CAIRO: About 30 female artists from 14 different countries exhibited artworks as part of the International Women’s Art Forum held this week in Hurghada, Egypt.

The event was staged in March, a month reserved to celebrate women, and was part of the Egyptian Tourism Ministry’s efforts to attract visitors to the country during spring.

The forum began on March 5 in Luxor, where artists showcased their works at an exhibition in front of the Hatshepsut Temple.

CAIRO: The mawlid or birthday celebrations in Luxor during the Islamic month of Shaaban celebrate the life of 12th-century Sufi scholar Sheikh Yusuf Abu El-Haggag (1150-1245).

The Egyptian mystic, whose lineage goes back to Imam Hussein bin Ali, was born in Baghdad and died in Luxor.

The celebrations last for seven days in the presence of a large number of devotees from all sections of society.

Held two weeks before Ramadan, the mawlid includes horse racing, traditional music and stick dancing, as well as a parade of boat-shaped floats.

TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Friday he wants to see Tunisia and Syria appoint ambassadors to their countries, the latest sign that full restoration of diplomatic relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government could be imminent.
“A decision must be taken on this issue.,” Saied told foreign minister Nabil Ammar during a meeting, according to a video posted on Facebook by the president’s office.

ANKARA: The deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Turkiye, Syria and Iran will meet in Moscow next week for low-level talks ahead of a long-planned meeting between the countries’ four foreign ministers.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian asked if Tehran could join the three-way talks as a fourth party, and Ankara agreed.
“Astana is the only surviving format (to address) Syria anyway,” Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with Amir-Abdollahian.

BAGHDAD: Two decades after the US-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein, its war-weary people recount their painful memories of dictatorship, major conflict and years of violent turmoil.