American School of Bahrain Achieves Historic ‘Outstanding' Rating from BQA - Middle East Business News and Information
The BQA's comprehensive evaluation framework assesses schools across four key aspects: Academic Achievement, Personal Development and Social Responsibility, Teaching, Learning and Assessment, and Leadership, Management and Governance. ASB was rated 'Outstanding' in all categories, reflecting its unwavering commitment to educational excellence and holistic student development.
Radia Ali, ASB's International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator and BQA Coordinator, commented on the achievement: 'This recognition is a testament to our dedicated educators, motivated students, and supportive community. It reflects our commitment to providing a dynamic and engaging learning environment where students are encouraged to think critically and develop a passion for lifelong learning.'
Established in 2020, ASB offers a comprehensive American and international educational program, and the IB Diploma Programme, designed to inspire students to pursue their passions and become responsible global citizens. The school's rapid ascent to an 'Outstanding' rating underscores its effective educational strategies and the dedication of its faculty and staff.
The BQA's 'Outstanding' rating is reserved for institutions that demonstrate exceptional performance across all evaluated aspects. This accolade places ASB among the top educational institutions in Bahrain.
For more information about the American School of Bahrain and its programs, please visit http://www.asb.bh.
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CairoScene
a day ago
- CairoScene
Designing a Riyadh That Doesn't Grow Old
In the 1930s, American industrialist Henry Ford set out to build a perfect city in the middle of the Amazon. It was called Fordlândia, an attempt to create a rubber-producing town that would mirror American values, complete with tidy houses, paved roads, and hamburgers in the canteen. But the forest resisted. The soil wasn't suited to rubber trees, the workers clashed with imported rules, and the town quickly fell apart. Fordlândia became a cautionary tale: a city designed without understanding its people or its place. Decades later, Brazil tried again in the same region, this time with better maps and modern ideals. But the result was much the same. Urban planning, it turns out, isn't just about roads, grids and buildings. It's about understanding how people live, what they need and how communities grow over time. So, whether in the jungles of Brazil or the deserts of Arabia, the question persists: are we building for people, or are we drawing lines on paper? At the edge of Riyadh, where broad boulevards carve into desert land and sleek façades rise in formation, Saudi Arabia is visibly in motion. Yet motion alone does not make a city. Nor does scale, or speed. We spoke to Dr. Waleed Al Zamil, Professor of Urban Planning at King Saud University, who has long championed a human-centred approach to city development. In this in-depth conversation, he reflects on the future of Saudi cities - from housing reform and spatial justice to participatory planning and preserving cultural identity amid rapid modernisation. You've stated that 'developing the physical environment can lead to human development.' But in cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, do you see that development taking a genuinely human-centred direction - or is it still fundamentally material and investment-driven? Urban planning is not meant to treat the city as a purely physical entity, but rather as a 'social stage.' In planning, we aim to understand the latent resources within cities and optimise their use over time to serve the public good. That means adapting the built environment - including residential neighbourhood layouts - to meet human needs and quality of life. The goal isn't merely to provide a place for people to live, but to foster community development and better living standards, public health and quality of life. Ideally, the urban planner should design city plans that reflect community needs and align with spatial, social, and cultural conditions, based on a comprehensive database and input from all stakeholders - private sector, local community and government. Four decades ago, local planning focused on societal stability and basic services. With the economic boom came urgent need to produce housing plans to accommodate rapid population growth in cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Given the newness of municipal bodies and the need to quickly absorb people into modern housing, many land subdivisions were developed, with individual citizens constructing homes that were later connected to utilities. Today, we're beginning - at least in theory - to shift, hearing terms like sustainability, quality of life, and smart cities since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030. Still, we must reform the real estate development system and the structural basis of urban planning to align with sustainability principles and ensure a balance between economic investment and social development. In rapidly expanding Saudi cities, how can housing projects become more than just physical entities, and instead tools for improving lifestyles and quality of life? Urban plans aren't formed randomly - they're shaped by different planning levels. A local plan reflects our understanding of a city's place within regional and national