Excerpts: French support for Syria.Muslim/Christian clashes.Abbas' popularity increases; Hamas' declines.10 June 2008 +++Syria Arab News Agency(SANA ) 10 June '08 QUOTE: Paris readiness to help push ahead ...support to Damascus to restore all of its rights FULL TEXTaris, (SANA)- The Spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry stressed Tuesday that the official visit to Paris by Syrian Minister of Culture Dr. Riad Na'assan Agha comes as part of opening a new page and developing the relations between Syria and France who are _link_ed by historical relations. The Spokeswoman pointed out in this regard to the recent phone call between President Bashar al-Assad and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. The French President had made a phone call with President al-Assad on May 30, lauding the relentless efforts exerted by President al-Assad to make Doha Agreement on Lebanon a success.  President Sarkozy also expressed willingness to give a new momentum to the relations between the two countries, Paris readiness to help push ahead the Middle East peace process and support to Damascus to restore all of its rights. +++AL-AHRAM WEEKLY 5-11 June '08: Just a coincidence? by Reem Leila QUOTE: raised... spectre of sectarian discord in Egypt EXCERPTS:After more than a year of relative tranquillity, recent clashes between Muslims and Christians have again raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Egypt Three violent incidents this past week have shattered hopes that sectarian conflict between Muslims and Coptic Christians was a thing of the past in Egypt .  .  .For months, Egyptian police have been attempting to end the sectarianism that has grown rampant in the central areas of the country. Copts blame the government for neglecting their community . .  fears are rising across the country that the sectarianism that is plaguing other Middle Eastern nations is coming. .  .  . ...Political analyst Sameh Fawzi who is also head of the Citizens for Development Foundation, said that often violence gets caught up in the day-to-day struggles of life in the country. Fawzi believes that while much of the recent violence is most certainly related to religion, it is not religion that drives the violence..  .  .Coptic intellectual Milad Hanna warns against the great danger taking place in Egypt now, which is sectarian conflict. Hanna believes that despite a long history of peaceful co-existence, recent months have witnessed several cases of sectarian violence. Hostilities are flaring up, the government must not stand still or indifferent towards the problem because these incidents prove that the status of peaceful co-existence has come to an end, Hanna said..  .  .Interfaith relations have traditionally been peaceful in Egypt for the past 14 centuries, which means since the beginning of Islam. +++JORDAN TIMES 10 June '08: Abbas popularity rises, Hamas' drops - poll RAMALLAH (AFP) - The popularity of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has risen while Hamas' has fallen, in a reversal of the trend three months ago, according to an opinion poll released on Monday. Abbas has a 12 percentage point lead over Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the Hamas government that seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago, the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said. If elections were held now Abbas would get 52 per cent support and Haniyeh 40 per cent .  .  . =========== Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA