EgyptAir Says It Resumes Direct Flights between Cairo and Beirut

A general view shows Beirut international airport, Lebanon. (Reuters)
A general view shows Beirut international airport, Lebanon. (Reuters)
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EgyptAir Says It Resumes Direct Flights between Cairo and Beirut

A general view shows Beirut international airport, Lebanon. (Reuters)
A general view shows Beirut international airport, Lebanon. (Reuters)

EgyptAir resumed direct flights between Cairo and Beirut on Thursday "in light of the stability in Lebanon" after a three-month hiatus, it said in a statement.
In September 2024, a significant escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict led to widespread disruptions in the Middle East, including the cancellation of flights to Beirut.
The violence, which erupted along the Israeli-Lebanese border and expanded into a full-fledged war on Lebanon, triggered airspace restrictions and heightened security concerns.
International airlines, cautious of potential threats, cancelled flights that were scheduled to land at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, as the situation grew increasingly volatile.
Airlines started resuming their flights after a ceasefire with Israel came into effect late in November.



Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
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Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Friday that it is essential for Kurdish militant groups including the PKK and YPG to lay down arms and dissolve, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said.

Ankara considers the YPG, which has fought for years in Syria alongside US troops, to be an extension of the PKK, which fights against the Turkish state and is banned as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the EU and United States.

Turkish forces and their Syrian allies have clashed with a YPG-led alliance in Syria since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad this month.