MIDEAST: Sharon Appears the Struggling Dove

In the last two weeks, they have become the most courted, the most polled and the best-fed group of people in Israel. For good reason: they hold the fate of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the ruling Likud party, and possibly even that of the state of Israel, in their hands.

AFGHANISTAN: Elections May Be Less Than Free

While Afghanistan's parliamentary elections Sunday are expected to go relatively smoothly, the freedom with which they are being carried out is being questioned by many observers.

SYRIA: A New Iraq In The Making

Syria is almost visibly wilting under a double American onslaught.

IRAQ: Vicious Circle Rings Constitution

Iraq is starting to find itself in a sectarian bind. Disagreement over the new constitution, mainly between the Shias and the Sunnis, has been blamed for increasing tensions. But there is ample evidence that militants are targeting the very idea of a new constitution, rather than its content.

POLITICS-EGYPT: Choose the Crescent or Be Fined

The residents of Kafr Shaaban, a tiny village in northeastern Egypt, were abruptly roused Wednesday evening by a voice roaring through loudspeakers mounted on the high minarets of the town's mosques.

ISRAEL: Pakistan Takes a Controversial Step Closer

A surprise between the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan in Turkey has run into considerable disapproval in the Arab world. But many Arab nations are themselves reconsidering ties with Israel.

POLITICS-EGYPT: Judges Get “Conditional” Approval to Watch Vote

Thousands of Egyptian judges who had threatened not to monitor the country's first-ever contested presidential elections if a fair vote was not guaranteed said this week that they will supervise the balloting after all, but called on the U.S-backed government of Pres. Hosni Mubarak to meet certain demands.

IRAQ: Sunnis Hard to Include, Harder to Leave Out

Despite the signing of a draft constitution by the Iraqi constitutional panel comprising mainly Shia and Kurdish leaders, Sunnis are still seeking amendments to the text.

MEDIA-YEMEN: New Struggle for Independence Begins

The abduction of the chief editor of a weekly has brought journalists together in a new struggle to protect their independence.

IRAQ: Deadliest Day Needed No Bombs

The death toll from a stampede of Iraqi Shiite pilgrims continued to climb Wednesday, with security officials saying nearly 800 people perished and 323 were injured when rumours of a suicide bombing sparked chaos on a Baghdad bridge.

EGYPT: Unrest Brews in Sinai

Recent violence in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has gone from the multiple car bomb attacks in Sharm El-Sheikh in July to attacks on the Egyptian police and the international peacekeeping contingent by the border with Israel.

EGYPT: Selected Candidates Prepare for Election

Egyptians will vote in multi-candidate presidential elections for the first time Sep. 7, but their choices have been limited.

IRAQ: Talks Do Not Constitute Agreement

Iraqi political factions have not been able to work out an agreement on a new constitution despite extended deadlines and growing U.S. pressure.

EGYPT: Relief and Reservations Over Withdrawal

Egyptians are still trying to make sense of the political implications of the dramatic evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.

RIGHTS: Arabs Urged to Accept International Court

Civil society organisations agreed last week to launch a campaign to pressure Arab states to join the International Criminal Court.

MIDEAST: Behind the Spotlight on Gaza

As the cameras focus on the few Israeli settlers being moved out of Gaza, some are asking the world to look at the plight of the Palestinians living there, and what that means for peace.

IRAQ: Constitution May Not Bring Peace

The three main groups negotiating Iraq's new constitution have indicated that they have made little headway on the issues that led parliament to extend the deadline for submitting the draft by a week until Aug. 22. The unresolved issues are mainly federalism and the role of Islam.

MIDEAST: Prepare for the World’s Largest Prison

"This plan is good for Israel in any future scenario," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said of the Gaza pullout. And it may not be as good for Palestinians as it seems.

MIDEAST: An Easy Move Becomes Hard

He is bronzed, carries a pistol prominently on his hip, and generally looks the part but Socrate Soussan does not sound like a typical Jewish settler in Gaza.

YEMEN: A Change, But to What

The announcement by 63-year-old Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh that he will not contest elections next year has brought new uncertainty about the future of the country.

RELIGION: As an Islamist Might Appear at Home

She always thought she was married. Two years into it she became pregnant. Her Islamist husband ordered her to get an abortion, and when she refused, he left her.