Will this year's Arab summit be any different from those in years past, asks Dina Ezzat

Will the appointment of a new grand sheikh restore Al-Azhar's credibility? Gihan Shahine finds out

The question is no longer when Mubarak is coming back but what he is coming back to. Dina Ezzat searches for an answer

Mohamed El-Baradei is back to Egypt, with his supporters determined to cause as much discomfort to the NDP as possible, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Egypt awaits the verdict of the Naga Hammadi trial on 18 April. Were the culprits political agitators, common criminals or premeditated murderers, asks Gamal Nkrumah

"It knows what it doesn't want but doesn't know what it does want." But how true an assessment is this of the Muslim Brotherhood's position ahead of the Shura Council elections and amid a security clampdown, asks Amira Howeidy

The chairman of the Central Auditing Agency painted a bleak picture of the Egyptian economy, taking the government to task for the proliferation of corruption and the plight of the poor, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

A campaign to re-build the National Cancer Institute is being launched and nothing less than the best will do, reports Reem Leila

Although the US trade representative's visit to Egypt this week appears to have been no more than a photo opportunity, there is much more than meets the eye, writes Niveen Wahish

Deprived communities are getting better access to clean water, Sherine Nasr reports

For Israel's hawkish premier, the issue is not halting illegal settlement expansion, but increasing it less conspicuously, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

While Arab leaders push for Palestinian unity ahead of the Arab summit, developments on the ground continue to scupper their efforts, writes Saleh Al-Naami

The real crisis is not between Israel and the US but the absence of an American policy for ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, writes Graham Usher in Washington

The UN's role in the Middle East will always have more to do with development than with resolving the Arab-Israeli struggle, UN expert Thomas Weiss tells Dina Ezzat

Syria hopes to play an important role at the forthcoming Libyan Arab summit, underlining its efforts to achieve greater Arab recognition, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

Donors pledged $850 million for development in Darfur in Cairo on Sunday, falling far short of the $2 billion earmarked for the cause. Gamal Nkrumah probes into the reasons behind the participants' penny-pinching

Behind the row over Iraqi election lie far deeper fears about a new era of violence, writes Salah Hemeid

Unspeakable devastation, unthinkable human loss: this is what Iraq has suffered -- and continues to suffer -- under occupation that poses as liberation, writes Felicity Arbuthnot in London

A year after President Obama's historic outreach to the Islamic Republic, Iranians believe it will take more than well wishes to win their hearts, Rasha Saad reports

AKP reforms will intensify tensions between the government and the judiciary and deepen already dangerous divisions in Turkish society, warns Gareth Jenkins

Has Obama made history by giving coverage for the uncovered? Some castigate him as a communist and others as a comprador, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Gamal Nkrumah cherishes connotations of historical resonance in the performances of the cherry blossom-inspired Japanese jazz musician Makoto Kuryia

Entertaining children for 10 days is no easy task, as Rashda Ragab finds out

Jyl Ghoneim helps you renew your wardrobe with tips on the hottest styles for the coming season

A Lithuanian and a Russian won the men's and women's finals of the modern pentathlon World Cup Two held in Cairo, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader