Egyptian president offers condolences to Libya over deadly storm, floods

STORY: Egyptian president offers condolences to Libya over deadly storm, floods DATELINE: Sept. 12, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:58 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: OTHERS SHOTLIST: 1. various of Cairo 2. various of the Egyptian presidency STORYLINE: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi offered on Monday sincere condolences to Libya over the deadly floods caused by Mediterranean storm Daniel. "I offer my sincere condolences to the brothers in Libya who were victims of the storm that struck the country," Sisi said on his Facebook page. The president expressed Egypt's full solidarity with the people of Libya during this "hard time," wishing a speedy recovery for the injured and a quick end to this crisis. On Monday, Osama Hammad, the eastern-based prime minister of Libya, said more than 2,000 people were killed and thousands of others went missing after floods hit eastern Libya on Sunday. Speaking to a local TV channel, Hammad said most of the casualties were reported in the port city of Derna, where "the entire neigh

Mobile puppet theater brings joy, change to West Bank children

STORY: Mobile puppet theater brings joy, change to West Bank children DATELINE: June 1, 2022 LENGTH: 00:05:21 LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the puppet show 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic) DIANA AL-SUWAITI, Palestinian artist 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic) DIANA AL-SUWAITI, Palestinian artist 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic) SALMA AL-JABARI, Local mother STORYLINE: It is hard to stay uninfected by the passion of Diana al-Suwaiti, a Palestinian artist, whenever she leads a five-member troupe to stage free puppet shows from one neighborhood to another in the West Bank, fascinating children and parents alike. Their caravan, converted from a minibus and meticulously decorated, always attracts eyeballs when it rumbles past. Once the venue was decided, they would put up a "refrigerator theatre," a mobile stage made of wood that could be quickly dissembled and put in the back of the vehicle. The Hebron-based puppeteer told Xinhua she came up with the tour idea in 2019 after seeing many local neigh