Discussion of 34 draft amendments to the constitution this week by the People's Assembly has reignited speculation over the succession of power in Egypt, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Opposition movements are rallying to convince people to vote against the constitutional amendments during next week's referendum. Will their desperate efforts succeed, wonders Mohamed El-Sayed

The amendment to Article 179 of the constitution has provoked a storm of controversy among legal experts and human rights activists, as Gihan Shahine explains

Egypt's judges have announced that they will not supervise next week's referendum on the amendments to the constitution, reports Mona El-Nahhas

Jailan Halawi listens to Abu Omar's account of his abduction as a victim of so-called extraordinary rendition, his four years of being held in detention, and his future hopes

Female magistrates will finally be allowed to pound the gavel, writes Reem Leila

Fire swept through Qalaat Al-Kabash, a shantytown in Sayeda Zeinab in Cairo, leaving 1,000 people homeless...

Arab Nasserists continue to squabble, writes Mona El-Nahhas

Living with rats is nothing unusual for the residents of Gabal Saad village. Salonaz Sami absorbs a fact of rural life

The scandal about contaminated fresh milk has caused many people to refrain from consuming this nutritious drink. Reem Leila investigates

An NGO advocates bicycles as the ultimate solution for Cairo's congested streets, reports Reem Leila

On 26 December, 2006, President Hosni Mubarak called for 34 articles of the constitution to be amended. Last week (13 March) both the People's Assembly Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and the Shura Council, the parliament's upper consultative house, approved the amendments. On Monday 19, the People's Assembly passed the amendments (315 votes, over 2/3 majority), with 109 assembly members voting against. Below, the original articles of the constitution and the introduced amendments (original articles translated into English by the State Information Service: <www.sis.gov.eg> and amendments by Al-Ahram Weekly staff).