Arnove

Amal Choucri Catta attends a brilliant performance of Aida, undimmed by an excess of golden trimmings

Mohamed El-Assyouti turns into an emphatically male film buff

On an inspection tour of two of the venues where the African Nations Cup will be played, Inas Mazhar examined the preparations being made