BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s decision to drop COVID-19 restrictions for passengers traveling from Lebanon will provide great momentum for air traffic between Beirut, Riyadh, and Jeddah, an industry leader said on Friday.

Jean Abboud, head of the Syndicate of Tourism and Travel Agencies, told Arab News that airlines had started programming their flights to Riyadh and Jeddah from Beirut. Most people were relieved by the move, he added.

NEW YORK: Russia on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended cross-border aid to Syria by one year without Damascus’s backing.
The authorization for aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab Al-Hawa, which has been in effect since 2014, is set to expire Sunday.
The aid is a lifeline for more than 2.4 million people in the northwestern Idlib region of Syria, under the control of jihadists and rebels.

LONDON: Britain’s minister for Asia and the Middle East has completed a second trip to the Gulf as she looks to shore up economic ties between the UK and the region.

Amanda Milling’s visit to Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar followed last month’s news that Gulf Cooperation Council countries would enter the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme exempting nationals from visa requirements, and the launch of discussions on a free trade agreement.

JERUSALEM: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held rare meetings and calls with Israeli leaders in an effort to calm tensions and coordinate security measures days before US President Joe Biden’s first visit to the region.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid had separate calls with Abbas on Friday, official statements said, following a meeting between Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday.

KHARTOUM: Pro-democracy groups in Sudan announced a “revolutionary council” on Thursday to close ranks against coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, rejecting his offer of a civilian government, as protesters keep pressing for his resignation.
Gen. Al-Burhan led a coup in October last year that derailed a transition to civilian rule, unleashing near-weekly protests and prompting key donors to freeze much-needed funding.