LONDON: Rescued from under rubble six months ago, Hiba, who has not yet turned six, lost her entire family and part of her foot in Syria’s deadly earthquakes in February. In need of constant care, she now lives with distant relatives in an overcrowded displacement camp.

Hiba, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is one of thousands of children orphaned by two temblors that struck southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Feb. 6, which upended the lives of at least 2.5 million children in Syria alone, according to UNICEF.

CAIRO: Recent successive increases in the price of cigarettes in Egypt, both domestic and foreign, have prompted many citizens to abandon the brands they once smoked, opting instead to search for cheaper ones or switch to smoking hookahs in cafes or at home.

Among those affected is Ahmed Fathi, a journalist, who told Arab News: “Hookah is much cheaper than cigarettes now, first because it does not make me smoke much, only once or twice a week, and the price I pay for both times is close to the price of one pack of cigarettes.”

LONDON: Bahrain has urged its citizens to adhere to an advisory issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cautioning them against traveling to Lebanon for their safety, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The ministry called on all Bahraini citizens not to travel to Lebanon “in order to protect them from exposure to any dangers, calling for them to leave the Lebanese territory for their safety,” the statement said.
Citizens are required to contact the Bahrain Embassy in Damascus for assistance in case of emergencies.

LONDON: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday held talks in El-Alamein with the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on relations and ways to develop them further, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The two leaders “reviewed existing areas of cooperation and collaboration, especially in the areas of economy and investment, which further enhance the ongoing progress and prosperity of both countries and their people,” WAM said.

They also focused on ways to develop cooperation in new areas, and regional and international developments.

JERUSALEM: A Tel Aviv municipal patrol officer has died, Israeli officials said on Saturday, after being shot by a Palestinian on a street in central Tel Aviv.
The suspected shooter was then shot dead by another municipal patrol worker, Tel Aviv’s mayor Ron Huldai told Israel’s public broadcaster.
A statement from the Israeli police said the shooter was a 27 year-old resident of the Palestinian town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the attack but did not take responsibility.