Along the Silk Road Promoting world peace as well as bilateral ties: this is the aim at the heart of President Mubarak's three-nation Asian tour. Nevine Khalil writes from Beijing

Fuel to the flames Western allies responded to Yugoslavia's cease-fire offer with additional air strikes Flight from the truth A Dutch parliamentary investigation into the crash of flight LY 1862 six years ago has shown Israel in a most unsavoury light, writes Mouin Rabbani It's not over yet The UN sanctions against Libya have been suspended following the hand-over of two Libyan Lockerbie suspects. Yet, reports Rasha Saad, this might not be the end of the crisis

A life like no other Copts prepare to celebrate Easter next Sunday, and Egypt's monasteries are making ready. It is the desert fathers who caused the monastic movement to bloom worldwide, and it is their spiritual heirs who continue to take the vows today. But Mariz Tadros, travelling into the wilderness, finds more than silence and self-denial