Al-Ahram Weekly wishes its readers a happy Eid Al-Fitr and announces the paper will not appear on 26 October. The following week, on 2 November, the Weekly will publish a special issue marking 50 years since the Suez War

With sectarian violence soaring and a peaceful settlement stalling, there seems to be no near end to bloodshed in Iraq, writes Salah Hemeid

Israel appears sure that increasing aggression against the Palestinians will lead them to internal collapse whereas it is more certain to lead to a new national uprising, reports Khaled Amayreh

The United States is standing squarely behind Fatah as rumours spread of possible new legislative elections, reports Erica Silverman

Doaa El-Bey reports on efforts to ease Egyptian-Syrian relations

Court of Cassation rulings recommending that the results of the 2005 parliamentary elections be annulled in some constituencies promise to be a thorn in the side of the NDP's parliamentary majority, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Reem Leila investigates the recent outbreaks of avian flu as well as salmonella

Under attack daily, occupation forces in Iraq have nowhere to go except home, writes Haifa Zangana

The United States is standing squarely behind Fatah as rumours spread of possible new legislative elections, reports Erica Silverman

Aoun's latest rally is forced to take a rain check, but the Christian leader's influence is on the rise, Lucy Fielder reports from Beirut

Somalia is in a sombre mood as Ramadan draws to a close and peace talks in Khartoum between the interim government and militant Islamists are scheduled to resume, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Bank of Alexandria abandoned its state-owned identity and is now in Italian hands. Sherine Abdel-Razek looks at the deal

Mona El-Fiqi reports on the government's extensive efforts to open up new markets in the East

The North Korean nuclear saga highlights the growing political clout of China and Russia and the parallel waning of US power in international politics, writes Gamal Nkrumah

The earthquake opened up Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to the world. Will Islamabad close it again, asks Graham Usher in Muzaffarabad

Last week's vote aiming to make it an offence in France to question the Armenian genocide has met with some formidable opposition, reports David Tresilian in Paris

This year the Puppet Theatre opened during Ramadan for the first time, Amira El-Noshokaty could hardly wait to go

Despite the abundance of TV entertainment on offer during Ramadan, Rania Khallaf finds that more people are flocking to listen to religious chanting, or inshad

The French novelist Pierre Loti, author of Fantôme d'Orient and a lifelong traveller in the Arab and Muslim world, is the subject of an intriguing Paris exhibition, writes David Tresilian

Azade Seyhan examines the achievements of Orhan Pamuk, winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature