by Basil Samaraandthe first full English translation of the play Baghdadi Bathhouse, translated by Hassan Abdulrazzak

A Travelling Tale by Mohammed al-Asfar: Going back to Bonn, translated by Julia Ihnatowicz

The Future of Cities

Rawi Hage: The WavePerihan Mağden: Fairground Cities in the 2030s, or the Continual Flight from Loneliness, translated from the Turkish by Denzil ErolRoddy Doyle: Dublin 2030Boualem Sansal: 2030, The City of the Future, translated from the French by Frank WynnePolice officers said that this case was like nothing they had ever seen. (Representational)

A German court handed down lengthy jail sentences Tuesday to a couple for repeatedly sexually abusing their young son and selling him to paedophiles online, in a shocking case that raised pointed questions about the competence of child protection services.

Following a criminal probe that even seasoned investigators said pushed them to the emotional limit, the regional court in Freiburg sentenced the boy's mother, Berrin Taha, to 12 and a half years in prison.

Her partner Christian Lais, the boy's stepfather whom he called "papa", received a 12-year sentence followed by preventive detention.

Lais, 39, was allowed to live in their home despite a previous conviction for child abuse and a court order to stay away from minors.

The