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East Asia
[Books] Israel, living on the edge
[BOOKS] My Promised Land The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel By Ari Shavit | Spiegel & Grau | 2013 Winner of the Natan Book Award, My Promised Land, by esteemed Israeli journalist Ari Shavit presents an honest, balanced and comprehensive view of Israel. Shavit uses the past to shed…
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West Asia
Egyptian workshop on Korean poems
The very first question addressed to me was: “Why did you choose to translate the book of the Korean monk and poet Cho Oh-hyun?” I was sitting surrounded by an elite audience of Egyptian writers, poets, novelists, critics and journalists. It seemed like a testing start, but I was keen…
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West Asia
How does friendship make our life sweet?
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Friends are an important part…
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East Asia
[Books] Meet Malala
I Am Malala The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban By Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb | Little, Brown and Company | 2013 Malala Yousafzai, the brave Pakistani girl who stood up for education and was shot in the head by the Taliban, writes…
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West Asia
UN inspectors to visit Arak heavy water plant in Iran, IAEA confirms
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will accept an offer from Iran to visit Iran’s Arak heavy-water production plant early next month, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told a press conference here on Thursday. Amano announced Iran’s invitation to visit the heavy-water plant in the central city of Arak on…
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West Asia
Celebrations across UAE as Dubai wins right to host World Expo 2020
Fireworks erupted in Dubai after the tiny Gulf emirate won the right to host the 2020 World Expo, becoming the first Middle Eastern city to organize the event in its more than 150-year history. Dubai bested competing bids from Izmir, Turkey; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Yekaterinburg, Russia, after three…
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“To have a friend, you must be a friend”
The following excerpt is a part of Najwa Zahhar’s autobiography. Her book was published in Arabic in 2004, and was translated under the title of Gardenia, which means Garden in local Arabic. She talks about the meaning of friendship and life as lamenting the loss of her friend. -Editor’s note “To have a…
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West Asia
History-shaping Iran nuclear deal in Geneva breaks 3-decade gridlock
In this photo released by the Iranian Students News Agency, ISNA, Iranians hold posters of President Hassan Rouhani as they welcome Iranian nuclear negotiators upon their arrival from Geneva at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. Hundreds of cheering supporters greeted Iran’s nuclear negotiators as…
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West Asia
Charitable supply reaches Tunisian state Siliana under AJA banner
A big covered truck usually used in moving furniture along with some small boxes which didn’t find a place in the truck were put in the bus which accompanied the supply convoy to Siliana state, Tunisia. The bus moved the “Tunisian Association for Retirees and Elderly” delegation headed by Mr…
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South Asia
Hemant Divate: Poetic butterflies from the garden of India
An email sent from a friend opened a whole new world for me. It happened when Ahmed Al Shahawi, the well known Egyptian poet, sent me his friend Hemant Divate’s poems, to introduce them for Arab readers. Mr. Hemant Divate is an internationally known Marathi poet from India, who lives…
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