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France Urges Citizens to Leave Iran, Lebanon Due to Military Risks

Smoke rises from Kfar Kila, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Kfar Kila, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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France Urges Citizens to Leave Iran, Lebanon Due to Military Risks

Smoke rises from Kfar Kila, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Kfar Kila, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 3, 2024. (Reuters)

France urged its citizens in Iran and Lebanon to leave the countries due to a risk of military escalation in the Middle East, the foreign ministry said on Sunday in two separate travel advisories.

The French foreign ministry recommended citizens residing in Iran to temporarily leave the country given the risk of its airspace being closed. The ministry had urged citizens traveling in Iran to leave on Friday.

The ministry called on its citizens in Lebanon, especially those on trips there, to take advantage of the fact that there are still commercial flights available to leave.

Air France said on Saturday it and its affiliate Transavia were further extending their suspensions of flights between Paris and Beirut until at least Aug. 6.

Tensions have soared following the assassination of Palestinian group Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a top military commander from Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared their concern over rising frictions in the Middle East in a phone call on Saturday. 

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Rumors on Selling Egypt’s Airports Spread on Social Media

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his recent visit to Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria (Ministry of Aviation)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his recent visit to Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria (Ministry of Aviation)
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Rumors on Selling Egypt’s Airports Spread on Social Media

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his recent visit to Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria (Ministry of Aviation)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his recent visit to Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria (Ministry of Aviation)

Rumors spread on social media in Egypt amid claims that the country’s airports are being sold to foreign parties, prompting the cabinet to deny the reports on Saturday.
In an official statement on its Facebook page, Egypt’s government stressed that the goal is to “offer the management and operation of airports to the private sector.”
According to the Egyptian Council of Ministers, “Egyptian airports are fully owned by the state and subject to Egyptian sovereignty.”
It added that the state is implementing an integrated strategy based on raising the efficiency of airports and increasing their capacity, through a number of infrastructure development projects, as well as upgrading security systems and modernizing all security devices at Egyptian airports.
Additionally, the state is expanding flight networks by opening new markets and supporting low-cost aviation activities, the cabinet underlined in a statement.
Member of Parliament’s Tourism and Aviation Committee, MP Mohamed Taha Al-Khouly, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government submitted a plan to Parliament last month to allow the private sector to provide some services inside airports.
This matter “will not happen randomly,” but within “an organized framework, and may require legal amendments regarding the controls regulating the private sector companies that will be present to provide some services at Egyptian airports,” he added.
According to the deputy, these services include receiving tourists, organizing the movement of taxis in the vicinity of airports, in addition to providing assistance services upon arrival, and other matters that do not directly or remotely affect Egyptian sovereignty over the airports.
Last month, the Central Bank of Egypt announced an increase in tourism sector revenues by 5.3 percent during the first 9 months of the 2023-2024 fiscal year, reaching $10.9 billion, compared to $10.3 billion in the same period of the previous year.
In 2023, Egypt received about 14.9 million tourists, an increase of 27 percent over 2022, according to a statement by the Egyptian Council of Ministers at the beginning of this year.