On the basis of the investigation undertaken by the Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), it emerges that temporary military installations from which missiles were fired into Lebanon during the 2006 war were indeed positioned in very close proximity to the Arab locales that suffered the gravest attacks during the war. This is in addition to permanent military installations in existence prior to the war. In some cases, the military installations were established inside the Arab locales.

The Darfur conflict has changed radically in the past year and not for the better. While there are many fewer deaths than during the high period of fighting in 2003-2004, it has mutated, the parties have splintered, and the confrontations have multiplied. Violence is again increasing, access for humanitarian agencies is decreasing, international peacekeeping is not yet effective and a political settlement remains far off. The strategy the African Union (AU)/UN mediation has been following cannot cope with this new reality and needs to be revised.

Though it has been officially banned in Egypt since 1954, the Brotherhood is nonetheless presently tolerated by the authorities and is represented in Parliament, where it holds 88 of the 405 seats, i.e., a bit more than one-fifth. Muslim Brotherhood until recently positioned itself as a democratic party and seemed to have put aside its vague desire to create an Islamic state. Recent events show in any case that the Egyptian authorities have decided to continue a policy aimed at countering the designs of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Peace in Africa was one of the main subjects on the agenda of the 33rd meeting of the G8 which took place in Germany in June. Now the international community is continuing to mobilise itself to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Darfur. Where is Darfur headed? Will the ongoing negotiations be sufficient to establish peace there? What will really bring about a new dialogue between the parties?