CAIRO: An attempt to smuggle narcotic pills into Egypt has been thwarted by customs offers at Cairo International Airport.

The pills were hidden in a milk container in a passenger’s luggage from Qatar.

The traveler has been arrested and referred to the prosecution authorities for legal action.

The arrest followed a tip-off from the General Department for Drug Control at the airport indicating that a passenger on a Qatar Airways flight intended to smuggle contraband into the country.

Dozens of desperate Palestinians who embark on illegal and dangerous boat journeys to Europe in search of a better life continue to lose their lives in tragedies at sea, according to officials, causing anguish for grieving loved ones at home.

They leave their homes in the hope of finding better job opportunities and improved living conditions. However, some drown and others are detained by coast guards when they arrive at their destinations. In the end, many who survive are sent back to where they came from.

GAZA: At least 21 people were killed and several others injured when a fire broke out in a building where residents attended a party in the Gaza Strip, health and civil emergency officials said on Thursday.
It took fire fighters more than an hour to get control of the massive flames that burst through the top floor of a four-story residential building in the densely-populated Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip.

LONDON: Six people were killed, 16 injured, and three buildings were destroyed after a liquefied petroleum gas system exploded in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, the Iraqi News Agency reported.

“More than 20 people were present in the house in which the accident occurred, eight people were taken to hospital, and there are currently between 10-12 people, including children, under the rubble,” an eyewitness said.

Sulaymaniyah’s Civil Defense said 10 teams are working to rescue those trapped under the rubble of the buildings.

AMMAN: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden on Thursday visited Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp for Syrians, the Jordan News Agency reported.

During their tour, the royals, who were escorted by Jordanian Princess Rym Ali, were briefed on the services provided to refugees by the camp administration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund, and the World Food Program, particularly in the areas of education and food.