contexts. Urban planning must be a central belief moving forward, particularly amid this 'developmental revolution.' Successful planning hinges on holistic analysis - grasping national directions, available resources, opportunities, challenges and maintaining flexibility. Urban reform efforts often focus on fixing the physical environment and urban aesthetics, but neglect the procedural and legislative frameworks that generated these urban patterns. To make housing projects improve lives, we must reform the real estate system and treat land as a tool for functional development - not speculation. Neighbourhoods need more high-quality services, green spaces and essential facilities, supported by laws that allocate land for cooperative or developmental housing. It's also vital to spatially and functionally integrate housing projects - locating them near attractive areas and job centres. In other words, we must fix the planning system before we focus on the current urban environment. How do you view spatial justice today - especially the distribution of projects and services between major cities like Riyadh and smaller, less attractive regions? In past decades, spatial distribution was shaped by market forces and land demand, due to population concentration in major cities. Regional plans weren't aligned with local urban plans, leading to demographic imbalances. For example, over 80% of the Riyadh region's population resides in Riyadh city alone - similar patterns occur in cities like Makkah and Khobar. We urgently need regional policies rooted in sustainability, which distribute jobs and economic functions in line with regional resources. That would help us reach balanced regional development and avoid spatial distortions that create urban crises. Do current real estate regulations in Saudi Arabia sufficiently control the 'free' housing market to ensure public benefit - not just fast profits? A 'free market' doesn't mean an unregulated one. Rules and laws can help align market forces with public interest, so investors don't profit at the expense of low- or middle-income populations. Market balance means finding solutions that benefit all parties. Recent regulations are promising - they focus on public interest and have introduced new housing stock that helped stabilise prices. They also support newlyweds by offering land within their economic means, thus creating a subsidised housing market that eases pressure on demand and resets price equilibrium. Rental market regulations now ensure fair relations between landlords and tenants. Still, housing policy must be regionally integrated - housing should support development plans across regional and local scales. This includes setting metrics linked to average income and housing prices in each city, so that subsidies match real housing market dynamics. What's your view on current housing programs like Sakani, particularly in linking housing with social mobility - not just ownership? Are we achieving real sustainable development? The Sakani program targets middle-income groups with access to mortgage financing. It raised homeownership to around 63%, which is commendable. However, rising unit prices and lack of affordable housing have left many families either priced out or burdened with long-term mortgage debt. These efforts focus on increasing ownership, but without a broader urban renewal program - no plans to revitalise city centres, repair deteriorating housing, or rebalance the market. There are no strong alternatives like cooperative housing or a robust role for developmental housing aimed at those in greatest need. Saudi Arabia's housing market needs legal reform to support cooperative and developmental housing within residential neighbourhoods. These reforms could increase available land, support cooperative communities, and transform cooperatives into semi-commercial entities that can compete. We also need legal frameworks for collective ownership and incentives for affordable cooperative housing initiatives. Sustainability metrics and housing quality must be embedded in the governance of cooperative housing. How can mega-projects like NEOM or The Line avoid repeating the mistakes of 'dystopian cities' you've criticised? NEOM and The Line are future-facing projects focused from the outset on sustainability and balancing social, economic, and environmental priorities. Their key advantage is strategic location - they could encourage reverse migration and help redistribute the population regionally. Both cities are tied to promising economic bases and job markets. To avoid repeating past mistakes, the urban planning approach must evolve. NEOM and The Line are unique, operating outside the traditional development mould. To ensure long-term sustainability, we must upgrade the planning process, legal framework, and procedural foundations according to sustainable principles. Do you see a risk that these new cities become elite enclaves that don't reflect Saudi Arabia's social and cultural diversity? On the contrary, having exemplary or elite models can motivate other cities. For example, Jubail is often cited as a model of infrastructure and service integration. I believe developing new cities is vital for spreading urban development and using regional planning to address local issues - such as housing, transportation, and land use. What tools do you suggest to ensure real community participation in cities built from scratch, like The Line or Qiddiya? Involving communities in planning helps strengthen urban strategies through informed feedback on policies that shape the environments people live in. It empowers residents, aligns with their needs, and reduces ambiguity about proposed urban outcomes. Without public participation, cities risk producing disconnected, improvised designs that don't reflect people's social, economic, or financial realities. To foster true participation, urban plans must embed community decision-making not as a formality, but as genuine partnership. That includes measuring satisfaction with project outcomes, accepting public feedback, and hosting listening sessions - from small neighbourhood projects to strategic city plans. Amid rapid urban modernisation, how do we preserve local 'place culture'? What's urban design's role in this? Saudi cities have been shaped by waves of construction that lacked a cultural framework linking urban form to society. We cannot design cities without understanding the culture, needs, and economies of the people. Although we have heritage preservation programs, they're often isolated from urban context - more like tourist attractions than integrated city spaces. The challenge is how to modernise while preserving culture. 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First, we must distinguish between urban design and urban planning. Saudi cities urgently need to embrace urban planning as a strategic approach amid unprecedented growth. Urban design alone cannot succeed without clear planning. We must move beyond the physical layer and understand how planning affects jobs, public health, housing, transportation, and social justice. Planning can empower cities to become economic engines if done right. The starting point is embedding sustainability principles and following a multi-tiered planning model - from national to regional to local levels. Cities should function as integrated systems - not isolated units - to achieve regional balance and urban synergy based on available resources. We need to identify and optimise assets like environmental, extractive, and tourism resources to generate returns for our cities.
Al-Ahram Weekly
6 days ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Gangs and merchants sell food aid in Gaza as Israel's offensive shattered security: AP report - War on Gaza
Since Israel's offensive led to a security breakdown in Gaza that has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is being hoarded by gangs and merchants and sold at exorbitant prices. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of flour has run as high as $60 in recent days, a kilogram of lentils up to $35. That is beyond the means of most residents in the territory, which experts say is at risk of famine and where people are largely reliant on savings 21 months into the Israel-Hamas war. Israel's decision this weekend to facilitate more aid deliveries — under international pressure — has lowered prices somewhat but has yet to be fully felt on the ground. Bags of flour in markets often bear U.N. logos, while other packaging has markings indicating it came from the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — all originally handed out for free. It's impossible to know how much is being diverted, but neither group can track who receives its aid. In the melees surrounding aid distributions in recent weeks, residents say the strong were best positioned to come away with food. Mohammed Abu Taha, who lives in a tent with his wife and child near the city of Rafah, said organised gangs of young men are always at the front of crowds when he visits GHF sites. 'It's a huge business,' he said. Every avenue for aid is beset by chaos The U.N. says up to 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, aid groups and media outlets say their staffers are going hungry, and Gaza's Health Ministry says dozens of Palestinians have died from hunger-related causes in the last three weeks. When the U.N. gets Israeli permission to distribute aid, its convoys are nearly always attacked by armed gangs or overwhelmed by hungry crowds in the buffer zone controlled by the military. The U.N.'s World Food Program said last week it will only be able to safely deliver aid to the most vulnerable once internal security is restored, likely only under a ceasefire. 'In the meantime, given the urgent need for families to access food, WFP will accept hungry populations taking food from its trucks, as long as there is no violence,' spokesperson Abeer Etifa said. In the alternative delivery system operated by GHF, an American contractor, Palestinians often run a deadly gauntlet. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops while seeking food since May, mainly near the GHF sites, according to the U.N. human rights office, witnesses and local health officials. The military says it has only fired warning shots when people approach its forces, while GHF says its security contractors have only used pepper spray or fired in the air on some occasions to prevent stampedes. 'You have to be strong and fast' A man in his 30s, who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he had visited GHF sites about 40 times since they opened and nearly always came back with food. He sold most of it to merchants or other people to buy other necessities for his family. Heba Jouda, who has visited the sites many times, said armed men steal aid as people return with it, and merchants also offer to buy it. 'To get food from the American organisation, you have to be strong and fast," she said. Footage shot by Palestinians at GHF sites and shared broadly shows chaotic scenes, with crowds of men racing down fenced-in corridors and scrambling to grab boxes off the ground. GHF says it has installed separate lanes for women and children and is ramping up programs to deliver aid directly to communities. The U.N.'s deliveries also often devolve into deadly violence and chaos, with crowds of thousands rapidly overwhelming trucks close to Israeli troops. The U.N. does not accept protection from Israel, saying it prefers to rely on community support. The Israeli military did not respond to emails seeking comment about the reselling of aid. Israel denies allowing looters to operate in areas it controls and accuses Hamas of prolonging the war by not surrendering. 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. The situation changed dramatically in March For much of the war, U.N. agencies were able to safely deliver aid, despite Israeli restrictions and occasional attacks and theft. Hamas-led police guarded convoys and went after suspected looters and merchants who resold aid. During a ceasefire earlier this year, Israel allowed up to 600 aid trucks to enter daily. There were no major disruptions in deliveries, and food prices were far lower. The U.N. said it had mechanisms in place to prevent any organized diversion of aid. But Israel says Hamas was siphoning it off, though it has provided no evidence of widespread theft. That all changed in March, when Israel ended the ceasefire and halted all imports, including food. Israel seized large parts of Gaza in what it said was a tactic to pressure Hamas into releasing the fifty captives abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack and still held in Gaza. As the Hamas-run police vanished from areas under Israeli control, local tribes and gangs — some of which Israel says it supports — took over, residents say. Israel began allowing a trickle of aid to enter in May. GHF was set up that month with the stated goal of preventing Hamas from diverting aid. Since then, Israel has allowed an average of about 70 trucks a day, compared to the 500-600 the U.N. says are needed. The military said Saturday it would allow more trucks in — 180 entered Sunday — and international airdrops have resumed, which aid organisations say are largely ineffective. Meanwhile, food distribution continues to be plagued by chaos and violence, as seen near GHF sites or around U.N. trucks. Even if Israel pauses its military operations during the day, it's unclear how much the security situation will improve. With both the U.N. and GHF, Hamas members may be among the crowds. In response to questions from The Associated Press, GHF acknowledged that, but said its system prevents the organised diversion of aid. 'The real concern we are addressing is not whether individual actors manage to receive food, but whether Hamas can systematically control aid flows. At GHF sites, they cannot,' it said. Hamas has denied stealing aid. It's unclear if it's involved in the aid trade, but its fighters would be taking a major risk by operating in a coordinated way in Israeli military zones that U.N. trucks pass through and where GHF sites are located. The UN says the only solution is a ceasefire U.N. officials have called on Israel to fully lift the blockade and flood Gaza with food. That would reduce the incentive for looting by ensuring enough for everyone and driving down prices. Another ceasefire would include a major increase in aid and the release of Israeli captives, but talks have stalled. Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is run by medical professionals. Israel has disputed its figures without providing its own. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
18-07-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
US embassy honours 35 Egyptian students selected for youth exchange programme
The US embassy in Cairo has honoured 35 Egyptian high school students chosen for the 2025-2026 Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (KL-YES) programme. US Ambassador Herro Mustafa Garg hosted a reception to celebrate 35 outstanding Egyptian high school students, who were chosen to participate in the KL-YES programme for the academic year 2025-2026. KL-YES is a flagship US Department of State programme awarding full scholarships for Egyptian high school students to spend a full academic year in the United States. The programme's participants live with American host families, attend US high schools, and engage in community service and cultural exchange activities, helping promote mutual understanding between Egypt and the United States. Since 2003, nearly 900 Egyptian students have participated in KL-YES. During the celebration, Ambassador Garg stated that hundreds of Egyptian students have travelled to the United States over the past 22 years and experienced the best aspects of American life. "They have been embraced by American host families with open arms, enjoyed American music and movies, and experienced the breadth of American cuisine,' he said. The ambassador affirmed that these types of exchange programmes are one of the many ways the embassy works to strengthen the ties between the two countries. This year's reception brought together KL-YES participants and their parents, US diplomats, KL-YES alumni, and representatives from Newton Education Services, Qalaa Holdings, and AFS Egypt, the programme's implementing partner for over two decades. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
