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.

LEBANON: Violence Highlights Regional Polarisation

The violence in Lebanon's Nahr al-Bader Palestinian refugee camp that has killed more than 55 people in the past two days is focusing attention on a relatively unknown and shadowy Islamist group, Fatah al-Islam.

MIDEAST: Hara-Kiri, Palestinian Style

It was an anguished entreaty from a veteran politician watching his own people tear themselves apart, but helpless to do anything about it.

EGYPT: Islamist MPs In the Dock

In another escalation of the government's ongoing campaign against the Islamist opposition, two MPs from the Muslim Brotherhood were stripped of parliamentary immunity this month after being briefly detained by police.

POLITICS-US: Father of Christian Zionism Leaves the Building

The right-wing U.S. Christian evangelist Jerry Falwell, who died Tuesday at the age of 73, is perhaps best known for his fundamentalist social positions and tirades against lesbians, gays and feminists, not to mention "pagans", "abortionists" and assorted other miscreants.

EGYPT: Labour Unrest Spreads

Workers in Cairo's vital public transport sector threatened to go on strike earlier this month if the state did not meet their list of demands. The incident was only the latest in a spate of strikes and protests in recent months that local commentators attribute to the steadily rising cost of living.

POLITICS-US/SYRIA: No Detente Just Yet

The U.S. State Department has harshly condemned Syria's sentencing of political prisoner Kamal al-Labwani, one week after Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice broke a two-year diplomatic embargo against Damascus.

MIDEAST: Noose Tightens Around Olmert

The noose tightened a little more this week around the neck of the embattled Ehud Olmert, when former prime minister Ehud Barak intimated that the Israeli leader should step down in the wake of a scathing report on his handling of the war in Lebanon last summer.

IRAQ: And Yet More Talk

Two days of talks on Iraq last week produced an international agreement promising support for the Iraqi government in exchange for political and economic reforms to be implemented by Baghdad. But while the so-called International Compact on Iraq (ICI) cancelled some of the country's foreign debts, the initiative - and the conferences that accompanied it - yielded few other tangible results, local commentators say.

EGYPT: A Marriage Becomes Everyone’s Business

The marriage last week of Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak and influential member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), has led to renewed speculation about the presidential scion's political ambitions.

LEBANON: Resistance Being Rebuilt Too

As reconstruction resumes in the heavily bombed southern Beirut district Dahiyeh, the signs are evident of a rebuilding of resistance against Israel and the U.S.-backed government, largely by way of increased support for Hezbollah.

LEBANON: Refugees Learn to Substitute Government

The influx of refugees from Palestinian areas and the inability of the government to do much for them has strengthened a unique NGO providing essential services.

EGYPT: Judges Retirement Age Sparks Fresh Row

Parliament agreed in principle last week to raise the official retirement age for judges by two years. Opposition groups and reform-minded judges have blasted the move, however, saying it would only serve to keep long-time partisans of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) ensconced in key judicial positions.

LEBANON: Tensions Run High After Sunni Killings

The killings of two pro-government Sunni Muslims has raised tensions across Lebanon. Rival political leaders have called for calm amidst fear that the killings could spark civil strife.

LEBANON: One Unexploded Bomb Per Person

Close to a million unexploded bombs are estimated to litter southern Lebanon, according to UN forces engaged in the hazardous task of removing them.

LEBANON: Political Loyalties Being Rebuilt

People in this southern Lebanese village are rebuilding their destroyed houses with renewed vigour. And, with renewed loyalties to a combination of Hezbollah, Qatar and Iran.

LEBANON: This Protest Won’t Go Away

Lebanon is caught in political gridlock in the face of sustained opposition to the U.S.-backed government.

REFUGEES-IRAQ: U.S. State Department Pushes for Palestinian Resettlement

U.S. State Department officials confirmed this week that they have been in discussions with Israel and the Kurdish regional government about possible resettlement solutions for the estimated 15,000 Palestinian refugees currently stranded in Iraq.

POLITICS: Suspicion of U.S. Found Pervasive in Islamic World

Six and a half years after U.S. President George W. Bush launched his "global war on terror", suspicion of U.S. motives remains pervasive throughout the Islamic world, according to a new and highly detailed survey of four countries released here Tuesday.