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Three Arab Candidates in the Race for UNESCO Chief Selection

A view shows the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
A view shows the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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Three Arab Candidates in the Race for UNESCO Chief Selection

A view shows the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
A view shows the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Three Arab candidates sit for the selection of UNESCO’s top post holder. Egyptian human rights activist Moushira Khattab, Lebanese lecturer in International Law at the Sorbonne School of Law Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe, and Qatari diplomat Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, next to four other candidates are being reviewed for the position of UNESCO’s new chief.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s executive board is choosing a new leader to replace departing director Irina Bokova.

Affiliated sources revealed on Sunday that Egypt’s Khattab, who also served as the Minister of Family & Population of Egypt, receives wide-reaching support from African, Arab, and Mediterranean Sea countries.

A career US-educated diplomat, Khattab's biggest achievement was campaigning in the 1990s for women's rights as a top aide to the country's first lady at the time, Suzanne Mubarak. She also served as chairwoman of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and was one of the main architects of legislation prohibiting the marriage of underage girls and female genital circumcision.

She also served as family and housing minister under President Hosni Mubarak, ousted in a 2011 popular uprising.

However, there are fears that Arab votes will be broken in favor of other candidates, notably former French nominee and former culture minister Audrey Azoulay.

Azoulay is the first French nominee seeking UNESCO’s position for chief, mixing up the cards a little.

On the other hand, no Arab candidate has ever secured this high position throughout the organization’s history.

Egypt has hinted at efforts to buy the votes of members in the elections.

"Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who is in Paris to follow up on the elections, confirmed his confidence that UNESCO will choose its new director in a fair manner ... and that it is difficult to buy them as other elections were bought," foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said.
Zeid’s remarks were in reference to Qatar's victory in winning the hosting job for the 2022 World Cup.

Voting by UNESCO's executive board starts Monday and continues through the week. Among the leading candidates is Qian Tang of China.

It is worth noting that the US has also paused funding for the organization along with Israel, once former UNESCO Director-General Bokova allowed for the 2011 members’ vote to make Palestine a member of the organization.

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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

A major storm swept across the northwest US Tuesday evening, battering the region with strong winds and rain and causing widespread power outages and downed trees that killed at least one person, The Associated Press reported.

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season overwhelms the region. The storm system is considered a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

Downed trees struck homes and littered roads across northwest Washington. In Lynnwood, Washington, a woman died Tuesday night when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, South County Fire said in a statement on X. In Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a person inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The agency later said the individual was in stable condition.
“Trees are coming down all over the city & falling onto homes,” the fire department in Bellevue, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Seattle, posted on the social platform X. "If you can, go to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it."
Early Wednesday, over 600,000 houses in Washington State were reported to be without power on poweroutage.us. But the number of outage reports fluctuated wildly throughout the evening likely due in part to several weather and utility agencies struggling to report information on the storm because of internet outages and other technical problems. It wasn’t clear if that figure was accurate. More than 15,000 had lost power in Oregon and nearly 19,000 in California.
As of 8 p.m., the peak wind speed was in Canadian waters, where gusts of 101 mph (163 kph) were reported off the coast of Vancouver Island, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Along the Oregon coast, there were wind gusts as high at 79 mph (127 kph) Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, while wind speed of 77 mph (124 kph) was recorded at Mount Rainier in Washington.
Winds were expected to increase in western Washington throughout the evening, the weather service said.
The national Weather Service warned people on the West Coast about the danger of trees during high winds, posting on X, “Stay safe by avoiding exterior rooms and windows and by using caution when driving.”
In northern California, flood and high wind watches were in effect, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley. Dangerous flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows were expected, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), where 15 inches (28 centimeters) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (120 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening, while rough winds and seas halted a ferry route in northwestern Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.
A blizzard warning was issued for the majority of the Cascades in Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, with up to a foot of snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), according to the weather service in Seattle. Travel across passes could be difficult if not impossible.