In Libya, guns are still everywhere and the elected leadership is struggling to rule as militias use guns and intimidation when they don't get their way. Most recently they surrounded two ministries and state television to force through a political isolation law that bars former members of Moammar Gaddafi's regime from government posts.

Egypt's capital has been associated with protest and political upheaval. But an arts festival attempts to clear away the dust and revitalize a once-glorious cultural hub.

How we navigate one another's space is an important and nuanced part of communicating. Two authors observe how this dynamic plays out in Cairo and Sao Paulo.

Violence between Muslims and Christians in Egypt, which has only increased since the revolution, is prompting public debate about religious identity. To try to ease tension and de-emphasize differences, one group of Egyptians wants to remove religious labels from national ID cards.

Bassem Youssef, the wildly popular host of an Egyptian political satire TV show, pokes fun at Egypt's president, Islamists and others. But he's now facing a slew of legal suits accusing him of everything from insulting the president to apostasy. His legal troubles are in many ways a test case for freedom of speech in the new Egypt.

Human Rights Watch is calling on Egypt's president to make public a report that documents police and military abuses against protesters from January 2011 to June 2012. Parts of the report have been leaked to a local newspaper Al Shorouk as well as the British publication The Guardian. In the leaked chapters there are descriptions of police violence and military torture of detainees. While a lot of this is already known about the police and military, the report was referred to the presidency in December and so far no action has been taken. The military this week defended itself, denying any wrongdoing and Egypt's president spoke in solidarity with them.

With no end in sight to Egypt's festering political crisis, the nation seems more polarized then it's ever been. The ruling Muslim Brotherhood is accusing its opponents of resorting to violence in order to oust President Mohammed Morsi. The umbrella opposition group, the NSF, accuses the Brotherhood of pushing the country toward the brink of civil war. Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the opposition says he is scared that Egypt may not survive this.

Egypt suffered the worst religious violence over the weekend that it has seen since President Morsi came to power last year. Egyptians are already struggling with an economic crisis and political instability. Now, religious tensions appear to be boiling over.

Cairo is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan to help pull Egypt out of its deep economic crisis. The government subsidizes wheat and fuel but is running out of money to purchase these crucial imports, and Egyptians are feeling the pinch.

The Islamist group Gamaa al-Islamiya recently agreed to handle security during a strike by police in the city of Assiut; the police returned to work the next day. But the group says it will continue to provide services such as trash pickup, reflecting the larger problem of a deteriorating Egyptian government.

Widespread police brutality under Hosni Mubarak helped fuel the uprising of 2011. But two years later, many say the police have begun to act like armed gangs, meting out collective punishment in restive areas. The police say they are the victims, under attack by anti-government protesters.

Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi spent long hours mediating among world leaders to produce a cessation of violence between Israel and Hamas. The deal brings him — and Egypt — high praise. But a key test comes Thursday, as negotiations over the details of the deal begin.

As the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi underscores, eastern Libya is awash with heavy weaponry, security forces are weak, and the people with the biggest guns rule. Paragovernmental militias patrol the streets, and Libyans fear that militant violence, if left unchecked, could engulf the new Libya.

In an exclusive interview with NPR in Benghazi, President Mohamed el-Megarif says foreigners infiltrated Libya over the past few months, planned the attack and used Libyans to carry it out. But U.S. officials say they have no evidence the attack was preplanned.