What hopes for a reduction in the tensions plaguing the Middle East, wonders Dina Ezzat

Israeli intransigence on any prisoner swap, combined with increasing pressure on Hamas, caused by a US/Fatah collusion, promise a bleak future for the Palestinian people and their government, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyah speak to Dina Ezzat in Ramallah and Gaza respectively

President Hosni Mubarak has surprised observers by announcing he has no objections to Article 76 of the constitution being re-amended, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

When parliament resumes sessions next week, one of the hottest issues it will deliberate is the jailing of prominent opposition MP Talaat El-Sadat, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Assem El-Kersh examines the significance of President Hosni Mubarak's historic tour of Russia, China and Kazakhstan

Labour, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Left and the State; the mix could be explosive, reports Fatemah Farag

The justice minister's suspension of funds to judges' clubs is the latest act in an ongoing saga, writes Mona El-Nahhas

Reports of sexual harassment in downtown Cairo have left many Egyptians dumbfounded, reports Karim El-Khashab

The conflict between Fatah and Hamas has destabilised the already volatile Palestinian political scene but a settlement involving a unity government may be close at hand, writes Erica Silverman

A more pessimistic outlook for Iraq's future is pervading Washington and London, prompting calls for a swift way out of the war-torn country, writes Salah Hemeid

Sectarian violence in Iraq is spiralling out of control, and the Iraqi government is resisting calls by the US to swiftly prepare a security timetable, writes Nermin Al-Mufti

By Gamal Abdel-Nasser

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal tells Al-Ahram Weekly how decades after nationalising the Canal and going to war over it, Egyptians have finally re-appropriated Suez

Fifty years on, four main lessons may be learned from the events surrounding the Suez crisis, writes Roger Owen

The nationalisation of the Suez Canal marked the end of a 200 years war, one that aimed to subjugate Egypt and keep it under permanent colonial control, writes Hossam Issa

The 50th anniversary of the Suez aggression falls only months after Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon. What connections can be drawn between the two events, asks Hassan Nafaa

On the eve of President Hosny Mubarak's international tour to several Eastern countries, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid spoke to Assem El-Kersh and Mona El-Fiqi

Three years after the US-led invasion, what is being done to secure Iraq's cultural heritage and institutions, asks David Tresilian

Ferial J Ghazoul applauds the authors of a book on the Iraq war who dare say the emperor has no clothes

Prompted by impressive-soun-ding news of a LE1 billion raise in the annual salary budget for government-employed teachers, Mohamed El-Sayed discovers a fatal brand of dispossession

The 1-1 draw against Sfaxien of Tunisia in the penultimate game of the African Champions League has put Ahli in an unenviable spot. Inas Mazhar reports