The current escalation in US and Israeli sabre-rattling against Iran is probably no more than that, writes Amani Maged

As US combat troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq, Al-Qaeda seems to be making a comeback in the country, writes Salah Hemeid

Khartoum's refusal to placate the southern Sudanese by separating the state from religion has strengthened the hand of separatist forces in the run-up to next year's referendum, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Submit to Washington and keep the Palestinian Authority afloat, or follow the Palestinian street and see the Ramallah government implode? Khaled Amayreh weighs Abbas's choices in Ramallah

The incompatibility of governing and staging resistance is coming increasingly to the fore in Gaza, writes Saleh Al-Naami

King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia visited Syria this week and accompanied Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on a visit to Beirut, all the while closely watched by Washington, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

Is the Lebanese-Israeli border clash the first shot in a new and much-anticipated regional war? Omayma Abdel-Latif seeks answers

With Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai reshuffling his cabinet in the run-up to November's elections, will this be enough to ease tensions in the country, asks Oula Farawati