LONDON: An Iranian women who broke Iran’s strict hijab laws while competing at a climbing event in South Korea was forced to publicly apologize over the incident, the BBC reported.

In a statement this week after taking part in the competition without a headscarf, 33-year-old Elnaz Rekabi said her hijab had “fallen off inadvertently.”

But a source told the BBC that Rekabi’s family had been threatened by Iranian authorities after footage of the climber at the event went viral online.

CAIRO: Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile attack over the capital Damascus and the southern region late on Friday and explosions were heard in the capital’s vicinity, state media reported.
No immediate information was immediately available on damages or casualties.

CAIRO: Water resources are a priority subject at COP27, said the head of the EU delegation in Cairo as Egypt prepared to host the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh next month.

Christian Berger’s comments came during his visit to Cairo Water Week, where experts discussed the effects of climate change on an essential natural resource.

RAMALLAH: Shops, offices, and schools closed across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Thursday as Palestinians went on strike in protest at blockades and the killing of a man who killed a female Israeli soldier in a checkpoint attack.

Uday Al-Tamimi, 22, was shot dead by security guards from the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, which is built on Palestinian lands east of the towns of Abu Dis and Al-Azariya.

ANKARA: Turkey and Saudi Arabia are gearing up to further their ongoing normalization of relations with the latest talks between the members of inter-parliamentary friendship groups taking place in Riyadh on Wednesday. 

The Turkish delegation is planning another visit to Jeddah on Thursday evening to meet officials and businesspeople.  

The visit is a significant step toward institutionalizing ties between the two countries, which are set to expand their cooperation avenues.