CAIRO: A record 1,200 new mosques opened across Egypt this year, according to the Ministry of Awqaf.

Ayman Omar, an undersecretary at the ministry, told Arab News that some of the 1,200 new mosques were financed by the ministry, while others were privately built under government supervision.

CAIRO: A “Feminists for Climate” initiative is setting out to educate Egyptians about the effects of climate change on women in general and Egyptian women in particular.

The initiative’s founder, Marihan Fouad, said: “Women are the weakest and most vulnerable group, and the issue of climate change and its consequences is what increases their vulnerability and problems. The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of that.”

DUBAI: Nature, sports and adventure lovers are a click away from the best destinations across the Middle East and North Africa, thanks to a newly-launched, EU-funded website, Mediterraneanadventures.org, created to jumpstart tourism in the region.
The website suggests activities such as skiing in Lebanon’s Keserwan mountainous area and crossing a biosphere at below sea level in Jordan’s Karak, in addition to canoeing and diving in Torre Guaceto in Puglia, southern Italy.

GAZA CITY: Christians in the Gaza Strip hope to celebrate Christmas each year and reunite with their families, but Israeli restrictions on movement are preventing thousands from taking part in the occasion.

Israel has been accused of strictly limiting permits to pray in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to a limited number of worshipers.

The Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority — the body responsible for communicating with Israeli officials at Erez crossing — said that Israel rejected more than 260 applications.

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi hinted on Friday that some obstacles were hindering dialogue aimed at ending the political stalemate over the presidential vacuum.
Al-Rahi’s remarks came as he received Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil, son-in-law of outgoing President Michel Aoun and head of the Free Patriotic Movement party.
In light of the political dispute with Hezbollah, Bassil turned to Al-Rahi in an attempt to strengthen his position.
Bassil also rejects the holding of Cabinet sessions by a caretaker government amid the presidential vacuum.