Egyptian parliament authorizes Sisi to take measures to support Saudi Arabia

Egypt's parliament on Monday approved authorizing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to take measures to support Saudi Arabia, according to a statement by the parliament's general secretariat.

The parliament approved the authorization by a two-thirds majority during a plenary session, the statement said.

The authorization allows the president to take necessary measures to support and defend Saudi Arabia, its sovereignty and its holy sites against any external attacks, in accordance with a decision adopted by Egypt's National Defense Council on October 18, the statement added.

On October 17, President Sisi said Egypt was prepared to take "any measures" requested by Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom's security and sovereignty, but stressed that such action "requires parliamentary approval."

He called for an emergency parliamentary session to authorize intervention if requested, while stressing that he was speaking "strictly in terms of defense" rather than waging war.

Later on, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported that Egypt's parliament postponed a vote on authorizing the military to defend Saudi Arabia until October 26.

The development came amid escalating hostilities between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with both sides exchanging attacks and military warnings in recent days.

Egyptian parliament authorizes Sisi to take measures to support Saudi Arabia

China's domestic tourism market posted solid growth in terms of both trips and travel spending from January to September this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) said on Monday.

More than 5.3 billion domestic trips were made during the first nine months of 2026, up 6.2 percent year on year, data from a survey of domestic travelers conducted by the ministry revealed.

Urban residents accounted for over 4 billion trips, an increase of 6.6 percent from a year earlier, while rural residents made 1.27 billion trips, marking a 5.1-percent rise.

Domestic tourism spending expanded 2.2 percent year on year to 4.95 trillion yuan (about 737 billion U.S. dollars) during these nine months. Of the total, urban residents spent 4.14 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent, while rural residents spent 810 billion yuan, rising 2.1 percent.

China aims to record 8.3 billion year-round domestic trips and 7.7 trillion yuan in year-round domestic travel spending by 2030, according to a five-year tourism development plan for the 2026-2030 period released by the MCT in July.

In 2025, the country saw more than 6.5 billion domestic trips, with tourism expenditure reaching 6.3 trillion yuan, both setting new records.

China sees steady growth in domestic tourism over first 9 months of 2026