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Egypt Grounds Kites for Safety of Citizens

Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for safety reasons. (AFP)
Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for safety reasons. (AFP)
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Egypt Grounds Kites for Safety of Citizens

Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for safety reasons. (AFP)
Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for safety reasons. (AFP)

Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for "safety" reasons.

Police seized 369 kites in Cairo on Friday, Al-Ahram reported, while Akhbar Al-Youm, another state newspaper, said police confiscated 99 kites and fined five people in the northern region of Alexandria.

The ban was brought in "to ensure the safety of citizens after a number of accidents" involving kites, Alexandria's governorate said this week on its Facebook page.

Fines imposed for kite-flying in the Mediterranean city can reach up to 1,000 pounds (about $60).

Egypt's skies have been filled with thousands of colorful paper kites flown by youths from rooftops and on corniches, as the hobby took off during night-time curfews to limit the spread of coronavirus.

A three-month curfew was lifted in June, even as cases of COVID-19 in Egypt continue to rise, with over 80,000 declared infections and nearly 4,000 deaths to date.

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Palestinian President Names Interim Successor If He Has to Leave Post

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Palestinian President Names Interim Successor If He Has to Leave Post

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has named a temporary successor who would take over from him should he die or leave his post, addressing concerns of a possible power vacuum following his departure.
In a statement released late on Wednesday, Abbas said the chairman of the Palestinian National Council should serve as interim president for no more than 90 days, during which presidential elections should be held.
The current chairman of the Palestinians' top decision-making body is Rawhi Fattouh, 75, who also served briefly as a stop-gap leader following the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004.
Abbas, 89, has been Palestinian president since 2005 and has had regular health problems in recent years, prompting repeated speculation on who might replace him when he finally stands aside.
He does not have a deputy and a source told Reuters earlier this month that Saudi Arabia had pressed him to appoint one.
Wednesday's announcement clears up uncertainty over what should happen when he dies, but Fattouh was not named as his deputy, meaning there was still no visibility on who might replace Abbas in the long term.
Israel's Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a member of the inner security cabinet, told a group of foreign reporters this week that the Israeli army would take over the West Bank if someone from the militant group Hamas tried to become president.
Abbas was elected to a four-year term in 2005, but no presidential ballot has been held since.