Ukraine will need $9 billion over 10 years for its culture and tourism sectors to recover, the United Nations' cultural agency said on Tuesday, adding that the two-year war had so far cost the country over $19.6 billion in tourism revenue.
"The damage continues to increase and the needs for the sector's recovery continue to grow," Krista Pikkat, director of culture and emergencies at UNESCO, told reporters, adding that the lost revenue to the capital Kyiv alone was $10 billion.
In an assessment ahead of the war's two year anniversary, the UNESCO estimated the cost of damage to cultural property at about $3.5 billion, up 40% from 2023.
It said it had analysed damage to 340 buildings, including museums, monuments, libraries and religious sites.
"International solidarity will be essential to meeting these needs," the report said. "The implementation of risk prevention measures and the support for the creative industries are also important levers to reduce the estimated long-term impact of the war."
At least 25 people, including tourists, were killed in a fire at a popular entertainment facility in India’s Goa state, the state’s chief minister said on Sunday.
India capped airfares on Saturday as hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports after IndiGo cancelled 385 flights on the fifth day of a crisis at the country's biggest airline that has crippled air travel.
Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, killing at least five people amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks last weekend.
Negotiations on consolidating the US-backed truce in the war in Gaza are at a "critical" moment, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Saturday.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday met with a delegation of African business and philanthropic leaders visiting the UAE.
Foreign Ministers of the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have voiced concern over Israel's plans for a one-way opening of the Rafah Crossing for Palestinians to leave Gaza.
A 23-year-old woman has been apprehended in Fujairah after a video of her wielding a sword during Eid Al Etihad celebrations at Al Faqit area went viral.