MIDEAST: Hamas Finding the Governance Seat Hot

Khaled Mashaal sounded anxious. Almost panic-stricken. The exiled Hamas leader insisted his Islamic movement had no intention of taking over the Palestinian Authority, that they recognised Mahmoud Abbas as their President, and that they wanted to work with his Fatah movement.

IRAQ: This Too Is the Same Country

A huge building complex is rising above Arbil's ancient citadel and mosques, for long the outstanding features of this city in Iraqi Kurdistan. Once complete, Arbil's Modern Market with its four 33-floor towers will accommodate more than 5,000 shops and business offices.

EGYPT: Clashes Could Bring Sectarian Conflict

After a year of relative tranquility, recent clashes between Muslims and Christians have again raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Egypt.

IRAQ: What Next After Samarra Bombing?

Iraq is again haunted by the ghosts of Samarra, with last week's attack on the Shia-revered al-Askari mosque raising fears that it could touch off a new wave of sectarian violence in a country already crippled by large-scale violence and political crisis.

IRAQ: A Dream Called Electricity

Simmering in the summer heat, Iraqis now have a dream called electricity.

EGYPT: Bedouin Take On the Govt

Last month saw a wave of angry sit-in demonstrations held by the Bedouin of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, triggered by the killing of two tribesmen by police in April. And last week, Bedouin leaders again reiterated their long list of grievances, claiming that state representatives had so far failed to meet their basic demands.

MIDEAST: Israel Offers Dubious Backing to Fatah

As Hamas forces seized control of the Gaza Strip this week, Israeli leaders sat on the sidelines, watching with dismay but not intervening.

IRAQ: U.S. Losing Ground Through Tribal Allies

U.S. attempts to win over tribal collaborators in the al-Anbar province have won it more enemies instead.

MIDEAST: Barak Springs a Comeback

Ehud Barak seemed a spent force. Languishing a distant third in the opinion polls three months ago, his chances of recapturing the leadership of Israel's centre-left Labour Party seemed, at best, remote. But the former prime minister, a long maligned figure both among Israelis and within his own party, pulled off a dramatic comeback, snatching back the party leadership in a tight race on Wednesday.

IRAQ: Violence Now Corners Christians

For Janet Petros's family it all started when the al-Mahdi militia of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took control of their mixed neighbourhood Hay Muwasalat in Baghdad last year.

IRAQ: Lawmaker Confirms Kurd-Shia Clashes in Baghdad

A May 29 IPS report on clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga troops and militiamen of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad has been confirmed by an Iraqi member of Parliament, representing the Sunni-led Iraqi Accordance Front (Al-Tawafuq).

LEBANON: Refugee Resentment Simmers as Fighting Escalates

Fighting escalated Sunday and Monday in Lebanon as the Sunni Islamic group Jund al Asham attacked army positions outside Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh, in the south.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Sick of Their Government

Reports of the poor health among high-ranking Iraqi politicians are being seen as symbolic of the popular mood here about the U.S.-backed government.

MIDEAST: Barak Seeks Redemption in Run-Off Vote

When Ehud Barak announced earlier this year that he was returning to politics and planned to recapture the leadership of Israel's centre-left Labour Party, he was greeted with a mixture of scorn and distaste.

IRAQ: From Worse to Worst?

More than four months after the launch of the U.S. government's new Iraq strategy aimed at curbing violence in this war-torn country, the situation here shows no clear signs of improvement. Indeed, a recent report by a British think tank warns that Iraq is a "failure" on the verge of "collapse and fragmentation."

IRAQ: Kurds and Shia Fight for Power in Baghdad

A massacre by members of Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army on Sunni worshippers earlier this month sparked clashes between patrolling Kurdish militiamen in southwest Baghdad and the Mehdi army, raising tensions that fighting between the groups could spread.

YEMEN: Disarming Will Not Be Easy

Government plans to disarm large swaths of the population are running into difficulties, with some lawmakers reticent to pass new legislation, calling for enforcement of existing law instead, and tribal leaders demanding the right to protect themselves.

LABOUR: Plight of Workers in Palestinian Territories Has “Worsened Dramatically”

Workers in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel have suffered another year of drastic decline in living standards and rising poverty, unemployment, social disintegration and political chaos, the ILO said in a new report.

MIDEAST: Israel Confronts Political Crisis

Judging by the interest - or distinct lack thereof - that the public and media have displayed towards the vote Monday for the leadership of Israel's centre-left Labour Party, it would seem that few believe the outcome will have a major impact on the country's political future. That is because opinion polls consistently place the centre-right Likud party way ahead of Labour in a general election.

LEBANON: 30,000 Caught in Crossfire

Palestinian factions inside Lebanon have been in a quandary as to how to assist the more than 30,000 residents of the densely populated Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon trapped after three days of fighting between Lebanese Army units and members of a Sunni Islamist group, Fatah al-Islam.

MIDEAST: Not Another Ground Assault

Twice this week, Defence Minister Amir Peretz has warned that Israel will not refrain from launching a massive ground operation in Gaza if Palestinian militants do not halt the firing of rockets into southern Israel from the coastal strip.