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'Don't conk out now, especially in front of the foreigners.' This is the region's economic situation confronting the Sharm El-Sheikh World Economic Forum. In the Egyptian opposition daily Al-Wafd by Amr Okasha The Lebanese dialogue is heading in all directions. By Alaa Al-Luqta in the Saudi daily Al-Madinah

"Some Arab foreign ministers have even declined to meet their Palestinian counterparts just to please the US." -- Hamed Al-Maguid, Asharq Al-Awsat

"The current slide towards Palestinian civil war is... the natural outcome of the failure to build on the first and second Intifada by both the Palestinians and the Arabs." -- Satei Noureddin , As-Safir

"Much erosion has affected the traditional US championing of the values of liberties and freedoms." -- Abdul-Wahab Badrakhan, Al-Hayat

"When people challenge the Interior Ministry's warnings against participating in demonstrations, and when hundreds take to the streets [in solidarity with the judges] without fear of detention... then there are signs of imminent democratic change." -- Abdallah El-Sennawi, Al-Arabi

"In its battle with the judges, the regime has been exposed, dealt a humiliating defeat and is trembling with fear." -- Wael El-Ibrashi, Sawt Al-Umma

"[Gamal Mubarak's] negotiations [in the US] most probably focussed on reaching a deal with US officials [to agree on the inheritance of the presidency]. But I don't know what price Mubarak will pay for concluding this deal." -- Hassan Nafaa, Al-Arabi