With thousands of Palestinians facing starvation, Fatah and Hamas increasingly fought one another in 2006, with the spectre of mass civil strife looming at every turn, writes Khaled Amayreh from occupied Palestine

Israel lost its war of aggression on Lebanon, but repercussions continued as voices were raised, calling for a change of government in Beirut. Lucy Fielding guages the year's events

Iraq's Shia insist that they seek only proportional power, and are not Iranian stooges, writes Salah Hemeid

With international sanctions passed and domestic elections lost, Iran's hard-line conservatives are on the back foot as 2007 opens, writes Rasha Saad

After a year of prevarication, Sudan accepts an enlarged UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia casts a long shadow over the country's peace process, writes Gamal Nkrumah