Egyptian authorities suspended hot air ballooning over the ancient city of Luxor after two tourists were lightly injured during a ride early on Monday.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, a hot air balloon with 28 tourists drifted off course but eventually landed. The two injured tourists were taken to hospital for treatment, it said.
The statement did not say how the injuries occurred or elaborate on the nationalities of the tourists. It said only that the balloon was at an altitude of 60 meters when it veered off course.
The ministry said ballooning would not resume until an investigation to determine the cause of Monday’s incident is completed.
Footage shared online purportedly from the incident shows a balloon landing slowly in an open area. Rescuers are then seen helping the tourists get out. A man’s vice is heard shouting for an ambulance.
Hot air ballooning over Luxor, 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of Cairo, is popular as it offers tourists spectacular views of ancient temples.
However, ballooning accidents are not uncommon. A hot air balloon crash near Luxor in 2013 killed 19 tourists, likely the deadliest such accident on record.
In 2009, 16 tourists were injured when their balloon struck a cellphone transmission tower. A year earlier, seven tourists were injured in a similar incident.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has again called for early elections after a by-election upset saw his party take control of a crucial provincial assembly in Punjab.
Twenty seats were up for grabs in the Punjab by-election, which was seen as a popularity test for the former international cricket star dismissed by a no-confidence vote in April.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won 15, with the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif taking four, and one going to an independent.
Sunday’s vote was also seen as a bellwether for national elections that must be held by October next year, although Khan has campaigned across the country for an earlier poll since being dismissed.
Khan has drawn thousands to rallies since being ousted, giving lengthy speeches claiming the government was imposed on Pakistan by a US-led conspiracy.
He also blames the current government for soaring inflation, although most analysts agree Sharif inherited the country’s economic woes – which were given some relief last week by an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume a rescue package.
Pakistan newspapers suggested the Punjab result was a consequence of the economic hardships currently felt by the country, which is spending nearly half its income to service dire foreign debt.
To meet IMF conditions for a resumption of a $7.2 billion aid package, Sharif had to remove subsidies on fuel – effectively raising prices by more than 50 percent in less than two months.
UK lawmakers on Monday challenged the British government’s narrative that the controversial Rwanda deportation policy will deter asylum seekers, arguing instead that ‘no magical solution’ existed to irregular migration.
British MPs said no clear evidence” that its controversial policy to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda would stop Channel crossings in small boats while the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee said “much more clarity” was needed on the plan, including how much it will cost.
Instead, the MPs urged ministers to look at less eye-catching solutions to the issue, including closer cooperation with European neighbours.
The Channel crossings have put Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government under political pressure, given that they promised to tighten Britain’s borders after leaving the European Union.
More than 28,500 people – most of them young men – arrived in 2021. Some 13,000 have arrived already this year out of 60,000 expected this year. People make the journey because they are unable to take safe legal routes to the UK, where they must be in the country in order to claim asylum.
Most claim asylum but the government says the costs involved in the application process – more than £1.5 billion – are unsustainably high.
The first flight carrying asylum seekers was due to take off for Rwanda in mid-June but was grounded due to legal challenges.
The Home Affairs Committee said there was “no magical solution” to deal with irregular migration but said close cooperation with international partners, particularly those in France stood more chance of success in deterring Channel crossings.
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, sometimes referred to as the Pyramid of Peace and Accord, is a modern structure in the form of a pyramid that serves as an event venue which is located in the capital city of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan (Astana).
Representing a symbol of friendship, unity and peace, the construction of this modern marvel was suggested by Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, who wanted it to be built in order to be the center of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional religions that takes place every year in Astana.
Built between 2004 and 2006, the Pyramid was designed by the famed British architect Norman Foster who created this modern architectural masterpiece that has a floor area of about 28,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) and incorporates also an opera house, educational facilities, exhibition halls, a gallery, a press center and a national center for Kazakhstan’s various ethnic and geographical groups.
The base of the structure is 62 meters (203 feet) long and wide, with the highest point being too 62 meters (203 feet) above the surrounding area, and it is entirely built-in stone with glazed inserts that allude to the various internal functions, while at the top is an apex of stained glass that was designed by the artist Brian Clarke.
Within the building, the entire space is organized around a soaring central atrium that is often animated shifting colored light patterns, and there is even a glass lens in the floor which casts light down into the auditorium, creating a sense of vertical continuity from the lowest level to the highest point.
Supported by four inclined pillars that are referred to as “the hands of peace”, the assembly chamber is where most of the main events are taking place.
Still, one of the greatest challenges for the building is the harsh weather of Astana that varies greatly in winter and summer.
That is why the engineers had to construct a steel and concrete skeleton which is able enough to withstand the expansions and contractions of the constructing material since the winters can bring temperatures of maximum -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in summertime.
Open for the general public every day, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation is certainly one of Kazakhstan’s truly unique buildings that can be found around the newly constructed capital, which attracts visitors who would like to get a glimpse from the different national costumes of the people who live in the country, while embracing the unity of the people and religions.
All in all, offering wonderful views of Astana, this modern palace is something that will inspire people from all corners of the world to flock to Kazakhstan and embrace the message of peace and love it transpires.
64 Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero
1925 Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf (original title was the catchy “Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice”)
1936 Spanish Civil War: General Francisco Franco issues manifesto and leads an uprising in the Spanish army stationed in Morocco
2012 Kim Jong-un is officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea and given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People’s Army
2013 Detroit, Michigan, files for bankruptcy, becoming the largest US municipal bankruptcy ever at $18.5 billion
HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY
TODAY IN FILM & TV
1959 “The Nun’s Story” based on the novel by Kathryn Hulme, starring Audrey Hepburn premieres in Los Angeles
TODAY IN MUSIC
1980 Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” album tops US charts, featuring “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”
TODAY IN SPORT
1976 Nadia Comăneci (14) becomes the first gymnast in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 score (doing so 7 times) at Montreal Games
MORE FACTS….
1743 1st half-page newspaper ad is published (NY Weekly Journal)
1938 Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan arrives in Ireland after a 28 hours flight, supposedly left NY flying for California
FAMOUS WEDDINGS
1922 British naval officer Louis Mountbatten (22) weds Lord Mount Temple’s daughter Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley (20) at St. Margaret’s in Westminster, London
1933 American heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey (38) weds American Broadway singer and actress Hannah Williams (22); divorce in 1943
1938 Physicist and Nobel laureate John Bardeen (30) weds Jane Maxwell
President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that there are more than 85 million persons enrolled on the National Identification Number database.
The President disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, a year after stating that 54 million Nigerians have now enrolled.
Nigeria had for years struggled to create a credible national database through the NIN without success. However, with the new government’s policy introduced in December 2020 mandating all mobile subscribers to link their SIM with NIN, many Nigerians are being forced to enrol for the national identification number.
The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has said that the victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke in the Osun State governorship election is a sign the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can take on the All Progressives Congress in the national elections next year.
Obaseki disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Sunday after the Independent National Elections Commission declared Adeleke the winner of the Osun State gubernatorial election.
Adeleke defeated the incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola of the APC in a keenly contested election over the weekend.
Godwin Obaseki hinted that the victory shows PDP is on a rebound, and most of its members who had issues or challenges as a result of the convention will now see that PDP is still the party to beat.
Nigeria generated a total of 91,007.53MWh of energy on Sunday, 17th July 2022, improving by 5% compared to 86,644.51MWh recorded in the previous day. This is according to information from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
In the same vein, power supply increased by 4.8% to 89,752.36MWh on Sunday, from 85,644.46MWh sent out on Saturday. This implies that 98.62% of the total power generated was sent out to Distribution Companies.
It is worth noting that, despite the increase, electricity generation and supply in Nigeria is still crippling below the minimum 105,000MWh of electricity required to record stable power supply in the country.
Energy generation peaked at 3,967.9MW on Sunday, while off-peak generation was stated at 3,539.1MW. The highest frequency recorded during the day was 50.44Hz while the lowest was 49Hz
Fruška Gora, sometimes referred to as the Jewel of Serbia, is beautiful mountain that is located in the Syrmia Region on the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, with a small part overlapping the territory of the Republic of Croatia.
Considered as a lone mountain with extraordinary landscape that rises 539 meters (1,768 feet) above the sea, Fruška Gora is part of the Fruška Gora National Park which was established in 1960.
The park area covers 22,000 hectares (54,363 acres), and it is grouped with linden trees that are considered to be the greatest concentration in Europe.
In addition, there are also more than 700 species of medicinal herbs that grow on Fruška Gora.
The entire area plays an important role for the scientific community, as it is a natural geological phenomenon since it is built from the rocks from almost all geological periods.
During the existence of the shallow ancient Pannonian Sea, the mountain incredibly was an island.
Today, the mountain has different landscape, since towards the higher part, it can be noticed that there are thick forests, while in the lower valleys are located orchards and vineyards which are considered to be several centuries old.
Human habitation in the area can be traced back to the neolithic times, however, during the period of Austro-Hungarian rule, the area saw higher intensity of development.
Still, one of the most impressive features of the area are the city of Sremski Karlovci, and the dozen Serbian Orthodox monasteries which are spread all over the mountain.
That is why sometimes Fruška Gora is called the Serbian Mount Athos, and even the Serbian Orthodox officials have named it the “Holy Mountain” in 2003.
In conclusion, serving as a ground for scientific research, it is the place where the Serbian people seek religious peace and tranquility, while trying to enjoy in the impressive landscape of the surrounding, and as they are very proud with it, they do also recommend it to all those visitors coming to Serbia.
A senior official of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Engr. Kingsley Okorafor, who was kidnapped by some gunmen in his hometown, Umulogho autonomous in Imo, has regained freedom from his abductors.
Recall that it was earlier reported that the daredevil armed men abducted him in the early hours of Saturday morning, about three kilometers away from a military checkpoint in the area.
When queried if a ransom was paid before his release, he said he is not aware.
The family source said, “I can authoritatively confirm to you that my brother who was earlier kidnapped on Saturday has regained his freedom and has reunited with other family members.”
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