As the anniversary of the 25 January Revolution approaches differences are growing over how it should be marked, Khaled Dawoud reports

Can the regime in Damascus survive 2012? Dina Ezzat looks for an answer

The Muslim Brotherhood may yet fall short of a majority in the upcoming parliament, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

On the cusp of winning a parliamentary majority, the Muslim Brotherhood's survival as Egypt's leading political force will hinge on how they address the legacy of Mubarak's three decades in power, writes Amira Howeidy

As parliamentary polls near their end, writes Mona El-Nahhas, the Wafd Party is wondering how to maximise its influence given a disappointing share of the vote

Lawyers representing families of the victims of the 25 January Revolution have demanded the death penalty in the trial of Hosni Mubarak, Gamal Essam El-Din reports

An investigation into clashes in front of the Cabinet's headquarters last month took another turn as prosecutors summoned a number of key opposition figures for questioning, reports Khaled Dawoud

The government should get its spending in order before it resorts to domestic or foreign borrowing, experts tell Niveen Wahish

A series of explosions have taken place across the Syrian capital Damascus over the last fortnight, with regime and opposition accusing each other of carrying out the attacks, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

While political leaders talk of reconciliation, political prisoners keep mounting at the hands of Palestinian Authority security forces, writes Khaled Amayreh in Hebron

The prospect of cyber war on Israel is gaining ground as a matter of high concern among Tel Aviv's security and strategic officials, writes Saleh Al-Naami

With deadly sectarian attacks on the rise in Iraq and political upheaval worsening, what else will be necessary to reignite civil war, asks Salah Nasrawi

The threat to the nascent South Sudan state is said to be from Khartoum, but there are others, writes Graham Usher at the United Nations

Urgent action -- rather than words of wisdom -- is sorely needed to transform post-Gaddafi trans-Saharan geopolitics, counsels Gamal Nkrumah

The threat to close the Hormuz Strait is really just that, surmises Amani Maged

The language used by the Israel lobby has little to do with reality, writes Eric Walberg

America's most famous political pundit, Thomas Friedman, bestowed his deep insights to Egyptians last week. Gamal Nkrumah ponders the implications

Working as a professional translator of Arabic literature for only a little under a decade, Humphrey Davies has already staked up a number of literary prizes. He talked to David Tresilian in Cairo

Ati Metwaly meets Sobhi Bidair

The Ruin of the Roman Empire (2009) by James O'Donnell. HarperCollins, New York

Ibrahim Aslan (3 March 1935-7 January 2012)

What issues most grasped the attention of web-surfing Egyptians and Arabs in 2011, asks Omneya Yousry

Egyptian football fans temporarily shut out the domestic league to watch Ahli's match with Bayern Munich with eyes wide open, Ahmed Morsy reports