From the darkness of Gaza, Saleh Al-Naami monitors the dynamics of the ugly inter-Palestinian conflict

The sun is setting on the much-touted autumn peace conference, says Khaled Amayreh

With the Rafah crossing still closed, the entire population of the Gaza Strip is living under a state of siege, writes Serene Assir

Pakistan's struggle for democracy has become a battle between the army and the judiciary, writes Graham Usher in Rawalpindi

The ruling NDP's internal elections began this week, with officials asserting that they aim at restructuring and democratising the party, Gamal Essam El-Din reports

A new protest movement against rising prices has appeared in Egypt. Does it have a political dimension, asks Mona El-Nahhas

Arrests, more arrests and military trials, such was the Muslim Brotherhood's week, writes Amira Howeidy

The uproar over alleged torture in the country's police stations is far from over, writes Karim El-Khashab

Eight people have been jailed for involvement in the April 2005 Cairo attacks, report Mohamed El-Sayed and Serene Assir

Recent name-calling between Syria and Saudi Arabia is rubbing salt in worsening wounds, writes Sherine Bahaa

Somali protagonists raise the stakes over the country's political future, writes Gamal Nkrumah

The "new" coalition government in Iraq looks the same, only more sectarian, suggests Nermeen Al-Mufti

Having proven unable to lead the Palestinians towards their national aspirations, the Palestinian political establishment should dissolve and open the way for an international trusteeship, writes Samir Ghattas

After 15 years, the opposition is suspicious about where proceeds from the privatisation programme go, writes Gamal Essam El-Din

British PM Gordon Brown has asked for the release from Guantanamo Bay of five non-national UK resident detainees, Tamam Ahmed Jama reports

Recent media hysteria about those damned Russians diverts attention from the emperor's old new clothes, laments Eric Walberg

Horses play an important cultural role in Arab societies, but it is their past links to military magnificence that are stressed in a current exhibition, writes David Tresilian

At the zoo, Dena Rashed realises free agents are no better off than caged inmates

Sometimes a piece of trivia proves tempting, writes Gamal Nkrumah