UNESCO nominates Egyptian as its new director following US withdrawal

PARIS (AP) — UNESCO is slated to have its first director from the Arab world after an Egyptian former tourism and antiquities minister, Khaled el-Anani, was nominated by the agency's executive board Monday.

If confirmed by UNESCO’s general assembly next month, el-Anani will inherit an agency reeling from the Trump administration’s recent decision to pull the United States out, portending a budget shortfall at the agency best known for its World Heritage sites around the globe.

El-Anani was seen as the front-runner for the position of director-general and won a vote Monday against his only challenger, Firmin Edouard Matoko, an economist from Republic of Congo who promoted schooling in refugee camps.

The decision by the board, which represents 58 of the agency’s 194 member states, is expected to be finalized at a meeting of UNESCO’s general assembly in Uzbekistan next month.

In addition to choosing and protecting World Heritage sites and traditions, the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization works to ensure education for girls, promotes Holocaust awareness and funds scientific research in developing countries, among other activities. Outgoing UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay notably led a high-profile effort to rebuild the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul after it was devastated under the Islamic State group.

UNESCO has also long been plagued by accusations of mismanagement and waste.

Trump argues that the agency, which voted in 2011 to admit Palestine as a member, is too politicized and anti-Israel. U.S. supporters of UNESCO, meanwhile, say withdrawing Washington’s support allows China to play an outsized role in the world body.

Meanwhile, the vote comes at a time when the whole 80-year-old U.N. system is facing financial challenges and deepening divisions over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

El-Anani, 54, worked as a tour guide through ancient Egyptian sites, earned a doctorate in France and became a famed Egyptologist prior to serving in government. He served as minister of antiquities from 2016 to 2019, then led the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for two years after the two portfolios were merged.

He is now a university professor, teaching Egyptology in a public university in Cairo.

Arab countries have long wanted to lead UNESCO. The African Union and Arab League are among those that expressed support for his bid.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi welcomed the news, calling the nomination a ‘’historic achievement that shall be added to Egypt’s diplomatic and cultural record and to the achievements of the Arab and African peoples.''

During his tenure in government, el-Anani oversaw the start of mega-tourism projects including the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo, the Jewish Temple and multiple ancient discoveries that helped revive the country’s battered tourism sector.

El-Anani is expected to focus on UNESCO’s cultural programs, and has pledged to continue UNESCO’s work to fight antisemitism and religious intolerance. Israel left UNESCO in 2018.

While he has no U.N. experience, his backers say that could help him make tough reform decisions. He has also said he would try to bring the U.S. back into the UNESCO fold.

Firmin Matoko, 69, spent most of his career working for UNESCO, including stints in Rwanda soon after the genocide, during peace negotiations in El Salvador and beyond.

He said he wants UNESCO to focus on technical solutions. He described helping train teachers at a refugee camp in Somalia in the 1990s, and meeting one of them years later after she became education minister.

Both candidates pledged to tap more private sector money to make up for the loss of U.S. and other funding, continuing efforts started under Azoulay.

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Samy Magdy and Fay Abuelgasim in Cairo contributed to this report.

Egypt's Khaled El Enany speaks to the press after being elected Secretary-General by UNESCO executive board members, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Egypt's Khaled El Enany, right, flanked by President of executive board Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe speaks to the press after being elected Secretary-General by UNESCO executive board members, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Egypt's Khaled El Enany attends a press conference after being elected Secretary-General by UNESCO executive board members, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Members of the UNESCO executive board gather to elect their new Secretary General, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Thibault Camus)

Members of the UNESCO executive board gather to elect their new Secretary General, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Thibault Camus)

Members of the UNESCO executive board gather to elect their new Secretary General, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Thibault Camus)

FILE - The UNESCO logo hangs from a podium in Paris, Nov. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)