CHALLENGES 2006-2007: When Iraqis Gave Up on Government

The Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Noori al-Maliki, like earlier governments assigned by U.S. occupation authorities in Iraq, appears to have killed Iraqi dreams of a brighter future.

IRAQ: Children Pick Their Christmas Toys

Ahmed Ghazi has little reason to stock Christmas toys at his shop in Fallujah. He knows what children want these days.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Emboldened Opposition, but Few Real Reforms in Egypt

Domestically, the past year was a watershed for Egypt. It witnessed the emergence an empowered Muslim Brotherhood controlling roughly one-fifth of the parliament; a rebellion by reformist elements of the judiciary; and an embattled president vowing - but not yet delivering - a new era of political reform.

IRAQ: Refugees Run From Violence to Deprivation

Khanzad, 26, originally Kurdish, returned to Arbil with her family in mid-2004 after 16 years of living in Baghdad. Like many coming from the violence-stricken city, she has a harrowing story to tell.

MIDEAST: Abbas Gambles with Another Election

Frustrated with the impasse in unity talks with Hamas, the usually unadventurous, risk-averse Mahmoud Abbas is embarking on what can only be described as the biggest political gamble of his long career - his decision to call early Palestinian elections.

MEDIA: Cartoons Cast a Long Shadow in Yemen

Long after the cartoons controversy died down in Denmark and around the world, it continues to hover above media in Yemen. Journalists are fighting the government over prison sentences handed down to editors who republished the cartoons in some form.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Iraqi Hopes Dim Through Worst Year of Occupation

Despite promises from Iraqi and U.S. leaders that 2006 would bring improvement, Iraqis have suffered through the worst year in living memory, facing violence, fragmentation and a disintegrated economy.

EGYPT: Fearing Civil Wars, Cairo Counsels Restraint

While the situation in U.S.-occupied Iraq has slid further into chaos and sectarian strife, Egypt has watched anxiously as two areas closer to home - the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon - have also been roiled by the specter of civil war.

MIDEAST: Syrian Offer Appears Too Good to Be True

It would seem Israel is being offered exactly what it has been demanding for so many years from Syria: negotiations without preconditions. No insistence now by Damascus on Israeli readiness to make territorial concessions even before talks have begun.

IRAQ: Slim Chance for Reconciliation Recedes

Iraq's national reconciliation conference held on the weekend highlights the gap between the country's various political groups and their lack of consensus on a common basis for reconciliation.

IRAQ: It’s Either Occupation or Education

Two in three children in Iraq have simply stopped going to school, according to a government report.

MIDEAST: To Map a Green Line or Not

A directive by Israel's education minister that all maps in new editions of school textbooks must include the 1967 line that separates Israel from the West Bank has sparked a political firestorm, with right-wing politicians and religious leaders threatening to boycott the books if they are issued.

MIDEAST: Israel Watchful of Hezbollah Moves

An Iranian and Syrian satellite, Hezbollah operating unfettered, and the Israeli army ceasing to patrol the south - that is the fate Israeli leaders fear could befall Lebanon if anti- government forces succeed in ousting the elected government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

LABOUR-EGYPT: Workers’ Revolt Pays Off

More than 20,000 Egyptian textile workers have scored a rare win over plans to privatise their publicly-owned company, with a massive strike that forced the company's management and the pro-free market government to back down.

IRAQ: U.S. Troops Raid Hospital Again

Iraqi doctors and medical staff are outraged over yet another U.S. military raid at Fallujah General Hospital.

IRAQ: Abduction of Women on the Rise

Women face increased risk of abduction by militias and criminal gangs as lawlessness takes over the country.

EGYPT: Opposition Skeptical over Constitutional Reform

Following earlier pledges to make 2007 "the year of constitutional reform," President Hosni Mubarak recently called for a raft of amendments to the national charter "with the aim of securing a new era of political change." According to opposition figures and political analysts, however, the promised reforms represent little more than window dressing.

IRAQ: Cornered Military Takes to Desperate Tactics

People living in areas where resistance to U.S.-led occupation is mounting are facing increased levels of collective punishment from the occupation forces, residents say.

DEVELOPMENT: Arab Women Face Double Portion of Suffering – UNDP

Women in the Arab world are not realising their full potential and are still denied equality of opportunities, says the UNDP's Arab Human Development Report, pointing to obstacles ranging from certain cultural aspects to armed conflict and terrorism.

MIDEAST: Olmert Looks Away From Iraq

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was doing his best to persuade a skeptical audience of journalists that a report by a U.S. advisory group, which linked the chaos in Iraq to the unresolved conflict between Israel and its neighbours, would have no impact on U.S. policy in the region.

IRAQ: Widows Become the Silent Tragedy

Hundreds of thousands of widows are becoming the silent tragedy of a country sliding deeper into chaos by the day.