Tarek Sultan, Agility Global Chairman

CAIRO. July 16: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Kuwait, signed an agreement with Agility Global to support refugee education in Egypt.

With the agreement, Agility Global’s contribution will support UNHCR’s initiative to enable more than 2,000 refugee students in Egypt to access education during the academic year 2025-2026 by enabling them to cover the costs of enrollment fees and other educational expenses. This support will ultimately enhance the refugees’ personal development, community integration, social cohesion, and future opportunities.

“This partnership with Agility Global represents more than just financial support. It is an act of solidarity at a time when global displacement has reached a staggering 122.1 million forcibly displaced people,” said Nisreen Rubaian, UNHCR’s Representative in Kuwait. “The private sector has a vital role to play in transforming lives. Our strategic partnership with Agility Global’s is a solid example of how meaningful partnerships can unlock opportunities for the most vulnerable people, especially through education. Together, we are turning the ‘whole-of-society’ approach into a powerful reality.”

On his part, Agility Global Chairman, Tarek Sultan said: “Agility Global’s contribution aims to address the challenges and support the displaced families impacted by conflict and persecution by facilitating the education of their children. We hope that we can help refugee students build a better future and empower them by gaining the knowledge and the skills needed to thrive and become positive contributors in the society that’s hosting them. This will also allow them to contribute to rebuilding their home countries when they return in safety and dignity.”

Egypt is a transit and destination country for refugees and asylum-seekers. Since the start of the Sudan conflict in April 2023, a large influx of Sudanese refugees has arrived in Egypt seeking safety (more than 1,200,000 according to the Government of Egypt). As of 4 February 2025, some 905,000 individuals (70% Sudanese; 16% Syrians; 5% South Sudanese, 4% Eritreans) are registered with UNHCR in Egypt – more than triple the number registered at the start of the Sudan crisis. Of them, 572,000 are new arrivals from Sudan (three quarters are women and children).

Agility has been a long-standing partner of UNHCR, supporting programs in Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uganda over the past 16 years.

Federico DeMarco, left, and Ed Curran work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on July 16. (AP)

BANGKOK, July 17, (AP): World shares were mostly higher Thursday while US futures were mixed after President Donald Trump rocked Wall Street by saying he had “talked about the concept of firing” the head of the Federal Reserve, but was unlikely to do so. Removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell might help Wall Street get the lower interest rates investors love but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX gained 0.8% to 24,209.08, while the CAC 40 in Paris also rose 0.8%, to 7,785.91. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 8,960.99. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. Asian markets also were mostly higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 39,901.19 after the government reported a trade deficit for the first half of the year as Japan’s exports to the United States took a hit from Trump’s tariffs.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed early gains to close down 0.1% at 24,498.95, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,516.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,639.00. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2% to 3,192.29. India’s Sensex lost 0.3% while the SET in Bangkok jumped 3.3% on strong gains for market heavyweights like Airports of Thailand and Delta Electronics.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow industrials added 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% to a fresh record of 20,730.49. Stocks were rising modestly in the morning before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%. When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”

That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if “he has to leave for fraud.” Trump has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed’s headquarters. Trump is unhappy that the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy.  

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb 3. (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea, July 17, (AP): South Korea’s top court Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on financial criminal charges, ending years of legal disputes over the 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that solidified his control over the company. In 2024, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of charges like stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove the merger was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee’s control over Samsung.

The Seoul High Court upheld the district court’s ruling in February, and the Supreme Court dismissed prosecutors’ appeal of the high court’s decision Thursday. Its ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Samsung’s lawyers said in a statement that they “sincerely thank” the Supreme Court for “wisely” ruling on the case.

They said the ruling confirmed the 2015 merger was legitimate. Lee, a third-generation corporate heir who was officially appointed chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2022, has led the Samsung group of companies since 2014, when his late father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack. The senior Lee died in 2020. Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2017 on separate bribery charges related to the 2015 merger.

He was originally sentenced to five years in prison for offering bribes to then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win government support for the merger, which was key to strengthening his control over the Samsung business empire and solidifying the father-to-son leadership succession. Lee was paroled in 2021 and pardoned by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022. Some shareholders opposed the 2015 merger, saying it unfairly benefited the Lee family while hurting minority shareholders.