Swinging right, or backwards? The NTC shies away from posing as a trend-setter of the Arab world for obvious reasons, reckons Gamal Nkrumah

Saudi women were surprised as the king granted them the right to vote -- in 2015, says Rashid Abul-Samh

Dissensions within the Syrian army could help the protesters in their fight against the regime, but they are unlikely to be enough to topple it alone, reports Doaa El-Bey

European and US sanctions have started to affect the Syrian economy, but they may take a long time to undermine the regime, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

More than 100 people have died under torture since the start of the Syrian uprising, with the country's security forces being accused of removing their organs before they died

Hailed as a hero, Mahmoud Abbas appears to have won the PR battle waged at the UN, though now the words must be acted upon, writes Saleh Al-Naami in Gaza

With the world expressing support for a Palestinian state, Jewish settlers in the West Bank promise rivers of blood in revenge attacks, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

Tensions between the Baghdad government and the Kurdish regional government in Iraq are running high, with the country's proposed new oil and gas law adding to an already crisis-ridden situation, writes Salah Nasrawi

The Yemen protests turned into an on-and-off war after the big players refused to offer concessions to each other, reports Nasser Arrabyee

Khartoum should not be gagged about its territorial integrity and national sovereignty, but it should start learning from the grave errors it committed in the past, postulates Gamal Nkrumah