The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development will be felt strongly across the Middle East, where programmes cover food aid, education, health and more.
Personnel will be put on administrative leave around the world on Saturday after US President Donald Trump ordered the agency to shut down.
Operating in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, to name a few of its 11 regional locations, USAID is vital for the millions who rely on it for assistance.
Here is what you need to know about USAID in the Middle East:
Egypt
USAID has been working in the most populous country in the Middle East for 45 years, spending tens of billions on reducing infant and mortality rates, and improving primary-school-level reading among boys and girls.
Last year, the US allocated $214.5 million towards six sectors in Egypt, with the majority of funding ($86 million) going towards education and social services, followed by economic development, humanitarian assistance and others like health and human rights, according to the US Foreign Assistance website.
Established in November 2022, the USAID Egyptian Pioneers programme, which allocated nearly $90 million to the American University in Cairo (AUC), has provided scholarships and training to Egyptian students, particularly to empower low-income citizens.
Egyptian consultant cardiologist at the country's largest public cardiology hospital, Dr Hany Ragy, publicly thanked USAID for the major impact they had on him and his work.
“Without USAID we wouldn’t have had our first 2 modern Cath labs in my hospital in Cairo, many years ago, or the fellowships who benefited many of us – myself included- to train in US hospitals then go back, have been forever grateful for this," he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.
Since its beginning in 1978, USAID has invested more than $30 billion in the country.
Yemen
With more than 80 per cent of Yemen's population in need of humanitarian aid, USAID's role has been to focus on food, medicine, emergency care for pregnant women, and shelter kits for displaced people, spending $704 million on humanitarian assistance last year.
USAID has also been able to operate in the vital port of Hodeidah – keeping the port which millions of people rely on for the delivery of life-saving assistance – open during times of conflict.
The most recent impact of its work was seen last month when Israel struck the port in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Israel.
US-based risk analysis consultancy agency Basha Report said USAID-donated mobile cranes had kept the port operational despite the Israeli bombing and damage to the port.
“These cranes significantly enhance the efficiency of unloading cargo at the port. Typically, unloading a large cargo ship can take up to a week, but with the cranes, this time is reduced by three to four days," the agency's founder Mohammad Al Basha wrote following the attacks.
Iraq
USAID's partially-functioning website says that in Iraq it implemented “activities designed to strengthen infrastructure, stabilise communities, foster economic and agricultural growth, and help the various levels of government better represent and respond to the needs of the Iraqi people".
Last year, $135 million was designated for USAID to spend in the country with the majority, $35.23 million, going into “peace and security", $33.48m for “economic development", $24.7m towards “democracy, human rights, and governance" and the rest towards programme support and humanitarian assistance.
Recently, the agency came under scrutiny for reportedly investing $20 million into the Arabic version of Sesame Street Ahlan Simsim, “to promote understanding, equity, and tolerance across divides", Sesame Street's website says.
USAID was instrumental in “stabilising" the areas liberated from ISIS control. This was done by creating jobs to diversify the economy by promoting food production, improving water supply and sustainable energy usage.
This helped bring people out of poverty and supported women's participation in the workforce where since 2020 more than 5,000 women entrepreneurs were provided with support services.
Gaza and the West Bank
As the humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza is confounded with Israel's 15-month bombardment of the Strip and renewed attacks on the West Bank, there is an array of needs to be met.
Nearly $1 billion allocated for the West Bank and Gaza in 2024 for USAID. During its work in the West Bank, USAID helped improve the quality of women's education in some schools there, and by expanding the project, helped reduce class sizes and forgo the need for students to learn in shifts.
Elsewhere, it helped create projects in the agriculture field, where, for example, it empowered one of the few strawberry farmers left in the West Bank, who received assistance from USAID, helping him grow his business and send his daughter to university.
While these are only some of the projects that USAID has worked on across the region, as former White House global engagement director Brett Bruen said: “No USAID (equals) No influence. Our aid gives America critical leverage in many countries," making room for other countries like China to cover the gap.
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
Draw for Europa League last-16
Istanbul Basaksehir v Copenhagen; Olympiakos Piraeus v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen; VfL Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk; Inter Milan v Getafe
Sevilla v AS Roma; Eintracht Frankfurt or Salzburg v Basel; LASK v Manchester United
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
Racecard
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Company%20Profile
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
