Al-Ahram Weekly | Front Page

Are Fatah and Hamas really going to talk, asks Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

Is Israel planning to launch a war against Gaza, asks Saleh Al-Naami

Following Hizbullah's muscle flexing in Beirut, questions abound as to the relation between Al-Hariri and radical Salafist backers, writes Omayma Abdel-Latif

A judicial coup -- again?

Turkey's judiciary dealt the government a nasty blow, upping the ante on headscarves, writes Gareth Jenkins

Egypt

Children accorded greater rights

Muslim Brotherhood objections to outlawing female genital mutilation are ignored by the People's Assembly, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

2+2= happy family

Will a two-child family lead to a better life as the National Population Conference calls for, wonders Reem Leila

Rights and wrongs

Civil society is increasingly perturbed by the prickly question of religious freedoms in Egypt, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Fearful signs

Reem Leila reports on a raft of incidents that many fear signals worsening relations between Egypt's Coptic Christian community and their Muslim fellow citizens

Conservative stranglehold

The Muslim Brotherhood's internal elections are perceived as an attempt to consolidate the position of hardliners, reports Sophia Ibrahim

m o r e

Region

Israel's gulag

Already living atop of one another, Gaza's people under siege are effectively inmates in a concentration camp, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Existence is resistance

Serene Assir examines a year of Israeli crimes and international complicity on the back of decades of occupation

Shouting in the hills

When Israel annexed the Golan, it claimed to be doing so for historical reasons. But its real motives had more to do with water resources, agricultural potential and tourist attraction, Basel Oudat writes from Damascus

'Cherchez' Iran

Fearing the increasing Iranian influence in Iraq, Sunni Arab states say they will dispatch ambassadors to Baghdad, writes Saif Nasrawi

Economy

Harvesting investment

A looming global food crisis highlights the need to revitalise the agricultural sector worldwide. Sherine Abdel-Razek examines local prospects

In the fine print

Interational

Middle East takes a backseat

The economy is the real issue in the presidential campaigns, though just maybe the Iraq debacle has a silver lining for Obama, analyses Anayat Durrani

AIPAC, Obama and McCain

Despite their differences, both presidential contenders were cheered by Israel's strongest Washington lobby, writes James Zogby

Good kid

A UN panel has criticised the US for its treatment of captured children in American custody, Tamam Ahmed Jama reports from Ottawa

Culture

Ben Jelloun joins the Goncourt

David Tresilian applauds the selection of Ben Jelloun as member of the Jury of France's most prestigious literary award

Sports

Perfect so far

The Egyptian national football team flew to Malawi yesterday for their third World Cup qualifying match on Saturday, Inas Mazhar reports