British Council appoints new MENA regional director

British Council appoints new MENA regional director
Amir Ramzan has been the Country Director in Pakistan since 2019 prior to his latest appointment. (AN Pakistan)
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Updated 10 October 2023
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British Council appoints new MENA regional director

British Council appoints new MENA regional director
  • Amir Ramzan started his journey with the British Council as a teacher

Amir Ramzan has been appointed as the British Council’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, and will head teams of the UK’s leading institution for cultural relations and educational opportunities across 17 countries in the region.

This includes overseeing the British Council MENA’s work in Arts, English, and education, with the aim of nurturing deeper connections, understanding, and trust between the people of the UK and the MENA region, a British Council statement said.

“I am looking forward to working with our partners in the region and the UK and supporting new collaborations as well as building upon existing connections so we can continue to make a difference in young people’s lives,” Amir said on his appointment to the new position.

Amir started his journey with the British Council as a teacher and subsequently progressed to the position of Deputy Director in British Council Syria where he effectively managed our English, Teaching and Exams activities.

He previously served as Deputy Director in Nigeria and later as Country Director in Iraq from 2014 to 2016.

During his time in Iraq, Amir led on initiatives to improve access to quality education for children impacted by conflict and fostered dialogue between diverse communities.

Amir took on the role of Country Director in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Lead from 2016 to 2019 and has been the Country Director in Pakistan since 2019 and successfully led one of British Council’s largest operations amid the challenges of COVID-19.


Iraq issues arrest warrants for ‘heist of the century’

Iraq issues arrest warrants for ‘heist of the century’
Updated 12 sec ago
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Iraq issues arrest warrants for ‘heist of the century’

Iraq issues arrest warrants for ‘heist of the century’
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi criminal court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for a businessman and a former government official wanted over their alleged involvement in stealing $2.5 billion of public funds.
The scandal, dubbed the “heist of the century,” sparked widespread anger in Iraq, which is ravaged by rampant corruption, unemployment and decaying infrastructure after decades of conflict.
The criminal court issued the warrants for businessman Nour Zuhair and Haitham Al-Juburi, a former adviser to then prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi, state news agency INA reported.
The two suspects are among several facing a trial which opened in mid-August, but are on the run and failed to appear in court.
According to the tax authorities, the defendants allegedly expropriated the $2.5 billion between September 2021 and August 2022 through 247 cheques cashed by five companies.
The money was subsequently withdrawn — in cash — from the firms’ accounts.
The owners of those accounts — most of whom are also on the run — have also been subject to arrest warrants.
Around 30 suspects are facing trial, INA reported, including six already behind bars or awaiting extradition to Iraq, the national anti-fraud agency has said.
In October 2022, Zuhair was arrested at Baghdad airport as he was trying to leave the country.
A month later he was released on bail after giving back more than $125 million and pledging to return the rest in instalments.
Juburi also returned $2.6 million of the allegedly embezzled funds before disappearing, a judicial source told AFP.
The current whereabouts of both men is unknown.
However, wealthy businessman Zuhair was back in the news over the few days after he reportedly had a car crash in Lebanon, following an interview he gave to an Iraqi news channel.
“The Nour Zuhair affair is a scandal... that concerns the entire political system,” Iraqi journalist and commentator Hamed Al-Sayyed told AFP.
He blamed the authorities for releasing him on bail two years ago, allowing him “to flee.”
“His release from jail, at a time when he was being investigated, shows that the political system, at the highest echelons, is complicit,” Sayyed added.
Corruption is endemic in Iraqi state institutions, with the top echelons of power often evading accountability.

Army says Israeli hostage rescued from Gaza

Kaid Farhan Alkadi is seen at an unspecified location.(The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AFP)
Kaid Farhan Alkadi is seen at an unspecified location.(The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AFP)
Updated 27 August 2024
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Army says Israeli hostage rescued from Gaza

Kaid Farhan Alkadi is seen at an unspecified location.(The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AFP)
  • Kaid Alkadi, a 52-year-old Israeli Bedouin, was abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said its forces rescued an Israeli hostage in southern Gaza on Tuesday after a “complex operation.”
Kaid Alkadi, a 52-year-old Israeli Bedouin, was abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the military said in a statement.
“Kaid AlKadi was rescued... in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said.
“He is in a stable medical condition and is being transferred for medical checks to a hospital.”
Alkadi is a resident of Rahat, a predominantly Arab town, and on October 7 he was working as a guard at a warehouse in southern Israel when he was seized by militants.


Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post
Updated 27 August 2024
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Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

TEHRAN: Iran’s former foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Tuesday announced he was returning to his post as vice president to Masoud Pezeshkian after submitting his resignation earlier this month.
Pezeshkian named Zarif as his vice president for strategic affairs on August 1, but the former top diplomat resigned less than two weeks later, citing his disappointment with the line-up in the 19-member cabinet.
He also said he faced pressure because his children hold dual US citizenship.
Conservatives in Iran have criticized Pezeshkian for choosing Zarif, who became known on the international stage for his vital role in negotiating the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
“After the follow-ups and consultations conducted by the president and with his written order, I will continue to exercise my duties as Strategic Vice President,” Zarif said in a post on X.
Zarif — who attended on Tuesday the new cabinet’s first meeting with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — also praised the new cabinet in his post.
Last week, all the members of Iran’s new cabinet were granted a full vote of confidence from parliament, marking the first time in over two decades a president got all his nominees through the body.
Zarif, who has represented Iran in the United Nations, served as the country’s top diplomat between 2013 and 2021 under moderate president Hassan Rouhani.
The 2015 nuclear deal was effectively torpedoed three years later when the US unilaterally pulled out, but it helped cement Zarif’s reputation as a combative negotiator who nonetheless opened Iran up to the West.


A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says

A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says
Updated 27 August 2024
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A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says

A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says
  • The flooding has either destroyed or damaged the homes of 50,000 people living in the areas west of the dam

CAIRO: The collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Sudan’s eastern Red Sea state over the weekend flooded nearby homes and killed at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said late Monday, citing local officials, that the actual number of fatalities from the collapse on Sunday might be higher. Additionally, about 70 villages around the dam were affected by the flash flooding, including 20 villages that have been destroyed.
The Arbaat Dam, which is about 38 kilometers (nearly 25 miles) northwest of Port Sudan, was massively damaged because of heavy rains. In areas west of the dam, the flooding either destroyed or damaged the homes of 50,000 people — 77 percent of the total population living there. Those affected urgently need food, water and shelter, OCHA warned, adding that damage in eastern parts of the dam is still being assessed.
More than 80 boreholes collapsed because of the flooding, OCHA said citing officials, while 10,000 heads of livestock are missing, and 70 schools have been either damaged or destroyed.
Heavy rain and flooding across Sudan this month impacted more than 317,000 people. Of those impacted, 118,000 people have been displaced, exacerbating one of the world’s biggest displacement crises due to the ongoing war in the country.
Tuesday marks 500 days since Sudan plunged into war after fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.
The conflict began in the capital, Khartoum, and raged across Sudan, killing thousands of people, destroying civilian infrastructure, and pushing many to the brink of famine. More than 10 million people were forcibly displaced to find safety, according to the UN
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Tuesday that “this is a shameful moment” for international humanitarian organizations, which for more than 16 months, “have failed to provide an adequate response to the country’s escalating medical needs — from catastrophic child malnutrition to widespread disease outbreaks.”
“At the same time, heavy restrictions from both warring parties have drastically limited the ability to deliver humanitarian aid,” MSF said.
Abdirahman Ali, CARE’s Sudan country director warned in a statement Tuesday that the war “shattered” the health care system, “leaving countless without care.”
More than 75 percent of health care systems have been destroyed since the war began, according to a World Health Organization estimate in July.


US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank
Updated 27 August 2024
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US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank
  • Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi

TRIPOLI: The United States gave its backing Tuesday to UN efforts to resolve differences between Libya’s rival administrations over the mangement of the central bank without cutting off vital oil income.

The US embassy said the move by the UN Support Mission in Libya “offers a path forward to resolve the crisis” sparked by the eastern administration’s announcement on Monday that it was suspending operations at all oil fields and export terminals under its control.

In a statement late Monday, UNSMIL said it was “convening an emergency meeting for all parties involved” in the crisis.

It also called for “immediately lifting force majeure on oil fields and refraining from using the country’s primary revenue source for political ends.”

Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

It remains divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and the rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Most of its oil fields are located in regions controlled by Haftar, but oil revenues and the state budget are managed by the Central Bank based in Tripoli.

On Monday, Libya’s eastern-based administration said it was shutting down oil fields and terminals it controls in response to what it said were attempts by the western-based government to seize control of the Central Bank.

UNSMIL said “resolving this emerging crisis is an urgent necessity” and called for measures to protect the Central Bank’s employees from “threats and arbitrary arrests.”

On August 18, the bank’s head of information technology was kidnapped, and the bank said it was suspending its operations until his release later the same day.

A week earlier, Libyan media reported that armed men had besieged the bank in a bid to force the resignation of its governor, Seddik Al-Kabir, who has faced mounting criticism from people close to Dbeibah over its management of oil resources and the state budget.

On Monday morning, the eastern-based administration said an “outlaw group” close to the Tripoli authorities had forcibly taken over the bank.

Reports later said that the Presidential Council, which is close to Dbeibah, had established a commission tasked with leading a “transition of powers” which had installed a new bank board.