Asharq Al-Awsat's Columnist Amal Moussa Wins Int’l Catullo Award for Poetry

Tunisia Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amal Belhadji Moussa
Tunisia Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amal Belhadji Moussa
TT

Asharq Al-Awsat's Columnist Amal Moussa Wins Int’l Catullo Award for Poetry

Tunisia Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amal Belhadji Moussa
Tunisia Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amal Belhadji Moussa

The Tunisian poet and writer, Amal Belhadj Moussa, won the Catillo International Prize for Poetry 2022, granted by the World Poetry Academy.

The World Poetry Academy was established in June 2001 in Italy with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The jury indicated that it wanted to crown the sentiment and thought described in the poetic experience of the poet.

It also indicated that it chose Moussa from among international candidates to present a certificate of appreciation for the beautiful, thriving contemporary female poetry in the Arab countries and a tribute to the poet.

Amal Moussa is considered a symbolic figure among the few Arab female creators to be published in Italy.

Moussa currently holds the position of Minister of Family, Women, Children, and the Elderly, in Tunisia.

She has six collections of poetry, which have been translated into Italian, French, Turkish, English, and Spanish.

Her collections include Female of Water (1996), Emerald's Bashfulness (1998), Like Me the Stars Sparkle (2010, Rainy Body (2010), Life Has Not Put Its Makeup Yet (2017), In Love, and Don't Look into the River (2021).

The Minister received many awards, namely the first prize for the best Arab production on women's issues from the Arab Women's Organization in 2006, the Zubaida Bashir award for the best Literary Production in 2018, and several honors in many Tunisian poetry festivals, and various Arab countries, Europe, and the US.

Moussa is an academic and a weekly columnist in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. She has written publications in sociology, political Islam, youth and religiosity, and the sociology of daily life.



Jill Biden Gets Priciest Gift from a Foreign Leader in 2023 — a $20,000 Diamond

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House as they return to Washington, DC, from Camp David, on January 2, 2025. (Photo by Chris Kleponis / AFP)
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House as they return to Washington, DC, from Camp David, on January 2, 2025. (Photo by Chris Kleponis / AFP)
TT

Jill Biden Gets Priciest Gift from a Foreign Leader in 2023 — a $20,000 Diamond

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House as they return to Washington, DC, from Camp David, on January 2, 2025. (Photo by Chris Kleponis / AFP)
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House as they return to Washington, DC, from Camp David, on January 2, 2025. (Photo by Chris Kleponis / AFP)

President Joe Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from foreign leaders in 2023, according to an annual accounting published by the State Department on Thursday, with first lady Jill Biden receiving the single most expensive present: a $20,000 diamond from India’s leader.
The 7.5-carat diamond from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was easily the most costly gift presented to any member of the first family in 2023, although she also received a brooch valued at $14,063 from the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States and a bracelet, brooch and photograph album worth $4,510 from the president and first lady of Egypt.
The US president himself received a number of expensive presents, including a commemorative photo album valued at $7,100 from South Korea’s recently impeached President Suk Yeol Yoon, a $3,495 statue of Mongolian warriors from the Mongolian prime minister, a $3,300 silver bowl from the sultan of Brunei, a $3,160 sterling silver tray from the president of Israel, and a collage worth $2,400 from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Federal law requires executive branch officials to declare gifts they receive from foreign leaders and counterparts that have an estimated value of more than $480. Many of the gifts that meet that threshold are relatively modest, and the more expensive ones are typically — but not always — transferred to the National Archives or put on official displays.
The $20,000 diamond was retained for official use in the White House East Wing, according to a State Department document, while the other gifts to the president and first lady were sent to the archives.
Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for Jill Biden, said the diamond will be turned over to the archives after they leave office. According to The Associated Press, she did not say what it was being used for.
Ukraine's ambassador, Oksana Markarova, said Friday on Facebook that a Ukrainian designer fashioned the brooch from the remains of a Russian rocket and that the piece was made from inexpensive materials, so its “true value ... lies in its symbolism." The embassy's spokesperson, Halyna Yusypiuk, said US officials provided the assessed value.
Recipients have the option to purchase the gift from the US government at its market value, although that is rare, particularly with high-end items.
According to the State Department’s Office of Protocol, which compiles the list that will be published in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register, several employees of the CIA reported receiving lavish gifts of watches, perfume and jewelry, nearly all of which were destroyed. Of the gifts destroyed, they were worth more than $132,000 combined.
CIA Director William Burns received a $18,000 astrograph, which is a telescope and astrological camera, from an foreign source whose identity is classified. That is being transferred to the General Services Administration. But Burns reported receiving and destroying an $11,000 Omega watch, while numerous others did the same with luxury timepieces.
Below the rank of director, the CIA employees who reported gifts are not identified, but one of them logged an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra watch, a ladies Omega Constellation watch, a diamond necklace, earring bracelet, and a ring that were valued together at $65,100.