������Ƶ

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday appointed economist and former Columbia University president Minouche Shafik as his chief economic adviser. It’s part of a staff shakeup aimed at strengthening the government’s response to a sluggish economy and a heated political debate over immigration.
Starmer’s center-left Labour Party government has struggled to boost economic growth and curb inflation, leaving Treasury chief Rachel Reeves facing unpalatable choices about taxes and spending in her budget this fall.
Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has held senior academic and civil service roles in Britain, and served a brief, tempestuous term as Columbia president. The British-US national left her job leading the New York university in August 2024 after just over a year following scrutiny of her handling of protests and campus divisions over the Israel-Hamas war.
Like other US university leaders, Shafik faced criticism from many corners: Some students groups blasted her decision to invite police in to arrest protesters. Republicans in Congress and others called on her to do more to call out antisemitism.
Starmer spokesman Dave Pares said the prime minister was delighted to have Shafik bring her “exceptional record when it comes to economic expertise” to the government.
Starmer also shook up his communications team and appointed Darren Jones, formerly a minister in the Treasury, to the new post of chief secretary to the prime minister, tasked with coordinating work on policy priorities.
The moves came as lawmakers returned to Parliament after a summer break that saw dozens of small but heated protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers. The Labour government, which was elected in July 2024, has struggled to curb unauthorized migration and fulfill its responsibility to accommodate those seeking refuge.
The hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage has sought to capitalize on concern about thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Painting the asylum-seekers as a threat, Farage has pledged to deport everyone who enters the country without authorization should Reform win power in a future election.
Reform has only a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons but regularly leads both Labour and the main opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls.
Starmer’s government says it is fixing an asylum system broken after 14 years of Conservative government and is working with other countries to tackle the people-smuggling gangs that organize the cross-channel journeys.

KABUL: Rescuers and dozens of doctors were flown to mountainous villages in eastern Afghanistan on Monday to search for survivors of a powerful earthquake that official reports estimate has killed at least 800 people.

A magnitude 6 earthquake hit the densely populated rural areas of Kunar and Nangarhar provinces near midnight on Sunday, with aftershocks reported until Monday also in neighboring Pakistan.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in Kabul that at least 812 people — 800 in Kunar and 12 in Nangarhar — have been killed and nearly 3,000 injured. Most of the casualties were reported in Kunar’s Noorgal district.

The real toll is feared to be higher, as rescue efforts in the steep terrain have been further hindered by landslides and rockfalls that destroyed roads.

“The situation is dire. In Kunar, entire villages have been completely demolished in at least one district. In Nangarhar’s Dare Noor, people have lost all their family members,” said Faqir Sayed Al-Hashimi from Ehsas Welfare and Social Services Organization, who was helping in rescue efforts on the ground.

“The government is deploying helicopters to reach the wounded, as vehicles can’t access the area. Community members are marching on foot toward Noorgal district, where most of the casualties occurred, but it will take them several hours to get there.”

Since the morning, the Defense Ministry has flown dozens of doctors into Kunar to support hospitals overwhelmed with casualties.

Many of the injured have been transported to Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.

“Every few minutes, new ambulances are arriving from the Jalalabad airport. Military planes are transferring injured people from Kunar and Dare Noor,” Hazrat Nabi Nabizada, Najm Foundation coordinator, told Arab News from the Nangarhar Regional Hospital.

“Most patients are in critical condition and require orthopedic and neurosurgical care. We’ve lost count, but there are definitely over a thousand wounded at this hospital alone. Many others have been sent to private facilities.”

Casualties have also been reported in Laghman and Nuristan provinces.

“So far, we haven’t recorded any deaths in our province, but the number of injured is steadily rising. More than 60 injured people, including women and children, have already been brought to the provincial hospital,” said Jawhar Niazi, a volunteer with the Najm Foundation in Laghman

“We are mobilizing community members to donate blood to the injured and will be providing food to the family members visiting the hospital.”