While attempting to uphold its siege on Gaza, Israel's brutality has brought its end to hand, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Egypt's absence from the World Cup does not imply abstinence by viewers, as discovered by Alaa Abdel-Ghani and Ahmed Morsy

Finding new ways to handle the situation in Gaza could be the first step towards easing the blockade, reports Doaa El-Bey

Following a week in which the authorities denied passage of food supplies and a construction material convoy led by opposition MPs through the Rafah border crossing, Amira Howeidy reports on efforts to change border regulations

What makes a 30-minute journey from Gaza into the Egyptian territories take three days, wonders Mohamed El-Sayed

Pope Shenouda III remains implacable in opposition to a Supreme Administrative Court ruling stating that the Coptic Orthodox Church should allow Christians to remarry, reports Reem Leila

The Muslim Brotherhood's failure to win a single seat in the Shura Council's mid-term election comes as no surprise, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

As if internal disputes at the Bar Association were not enough, lawyers are now lining up against judges, reports Mona El-Nahhas

Gamal Essam El-Din reports on the strange pairing of ex-IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei and the Muslim Brotherhood

The long-running row over social insurance is reaching new heights as a new draft law goes to the People's Assembly for consideration, Mona El-Fiqi reports

Experts are at odds on how to deal with the coming dominance of data over voice services on telecom networks, Niveen Wahish reports

Attempting by all means, even fabrication, to deflect criticism, Israel is pouring fuel on the fire for its detractors, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

The siege on Gaza is a violation of norms of international humanitarian law. No state can justify the use of force to perpetuate an illegal situation, writes Curtis Doebbler

In standing so firm alongside one ally the United States may risk another, writes Graham Usher in New York

Turkish fury at Israel threatens to spill over into its ties with the West, notes Gareth Jenkins in Ankara

Turkey's noble stand can be undermined by Israel's behind-the-scenes friends, warns Sayed Abdel-Maguid from Erzurum, Turkey

In Istanbul, Dina Ezzat asks whether the blunt words of the Turkish government after the Mavi Marmara tragedy will be followed by appropriate deeds

As US forces prepare to withdraw from Iraq, members of the country's Sunni tribal militias are considering their future, writes Salah Hemeid

While the sources of last year's post-elections trouble in Iran may not have dried up, calm prevails, with the protest movement fractured and ineffective, writes Amani Maged in Tehran

Syria's plan to divert the waters of the Tigris portends a long and bitter quarrel with Iraq, reports Bassel Oudat from Damascus

Disgruntled groups in the south of Yemen are still demanding separation from the north despite President Ali Abdullah Saleh's call for the formation of a national unity government, Nasser Arrabyee reports

The manoeuvring of Japan's political scene looks suspiciously like a performance of Butoh dance, concludes Gamal Nkrumah

Nehad Selaiha applauds a Cultural Homes production of Alejandro Casona's Lady of the Dawn

Ati Metwaly goes Romantic

On 4 April the home of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra was destroyed in a car bomb in Baghdad: Denys Johnson-Davies remembers a dear friend

Tracing the connection between page and screen, Hani Mustafa reviews Asafir Al-Nil (Nile Sparrows), currently on show across Cairo

Injy El-Kashef spends 30 extra minutes with Benjamin Zephaniah, the "born failure" slowly changing the world

In breathtaking fashion, Haras Al-Hedoud beat Ahli to clinch their second successive Egyptian Cup title, reports Ahmed Morsy

Where, how and why will Egyptians watch the football extravaganza? On the eve of the tournament Abeer Anwar provides some answers