Jailed Palestinian writer wins International prize for arabic fiction
Abu Dhabi: Palestinian author Basim Khandaqji, who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2004, has been named the winner of the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) for his novel “A Mask, the Colour of the Sky”.
Khandaqji’s publisher Rana Idriss, of the Lebanon-based Dar al-Adab publishing house, accepted the award on his behalf at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.
The book tells the story of Nur, an archaeologist living in a Palestinian refugee camp in Ramallah, who adopts a “mask” when he finds a blue identity card belonging to an Israeli in the pocket of an old coat.
Born in Nablus, Khandaqji has been imprisoned by Israel since he was 21 years old. He studied political science at Al-Quds University from prison with a thesis on Israeli studies and has published several poetry collections and novels.
In an interview in January, Khandaqji’s brother said his family had not been able to speak with him for four months, a problem many Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have faced since October 2023.
Khandaqji wrote the award-winning book in prison in 2021, when he would manage to write about two pages each day between 5am and 7am, although “very often, the papers are taken from him and destroyed by the guard”, his brother said.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
