Although a foregone conclusion, the parliamentary vote for President Hosni Mubarak's proposed constitutional amendments triggered a clash between ruling NDP MPs and opposition and independent deputies, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

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

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

A flurry of diplomatic activity ripples across the region ahead of the Arab summit, but what could come of it? Dina Ezzat looks for answers

Palestinians celebrate speaking with one voice while Israel remains deaf -- and brutal -- as ever, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank

Efforts by the United States to impose stricter sanctions on Iran faltered as members of the Security Council insisted that the Permanent Five were not necessarily the perfect five. Khaled Dawoud reports from the United Nations

Lebanon's deadlock drags on while hopes of a breakthrough before the Arab summit are dwindling, writes Lucy Fielder in Beirut

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

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 land question returns to the heart of Zimbabwean politics, haunting Robert Mugabe, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Pakistan's President Musharraf is facing the worst crisis of his seven-year rule -- brought on by a truculent chief justice, writes Graham Usher in Islamabad

French President Jacques Chirac's announcement that he does not seek a third presidential term comes as no surprise, but it does little to clarify who his successor might be, writes David Tresilian in Paris

Nehad Selaiha is sucked into a vortex of macabre visions

Last week's Woman Film Festival included a range of banned and risqué films. Rania Khallaf enjoyed the screenings

Nevine El-Aref discovers that this year the Aswan International Sculptures Symposium has come of age

The increase in pollution levels in the city is not to be underestimated, argues Dena Rashed

On Mother's Day, Reham El-Adawi and Nader Habib share their experience in the art of first-time parenting

For the second time in six months, Egypt will play host to the Modern Pentathlon World Cup. Inas Mazhar reports