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TEHRAN An anthology of short stories from 14 contemporary Iranian writers has been published in Arabic in a book by the Shahriar Publishing House in Iraq.

Entitled Wind Elegy, the book has been translated into Arabic by Hossein Torfi Alivi.

My Chinese Doll by Hushang Golshiri, Broken Column by Ahmad Mahmud, Wind Elegy by Abutorab Khosravi, Two Passengers by Mohammadreza Safdari, Shark by Adnan Ghariqi and Story of Rahman by Hossein Mortezaian Abkenar are among the stories.

The author and instructor, Keyhan Khanjani, has written an introduction to the book, which briefly reviews a portion of the history of Persian literature.

Several years after the Constitutional Movement in Iran in 1921, three books were published in the three fields of poetry, theater and fiction. The books are Pale Story a selection of poetry by Nima Yushij, the play Jafar Khan Has Returned from the West by Jafar Moqaddam and short stories Once Upon A Time by Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, he wrote.

But modernism in Persian story writing begins with Sadeq Hedayat and his books, because of his journey to France and his encounter with modern works. He was impressed by Western art and localized his stories, which were a big event in Persian story writing, he added.

After Sadeq Hedayat, great fiction writers flourished in the Persian language such as Sadeq Chubak, Ebrahim Golestan, Gholam-Hossein Saedi and Hushang Golshiri. In post-revolution Iran, despite the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, adverse economic conditions and the issue of migration, there was a breakthrough in story writing with good stories from writers such as Bijan Bijari, Goli Taraqqi, Mohammadreza Safdari, Samad Taheri and Ali Khodai, he noted.

If Persian authors write only one short story a year, the literature will have embraced a precious treasure, and surely short stories from West Asia and even the world without short stories by Iranian authors is incomplete, he stated.

Photo: Cover of Wind Elegy, an Arabic anthology of short stories by Iranian contemporary writers.

RM/MMS/YAW

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Anthology of short stories by Iranian writers published in Iraq - Tehran Times

A refugee who left Iraq as a toddler to get urgent medical treatment in the UK has won a place at Cambridge University to study medicine after achieving four A*s in his A-levels.

Buraq Ahmed, 18, came to the UK aged three when his parents sold their home to fund treatment for his agonising hip condition.

The toddler and his grandma Saadiyah Khattab, 69, were only supposed to stay for a short time to complete the treatment, but while he was away the war intensified, and he couldn't go back.

Despite being unable to speak English, he started school in the UK and flourished - but was unable to see his parents for 10 years while the war raged on.

And several years later, despite nine surgeries and daily pain medication for his congenital hip dysplasia, he achieved four A*'s in his A levels.

He never forgot the world class treatment he got to sure his congenital hip dysplasia - or the kindness of the medics who helped him - and now wants to be an NHS doctor.

Buraq, from Cardiff, who studied biology, chemistry, economics and maths at A level, said: "Neither my grandmother or myself spoke English when we arrived in the UK, and there were many days when I was unable to move.

Initially we were only coming to the UK for a limited time however the Iraq War and ISIS terrorism attacks meant we couldnt go back.

"As a child you dont realise the trauma you and your family are going through and I was fortunate that my grandmother was always there for me.

"My aunt and uncle also subsequently moved to Cardiff and, as my grandmother was getting older by this time, we moved in with them and my young cousins.

"As I have got older, I have realised what a worrying time it must have been for my parents and my three younger brothers who were born after I left Iraq and now live in Belgium.

"Having spent so much time in hospitals with some of my happiest times being looked after by amazing NHS nurses I decided that I wanted to help other people who were suffering."

Buraq's parents Duraid Abdullah, 49, and Ruaa Yousif, 38, sold their home in Iraq in 2005 so he could travel to the UK to undergo the surgery he desperately needed.

His once beautiful home was obliterated by warfare, forcing his family to leave the area in an attempt to escape the violence and bloodshed.

This gave him and his grandma refugee status, allowing them to build a better life for themselves in Cardiff.

Bruaq had a right hip replacement operation in August 2019, and is waiting for another op on the other side, delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Buraq attended a comprehensive secondary school in Cardiff, and was a talented footballer being chosen to play for Cardiff City Academy.

