IRAQ: Quarrels Overshadow Talk of Consensus

Clasping his hands together in a sign of unity, a cheerful Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Shia-dominated United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) entered the hall in this Kurdish city amidst applause. Al-Hakim was here to bring Shia groups from the south and Kurds from the north together in government.

IRAQ: Election Despair Spreads to Expatriates

Despair over the Iraq election has spread to a large number of expatriates who voted in the Dec. 15 election.

EGYPT: Another Regional Step Past WTO

Egypt signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey this week after several rounds of bilateral negotiations. The regional agreement marked a success after the disappointment through the negotiations at the trade ministers meeting in Hong Kong.

ENVIRONMENT-MOROCCO: How Green Was My City

If they have it their way, Casablanca will be green again. Because now this commercial hub of Morocco is a polluted city, and what were once its famous green parks, refuse dumps.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Sharon Keeps Them Guessing

The events that unfolded inside Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's official vehicle on the evening of Dec. 18 could turn out to be a key element in deciphering what Israelis and Palestinians can expect in the course of 2006.

IRAQ: Occupation Denies Validity of Election

The Dec. 15 election may have marked a turning point for the involvement of Sunnis in the new political process. But while many Sunnis turned out to vote, resistance groups have said they will continue fighting as long as the United States maintains a presence in Iraq.

IRAQ: Coalitions Reject Election Results

Many Iraqis are demanding a new poll after more than 1,500 cases of election fraud and forgery were reported in the Dec. 15 elections, at least 30 of them "extremely serious".

IRAQ: People Concerned More About Own Lives than Saddam’s

Most Iraqis are more concerned with finding jobs, putting food on the table, personal safety and the removal of the occupation forces than the ongoing trial of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

YEMEN: Candidacy of First Woman for President Puts Spotlight on Equality

As a recent Arab women's conference came to a close, Sumayah Ali Raja, chair of the Yemen-French Forum, announced she would run in the September 2006 presidential elections. But even her supporters are only cautiously optimistic, pointing to the many cultural obstacles women in politics face in an Arab country.

ENERGY: Iraqis Reject Increased Fuel Costs

For two days demonstrations have continued across Iraq in protest against the government's decision to raise the price of petrol, cooking and heating fuels.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Iraqis Glad 2005 Over, Dim Hopes for 2006

Despite the parliamentary elections last week and temporary ease in violence, Iraqis remain bitter about the outgoing year, and sceptical of 2006.

UAE: Arab Media Asks Tough Questions – of Itself

Arabs are no longer blaming external forces for giving the region and its media a bad name. As debates at the 'Arab and World Media Conference' revealed, they are also attempting to identify the deficiencies in their own systems and demanding remedies to overcome them.

IRAQ: In Kurdistan, Election Becomes Endorsement

While most of Iraq waits as the counting of votes begins, much of the Kurdish north is celebrating election victory already.

IRAQ: Torture Hovers Over Poll

Issues around torture will top the long list of problems a new government in Iraq will face after the election Thursday.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Two Top Ministers Accused of Atrocities

Amid growing alarm over extreme views voiced by Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, a major U.S.-based international human rights group called Wednesday for the immediate dismissal of two of his top cabinet ministers for their involvement in past repression and atrocities.

IRAQ: Election Comes Up Amid Tension and Hope

Tensions between ethnic and religious groups have been rising in Iraq ahead of the elections Thursday.

EGYPT: Voters Kept Away in Last Round

The final round of voting Thursday was marred by widespread clashes between voters and security forces, and reports of intimidation.

IRAQ: U.S. Helps Some Iran-Backed Terror

After the U.S. forces and the bombings, Iraqis are coming to fear those bands of men in masks who seem to operate with the Iraqi police.

MIDEAST: Bombing Scatters Political Questions

The Israeli rescue services had hardly finished evacuating the dead and injured from the scene of the suicide bomb blast in the coastal town of Netanya that killed five people on Monday, and already the speculation was under way.

IRAQ: Where People Cannot Afford Their Country

Despite the allocation of billions of dollars of U.S. government money for "reconstruction", Iraqis are struggling to exist amidst soaring prices, unemployment, a devastated infrastructure, and cuts in services.

IRAQ: So Much Oil, And So Little

Before the recent war in Iraq, the sanctions decreased access to many resources, but gas was still plentiful and affordable. Since the invasion in 2003 gas and kerosene have been in short supply.