The Iraqi poet and recently appointed director of the Arab World Institute in Paris talks about stones, the overlap between diplomacy and literature, and what gives him 'the spirit of life'
Whether viewing the aeroplane, a symbol of freedom, as a death sentence, or pleading for the black sky to turn into milk for children to drink, poets cry out to the world for help.
Poets such as Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Salah Abd al-Sabour, Khalil Hawi, and Mahmoud Darwish were said to have been influenced by Eliot; we examine the depth of this inspiration.
What remains of the legacy of the great Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab? Ali Mahmoud Khodir revisits the eventful life of the late poet as told by his son
Beijing would like the week to mark a historic turning point in which a unipolar world finally gave way to multipolarity. To others, it was just tub-thumping bravura. In reality, it was a bit of both.
The country now sits at an energy crossroads: will its recovery be anchored in oil and gas, or will it seize the chance to lean into renewables and build something more resilient?
After Israel dealt Iran and its regional axis a string of crippling blows last year, Lebanon now finds itself better-positioned to reclaim its eroded state sovereignty. Will it grab the chance?
Recent books from Yemen, Egypt, and Syria take a new look at the 10th-century philosopher's famed letter 'The Epistle of Forgiveness', which is said to have inspired Dante's 'Divine Comedy'
An earthquake in Afghanistan earlier this week levelled entire villages and left people trapped under rubble for days, but in the shadow of the Hindu Kush, saviours were thin on the ground