The fate of historic buildings is a global hot topic, but this month activists occupying an old trading complex in Ukraine’s capital to try to stop its redevelopment had to deal with a real fire destroying their ‘Friendly Republic’. Marta Dyczok sees here a metaphor for the country as a whole.
London’s Pushkin House is hosting a retrospective of Russian director Marina Goldovskaya’s documentaries under the heading ‘Russia since Perestroika'. Masha Karp reflects on Goldovskaya’s distinctive art and the issues raised in her films.
Benedict XVI's papal resignation, the first in almost 600 years, took the world by surprise. It is now time for the Vatican game of cloak and dagger to start, and for us to ask: what kind of successor will the conclave elect?
The chair of the English Arts Council for the last four years was removed by the Coalition. In her valedictory speech she sets out her case for the arts over the millenia and makes a moving appeal to the Secretary of State for Education.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week: The maddening betrayal of potato-seller, Omar Salah
In Jordan, the people with the lowest scores are the ones put in positions of tremendous privilege as Imams or Sheikhs of Mosques whom people turn to for guidance on extremely sensitive personal issues like sexuality, faith, and ethics.
Following the assassination, Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali announced that Tunisia is to form a non-partisan government of technocrats to run the country until elections can be held.
I grew up in a family that has been fanatical about death, although they claim the contrary. They took being concerned about death to a whole, other, unhealthy level.
It would be naive to use painkillers for stopping the constant and accelerating loss of blood which is our human and material losses at this stage in the process of change.
It is ironic that street vendors have spent more time in the square than any protestor ever has. Omar comes out staggeringly alive in his death. A spectrum of colours is added to his socially-perceived black and white life. We are teleported into another world of how the other (majority) Egypt liv
The Shari’a is largely irrelevant to most important issues of policy and administration in the economy and in government. Its historical and symbolic locus is on family and sexuality: patriarchal rights, segregation of the sexes, enforced female modesty.
Today, the one thing that devastated me the most is how quickly the president who is supposed to be a human rights defender, not just any president, stepped in to persuade us to get used to the spilling of blood.