However, as his condition worsened, his physical movement became increasingly stiff and he was unable to play, giving him more time to focus solely on his studies.

This resulted in Buraq leaving school with great qualifications, and on the back of his GCSE results he managed to gain a full scholarship at Cardiff Sixth Form College.

It was at that time he decided to pick a variety of A level subjects which would allow him to go on to study medicine at university.

Since arriving at the college in 2018 Buraq has competed in the Oxford and Cambridge regional debates and been an active member of the student-led Medical Ethics Society.

He added: I have absolutely loved my time at Cardiff Sixth Form College. There are some really amazing students here from all over the world."

Gareth Collier, principal at Cardiff Sixth Form College, said: Buraq is an extraordinary student who out of adversity has really gone onto achieve great things.

"Despite the traumatic start to his life, continued separation from his parents and the strong medication that he uses to manage his daily pain, Buraq never dwelled on these difficulties.

"Instead this has made him resilient, determined to succeed and embrace every opportunity that has been available at the college.

"He fully deserves both his grades and a place at Cambridge. Our NHS needs people like Buraq and I am truly delighted for him."

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Refugee who left Iraq as a toddler earns Cambridge place to study medicine with 4 A*s - Cambridgeshire Live

Addressing Iraqs fragility crucial to recovery from COVID-19 pandemic

Baghdad, 11 August 2020 Failure to address Iraqs multi-faceted fragility could lead to an increase in extreme poverty across the country, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.

Impact of the Oil Crisis and Covid-19 on Iraqs Fragility explores the major dimensions of fragility - economic, environmental, political, societal, and security - and their impact on Iraq in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting oil crisis.

The paper is the first in a series of policy papers that UNDP will issue on the impact of COVID-19 on Iraq. It provides key recommendations to support the Government of Iraq, local development actors and the international community develop strategies that enable Iraq to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.

In fragile countries, social safety nets are weak and insufficiently address the basic needs of the most vulnerable groups in society. This ultimately results in deeper social inequalities, says Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

For Iraq, decades of conflict have hampered the countrys stability and stunted its prosperity. The onset of COVID-19 and the oil crisis has exacerbated existing fragilities in the country.

The different dimensions of fragility explored in this report emphasise that Iraqs fragility is not a result of one single event; it involves a number of intricate factors that have collectively impacted every aspect of the countrys development, and these must be closely considered when charting the path to Iraqs recovery from the pandemic.

Tackling Iraqs fragility by addressing these main drivers is critical to achieving Agenda 2030 and getting Iraq back on a prosperous and tangible development trajectory. We hope this policy paper is a useful tool for partners to shape effective policies for post-COVID-19 recovery in the country, she adds.

The policy paper, which applies a multidimensional concept of fragility based on the methodology developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was developed in consultation with UN agencies in Iraq, notably the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

UNDPs upcoming policy papers will cover the themes of: social protection, macro-economic stability, social cohesion, and household vulnerability. Impact of the Oil Crisis and Covid-19 on Iraqs Fragility is available on the UNDP Iraq website.

Media contact:

Fay Daoud, Communications Specialist | fay.daoud@undp.org | +964 780 1976 460

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Impact of the Oil Crisis and COVID-19 on Iraq's Fragility [EN/AR/KU] - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Baghdad, Iraq, 9 August 2020 Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health, Iraq kick-started the second phase of the COVID-19 awareness-raising campaign in high-risk areas of Thi Qar and Missan south of Baghdad. Later in the month, the campaign whose theme is Your health is important will be rolled out to other governorates of Basra, Wasit, and to Sulaymaniyah, north of the capital Baghdad.

In Misan and Thi Qar, the campaign will run for 4 days starting from 9 August to 12 August 2020 and later in other governorates from 16 to 10 September 2020 in intervals of 4 days each of the southern provinces and for 9 days in Sulaymaniyah. Six hundred and fifty (650) community volunteers, including the community police working under the supervision of WHOs implementing partners, United Iraqi Medical Society (UIMS), and Ministry of Youth and Sports, will support the campaign. These teams will distribute more than 360 000 Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials, and personal protective equipment to approximately five million people in the five governorates. Others supporting this campaign are influential figures such as religious leaders, athletes, Iraqi artists, and journalists.

