Days after the prime minister insisted Egypt would never bow to external pressure, foreign defendants in the high profile case against NGOs were allowed to leave the country. The public is furious, but will soon forget, writes Khaled Dawoud

Is a political resolution still possible in Syria, asks Bassel Oudat from Damascus

Judges' anger at what they say is flagrant interference in their work is growing, reports Mona El-Nahhas

Following last week's lifting of the travel ban on six American NGO employees the US is carefully watching the repercussions on Egyptian public opinion, reports Ezzat Ibrahim from Washington

Who gains what from the debacle that has engulfed the legal case against unlicensed NGOs? Mohamed Abdel-Baky reports

The window closes today for receiving proposals on the formation of the 100-member committee tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution, writes Gamal Essam El-Din

Kamal El-Ganzouri's government is unlikely to survive beyond 11 March, writes Amani Maged

Students at the German University in Cairo continue to demonstrate, reports Reem Leila

Saudi Arabia is blaming procedural matters for the delay in financial assistance to Egypt, reports Doaa El-Bey

Policy-makers are laying the ground rules for a sukuk (Islamic bonds) market in Egypt, writes Niveen Wahish

No significant defections have been recorded from the Syrian regime, possibly because of the all-encompassing control of the security forces, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

The end of Al-Assad's regime will end Iran's regional influence, so one can expect Tehran to play a full hand before it happens, writes Sheherezade Faramarzi

In his trip to Washington, Israel's premier acted more like the US president than his host, Barack Obama, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

After some hope of overcoming internal divisions, Palestinian factions are as far from reconciliation as they ever were, writes Saleh Al-Naami

The appointment of a new Saudi ambassador to Iraq may not signal a thaw in relations between the two countries, writes Salah Nasrawi

Oil-rich Cyrenaica declares autonomy, militias flex their muscles and Libya faces the threat of fragmentation and the political ascendancy of uncompromising Islamists, laments Gamal Nkrumah

In response to the tragic deaths of soldiers this week, the new elected president vows to crush all terrorists, says Nasser Arrabyee

Al-Bashir calls for military mobilisation against foes at home and abroad, but he is his own worst enemy, argues Asmaa El-Husseini

Gamal Nkrumah appraises the prospects of the third term of a Putin presidency and looks at the legacy of the presumed Beelzebub who bedevils his foes

Gilles Kepel, Quatre-vingt-treize, Paris: Gallimard, 2011. Pp. 322

Gamal Nkrumah recalls a recent photographic pronouncement of the aesthetic paradoxes of Africa

Rania Khallaf came across an amazingly new artistic talent in the world of plastic art today

Any child could be turned into a young Salafi by using the right Internet search terms, writes Salonaz Sami

Zamalek made it to the next round of the African Champions League, reports Abeer Anwar