Turkiye’s tourism revenues jumped 23.1%to $12.98 billion in the second quarter, Turkish Statistical Institute data showed, maintaining a strong trend in the sector.

Revenues in 2022 surged 53.4pc from the previous year to a record high of $46.28bn as lingering effects of the pandemic disappeared and fallout from the Ukraine war drove a rise in Russian arrivals.

Meanwhile, European travel stocks stumbled into some profit-taking as earnings season kicked off and extreme weather hit in July, but many investors are betting relatively attractive valuations and solid demand will keep supporting the sector.

An index of European travel and leisure stocks STXE 600 has risen 33pc over the last year, beating even market favourites like luxury and defence and racing over 23 percentage points ahead of the broader market.

The index has fallen slightly from its May peaks, but is still one of the best performers this year, thanks to sharper price increases in items like airline tickets and hotel rates as Covid-19 curbs were phased out ahead of the summer holidays.

Airlines, cruise operators and hotel owners have been key beneficiaries, but so have aircraft and engine-makers. The recovery in long-haul flying helped Rolls-Royce lift its full-year forecasts, sending its shares up over 20pc on Wednesday.

The number of restriction-free countries has risen three-fold in one year to above 180 and international tourist arrivals are closing in on pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the World Tourism Organization. Europe is among the regions with most progress.

Traders still see more opportunities ahead, even as markets face growing macro uncertainty and Europe grapples with extreme weather.

Goldman Sachs expects significant upgrades to consensus earnings estimates this year.

The Israeli government will build a 100 billion shekel ($27 billion) rail expansion that will connect its outlying areas to metropolitan Tel Aviv and, in the future, could provide overland links to Saudi Arabia.

The announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed a trip by top US officials to Saudi Arabia last week to advance a possible forging of formal relations between the Muslim powerhouse and Israel.

Opening the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Netanyahu appeared to sidestep the constitutional crisis that has roiled the country for seven months, denting its economy and shaking Western allies’ confidence in its democratic health.

Instead, he promoted infrastructure initiatives including the “One Israel Project”, which he described as designed to reduce travel time by train to the country’s business and government centres to two hours or less.

The plan is basically a revival of an idea promoted for years, though little progress has been made. The government in 2010 approved a similar multi-billion shekel initiative for a nationwide network that did not gain traction.

“I would like to add that in the future we will also be able to transport cargo by rail from Eilat to our Mediterranean, and will also be able to link Israel by train to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula,” he said in televised remarks.

“On this, too, we are working.”

Israel’s finance minister said the idea was to have the high-speed, north-south rail link ready in the next 10 years.

Severe weather warnings have been issued over strong winds and thunderstorms forecast in the UK.

Gusts could reach over 60mph in the most exposed parts of the southern England coast, the Met Office said.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected in central and south-east England and Wales, with some locations facing 40mm of rain within a few hours.

The bad weather is being caused by an unseasonal deep area of low pressure for this time of year.

The yellow severe weather warning for wind on Wednesday, covering coastal southern England, is in force between 04:00 BST and 18:00.

The Met Office is warning of travel disruption, trees being damaged and seafront and coastal communities being affected by spray and large waves.

It forecast gusts reaching 50mph (80km/h) in some English Channel coastal areas, 55 to 60mph (86 to 97km/h) in the most exposed locations in the far south-west, and possibly higher speeds in exposed parts of coastal southern England.

In central and south-east England and Wales, there is a yellow severe weather warning for thunderstorms from 09:00 to 20:00, with the possibility of some flooding.

Some damage to buildings from lightning strikes, short-term loss of power, and train delays are expected, as well as standing water on roads.

Meanwhile, in parts of north-east England, a yellow severe weather warning has been issued for heavy rain and is in place from 11:00 and 20:00.

The Environment Agency has issued alerts warning flooding is possible in 19 areas across the country.

The wet weather has been bad news for holidaymakers enjoying the school holidays.

Heavy rain has raised water on the river Rhine in Germany to levels allowing cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, data from German inland waterways agency WSA said on Wednesday.

Data from the WSA’s website Pegelonline showed that the last shallow sectors of the river around Cologne had now reached levels generally permitting full vessel loads.

Dry weather in June meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded and ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.

Commodity traders said full loads could now be taken on by ships along the entire river in Germany. Water at the chokepoint of Kaub had risen sharply allowing sailings with normal loads earlier this week.

“You cannot rule out low water problems again if the summer turns dry but I would not expect serious difficulties for the next few weeks,” one commodity trader said.

German industry is finding new ways to transport cargoes from coal to chemicals as increasingly frequent low water levels on the Rhine disrupt Europe’s largest economy, major cargo shippers told Reuters.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, coal and oil products, including heating oil. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

South Korea raised the hot weather warning to its highest level for the first time in four years, as parts of the country roasted in temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit), the interior and safety ministry said on Wednesday.

The scorching heat is estimated to have killed at least 22 people across the country as of Tuesday, more than triple the record of seven during the same period last year, an official at the National Fire Agency said.

The official temperature measured in the city of Yeoju, south of Seoul, hit 38.4C on Tuesday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.

South Korea raised the heat warning level in its four-tier system to the highest as of 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the first time since 2019.

The highest “serious” warning is issued when the apparent temperature is expected at 35C or higher in at least 40% of the country’s 180 regions for three or more days. It can also be issued when the apparent temperature is likely to be 38C or higher for three or more days in 10% of the country.

In the southern county of Buan where the 25th World Scout Jamboree is taking place, some 400 participants have experienced heat-related symptoms on its opening day on Tuesday, officials said.

The committee said it had six helicopters and 70 hospital beds ready to transfer patients in case of emergency.

Some 43,000 people from across the globe are planned to take part in the camping festival which will run through Aug. 12, the committee said.

The government forecasts high temperatures to persist with oppressive humidity for the coming days, with the apparent temperature likely to hover around 35C in most parts of the country.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday urged officials to step up measures to prevent further casualties, especially for people working outdoors, the elderly citizens and those living in makeshift houses without adequate air conditioning systems.