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Like any student taking the current mid-terms, to do well the new Egyptian cabinet must study how to deal with the problems of unemployment, education, housing, salaries and industry. Raouf Ayad in the weekly Egyptian magazine Sabah Al-Kheir Pummelled in 2005, the Arabs are to get it again this year. Mustafa Rahma in the UAE daily Al-Ittihad

"Most Arab leaders are set for a tense year. Many are bound to lose their seats either to the forces of nature or the inevitable forces of change." -- Shafiq Nazem Al-Ghabra , Al-Rai Al-Aam

"The region is entering the new year with many potential political and security explosions, some expected and many will be unexpected." -- Al-Bayan

"It has become very hard for someone to hold out any serious hope for the region, much less the Syrian-Lebanese relationship." -- Talal Salman , As-Safir