Together with our partners, we aim to reach as many people as possible in COVID-19 high-risk areas of Iraq with awareness messages on the pandemic. The five governorates were selected because of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in these areas. WHO and its partners want to see these numbers come down drastically; however, this is only possible when communities are aware of how the disease spreads and can be prevented, said Dr. Adham Ismail, WHO Representative for Iraq.

Dr Ismail added that Being armed with knowledge is essential, but having the tools to prevent the disease is another critical component, thats why WHO and our partners will also give away facemasks, gloves, and sanitizers to ensure that the information is accompanied with the tools required to prevent this deadly virus.

Mobile screens, booths, and mobile medical clinics will be used to display educational videos and audio messages at selected community points. Television and Radio stations under the leadership of the Iraqi Communication and Media Commission CMC run daily messages on COVID-19 for one month. Personal protection packages containing masks, gloves, COVID-19 flyers will be distributed to people in public places, main streets, and markets.

On 16 July, the Government of Iraq re-opened its borders, including airports and malls, for commercial activities and trade. This community sensitization campaign goes a long way to reinforce earlier messages of how people can stay safer as border interactions resume. It also serves as a reminder to the population that COVID-19 is still a serious health problem.

This campaign is supported by the Government of Kuwait and the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). WHO is thankful to these donors for their continued generosity in keeping the people of Iraq safe. We call on the population to do their part of regular handwashing with soap, frequent hand sanitizing, and wearing facemasks, avoid mass gatherings, and observe social distancing in all public areas, concluded Dr Adham.

For further information, please contact:

Ms Baraa Shaba, WHO Communications Officer+964 780 001 0244shabab@who.intMs Pauline Loyce Ajello, WHO Communications Officer+964 772 987 7288ajellopa@who.intMs Ajyal Sultany, WHO Communications Officer+964 7740 892 878sultanya@who.int

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WHO and the Ministry of Health, Iraq launch the second phase of the COVID-19 awareness-raising campaign [EN/AR] - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Amid the endless horrors in Once Upon a Time In Iraq (BBC Two),a moment to lift the soul. We had been hearing about Mosul Eye, an anonymous blogger who documented life in the city under the rule of Isis, providing comfort to the beleaguered inhabitants by reassuring them that they were not alone and freedom would return one day. Then one of the films talking heads, a young history lecturer named Omar Mohammed, revealed that he was Mosul Eye. For two years he had risked his life to be, as one grateful resident put it, the ray of light that connected us to the world.

It was an act of bravery and defiance, from a man who could scarcely believe what he was seeing on the streets. Hand cutting, stoning women in the street and execution this was a normal day in Iraq, he said.

This has been the documentary series of the year, an unflinching look at the tragedies visited on Iraq since the 2003 invasion one terrible situation replaced by another, and another. The defeat of al-Qaeda and withdrawal of US troops simply left the way open for Isis. Its the same guys. They just changed T-shirts, said US journalist Dexter Filkins.

The final instalment was nightmarish. Isis filmed many of the atrocities themselves as propaganda, shown on television screens set up in the open air and watched by children in the manner of a football match. They included the Speicher massacre, in which 1,500 Iraqi Army recruits were murdered. The documentary featured an interview with the only known survivor, saved because he was drenched in another mans blood and the killers mistakenly thought they had already shot him.

Waleed Nesyif has been one of the most unforgettable voices of the series, chain-smoking his way through his interviews with dry wit and despair. Now living in Canada, his heart remains in Baghdad. But what is there for him to return to? Iraqs problems are not solely the fault of the West Its the Middle East, theres no solution, shrugged Filkins but few words now ring as hollow as Tony Blairs smooth assurance, played at the close of the programme: Removing Saddam will be a blessing to the Iraqi people.

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Once Upon A Time in Iraq, episode 5 review: this is the documentary series of the year - Telegraph.co.uk