IRAQ: Not Yet a Civil War

Repeated cries in the mainstream press of an unfolding civil war fall on deaf ears of many Iraqis. Only some have begun to use the term 'civil war' to describe the conflict raging around Iraq; many feel the term is inappropriate.

EGYPT: The Tourist Begins to Look Asian

In the wake of the Muslim world's angry reaction to cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, the number of Western European vacationers to Egypt has fallen noticeably, according to industry insiders.

MOROCCO: The ‘Original’ Speak Out, In Their Language

When king Mohamed VI opened the international book fair in Casablanca last month, he entered the stand of the Royal Institute of the Amazighe Culture (IRCA) and took from it a book on learning Tamazight, the language of the 'Berbers'.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: Where Double Standards Can Be Lethal

Female suicide bombers burst onto the scene of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the beginning of 2002. This is when 27-year-old nurse Wafa Idris, a resident of the Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, killed one person and wounded 90 in a Jaffa Street attack in the heart of Jerusalem.

IRAQ: Sunnis Press for Peace

As violence continues throughout much of Iraq, many Sunni political and religious leaders continue to urge their followers to resist launching reprisal attacks.

MIDEAST: Iran Shows Its Hand

U.S. State Department fears that Iran aims to control the Palestinian government as it does the Hezbollah in Lebanon, on top of new concerns that Al-Qaeda may have infiltrated Gaza and the West Bank, is multiplying anxieties about the eventual impact this could have on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and regional terrorism.

MIDEAST: Rockets Launched Into Uneasy Peace

A surge in attacks since January's Palestinian elections by radical groups using Qassam rockets against Jewish settlements bordering the Gaza Strip has resulted in a stepped-up counter-attack by the Israeli defence forces.

IRAQ: Professionals On a Death Row

Professionals like doctors and teachers are being targeted particularly in the crime wave sweeping Iraq.

MIDEAST: Israeli Russians Could Swing the Vote

Although Israeli pollsters peg the Kadima Party as the frontrunner in winning next month's elections, it is still uncertain who will secure the coveted Russian vote that always plays a critical role on polling day.

IRAQ: Political Motives Behind Attacks Surface

The political motivations behind the bombing of the Shia shrine in Samarra have begun to surface through several accounts.

IRAQ: Mosque Outrage Brings Solidarity

Widespread sectarian violence generated by the recent bombing of the Shia Golden Mosque in Samarra has also brought widespread demonstrations of solidarity between Sunnis and Shias across Iraq.

IRAQ: Bombing Could Hit Government Talks

The bombing of the Al-Askari Shia shrine and the wave of killings and attacks on Sunni mosques that followed have further endangered the fragile moves towards formation of a government.

MEDIA-RELIGION: Yemen Journalists Fight Cartoon Crackdown

The cartoons controversy has taken a new turn in Yemen with a plea by four jailed journalists that they re-published the cartoons in defence of Islam.

EGYPT: Opposition Crumbles After Poor Showing

Secular opposition parties are floundering after elections last year that saw parliamentary seats largely divided between the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Muslim Brotherhood.

CORRUPTION-MOROCCO: Worries Rise With It

When Morocco slipped to a position as the 78th most corrupt country in the latest Transparency International report, the change reflected the perception of most Moroccans.

YEMEN: Questions Arise Over Al-Qaeda Escape

The two U.S. helicopters that went down off the coast of Djibouti Friday killing ten on board could have been searching for Al-Qaeda members who had escaped from jail in Yemen, government sources said.

IRAQ: Crime Becomes Another Occupation

Iraqis live amidst the excesses of the occupation, death squads, shooting and terrorist bombing - but that is not all. They have learnt to live increasingly with crime that often enters homes without anyone to check it.

MIDEAST: ‘Cartoons Bring Welcome Distraction for Arab Govts’

As furore grips the Muslim world over the cartoon illustrations of prophet Mohammed, accusations have surfaced that governments opposed to democracy have their own reasons to show the dark side of the so-called free world.

IRAQ: Outrage Spreads over New Images

New footage of British soldiers beating up young Iraqi men in Amarah city in 2003, and the release of more photographs of atrocities by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison has spread outrage across Iraq.

IRAQ: Siniyah Isolated and Simmering

Twice now, an IPS correspondent has been refused entry to this town that has become a prison for its inhabitants. Contact with residents of the town came only at the checkpoint.

MIDEAST: Egypt Finds Brotherhood with Hamas

Following the victory of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in the Jan. 25 Palestinian elections, Cairo is readying itself for new political equations.