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BEIRUT: A Jordanian globetrotter, who in July embarked on a cycling trip to spread a message of love among Arab Gulf states and promote tourism, has reached Qatar after traveling from Saudi Arabia. Cyclist Issa Al-Qazaqza told Arab News on Thursday: “This personally initiated cycling trip is to spread love and peace amongst Arab brothers in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and promote Jordanian hospitality and tourism. “I entered Saudi Arabia on July 18, and visited Tabuk and Madinah.”

Islamabad-based NGO records 2,227 cases of child sexual abuse in the country between January and June.

TRIPOLI: A leader of the Daesh group who allegedly planned and sponsored three deadly attacks in the Libyan capital Tripoli in 2018 has been captured, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. “Our forces apprehended on Tuesday a leader of the terrorist organization Daesh, involved in the planning and command of terrorist acts that targeted the institutions of our country and their fallen officials,” Abdelhamid Dbeibah, head of the United Nations-supported Libyan government, said during a live television broadcast, using the Arabic acronym for Daesh.

ALGIERS: Algeria said it sent a high-ranking official to Niger on Thursday as part of its diplomatic push in the aftermath of a military coup in the neighboring country. The Algerian Foreign Ministry’s secretary-general, Lounes Magramane, “will be visiting” Niger, the ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter. It comes a day after Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf began a tour of West African countries in a bid to find a solution in Niger, where Algiers opposes any military intervention following the coup.

RBC warned of a slowing domestic growth including slowing wage growth, lower job postings and a rise in unemployment.

Critics worry that the government may use statistics to give the appearance of progress in search for the disappeared.

Here is a translation of Putin's comments after he broke his silence over the crash.