The Lost Consciousness of Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry
A century ago, a vital debate was ignited over the authenticity of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. Among the many reasons to accept the antiquity of much of this body of verse is the distinct mindset it reveals, in which humans stand fully within the natural world.
Inside Hezbollah’s Two-Decade Project To Shape the Houthis
In 2007, two operatives, one Iranian, one from Hezbollah, sat down to dinner at a restaurant outside Damascus and started discussing Yemen. What followed was nearly two decades of military assistance, mediation, media training and political network-weaving that turned a marginal movement into the most powerful actor in Yemen.
Can Syria’s Trains Get Back on Track?
As plans for overland corridors linking the Gulf to the Mediterranean regain momentum, Syria is being cast as a hub for regional trade. Yet on the ground, a shattered railway network and aging infrastructure reveal the vast gap between these ambitions and reality.
The Suicide Crisis Stalking Sudanese Refugees
Sudanese refugees in Cairo are confronting trauma and mental distress amid a severe international funding shortfall that has all but eliminated crucial mental healthcare and cash assistance programs. Stories of survivors, doctors and aid workers show how a generation scarred by war is being failed.
In Kazakhstan’s Oil Heartland, the Workers Who Built the Country Are Dying Quietly
Kazakhstan is the world's 13th-largest oil producer, and hydrocarbons fund nearly half its national budget. In the steppe villages above the Tengiz and Kashagan fields, residents describe respiratory illness, sudden deaths, falsified air quality data and entire towns being rebuilt elsewhere to escape the smell.