CAIRO: Hot air balloon flights over some of Egypt’s most famous attractions have helped buoy a tourism boom in and around Luxor, according to officials.

More than 450 tourists recently took to the air in 25 balloons to get a bird’s-eye view of the area, including ancient temples and the River Nile.

Ahmed Aboud, a representative of a federation of hot air balloon companies in Luxor, said the city had witnessed an upsurge in visitors from around the world and that the flights were proving popular.

BEIRUT: A Lebanese religious leader on Sunday accused politicians of an abuse of their “power and influence” in obstructing the election of a new president and the work of state institutions.

In his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi said the Arab and international communities condemned their “corruption,” adding that parliament should convene as soon as possible and decide on a new presidential head.

He said: “Yes, the president is a Maronite, but the voters are not all Maronites and Christians.

DAMASCUS: The WHO chief said Sunday that Syria’s President Bashar Assad had voiced openness to more border crossings for aid to be brought to quake victims in the country’s rebel-held northwest.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with the Syrian president in Damascus on Sunday afternoon to discuss the response to the devastating earthquake which has killed more than 33,000 people across Syria and Turkiye.

CAIRO: Customs authorities at Cairo International Airport recently foiled smuggling attempts involving items such as ammunition, bladed weapons, drones fitted with cameras, gold jewelry, and drugs.

One passenger of Egyptian origin arriving on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul was caught carrying 2,400 4.5-millimeter air-pressure bullets and two electronic devices, prohibited under Egyptian law without special permits.

ANKARA: Baris Yapar managed to escape his building when the first massive earthquake struck southeast Turkiye in the early hours of Monday. His grandparents were living just a short distance away, but when he reached their building, he found only rubble.

“We waited the whole night. We made several calls, but no one came to help,” Yapar told Arab News near his home in the Samandag district of Hatay province.

“After 40 hours, we rented the necessary equipment to open some parts of the wreckage ourselves.”