Cutting off gas exports to Israel might have felt like a bombshell but it didn't come out of the blue, write Niveen Wahish and Sherine Abdel-Razek

Anan's plan on Syria has backers and doubters but there is no alternative, writes Graham Usher at the UN

The remaining batch of presidential candidates is provoking as much despondency as enthusiasm, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky

Islamist parties campaigned vigorously for a yes vote in the March 2011 referendum on the interim Constitutional Declaration. Now some of them wish they hadn't, writes Gamal Essam El-Din

Will Muslim Brotherhood intransigence split the Islamist vote, asks Amani Maged

Even if he cannot run for the presidency, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail represents a new and deep-running trend in Egyptian social and political life, writes Khalil El-Anani

As the military celebrated the anniversary of Sinai's liberation, the head of the ruling Armed Forces addressed friends and foes alike, Amirah Ibrahim reports

Egypt's mufti comes under heavy fire after a surprise visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque defied a decades-long national travel boycott to Jerusalem while the city remains under Israeli occupation. Gihan Shahine monitors the furious debate

While the decision to export gas to Israel has sparked much controversy ever since 2005, it was only this week that Egypt decided to put an end to the deal. Sherine Abdel-Razek and Niveen Wahish investigate the timing and repercussions of the move

UN monitors started their mission in Syria this week amid warnings of catastrophe should they fail, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

A personal spat between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his premier, Salam Fayyad, is overshadowing the Palestinian Authority, writes Khaled Amayreh

The visit of Egypt's Ali Gomaa to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem unleashed a firestorm of criticism among Palestinians, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Torture and death lurk behind the return of Bahrain's glitzy Formula 1 race, writes Rasheed Abul-Samh

The ensanguined spectre of Sudanese contesting ideological convictions, secularist South and Islamist North, leads to another round of bloodletting, laments Gamal Nkrumah

US drone attacks continue, endangering delicate negotiations to free kidnapping victims, says Nasser Arrabyee

The battle between the armies of Sudan and South Sudan is not over yet, and future relations require patience and open-mindedness, says Asmaa El-Husseini

French President Nicolas Sarkozy did poorly in last weekend's elections, perhaps leaving the path clear for socialist challenger François Hollande, writes David Tresilian in Paris

Sarah Eissa explores the options

The Egyptian Olympic football team was placed in Group C with Brazil, New Zealand and Belarus in the draw held at Wembley Stadium in London, Inas Mazhar reports