Our daily flight around the world

🇹🇷 Uber is offering hot air balloon rides over Turkey as part of a global push into tourism. Local residents and visitors can pay $159 for a one-and-a-half-hour sunrise flight over UNESCO-listed volcanic landscapes in central Turkey, which has become one of Uber’s fastest-growing markets in recent years. The launch is part of Uber’s global expansion strategy centered around tourism, with other services including boat rentals in Greece, flight bookings in the UK, and tuk-tuk rides in India.

💥 Israel-Hamas war update: Israel’s military continues to carry out airstrikes targeting the Gaza Strip, with officials saying 320+ locations were hit over the 24-hour period ending yesterday morning. Hamas officials say the overnight bombing brought the Palestinian death toll above 5,000, a figure that couldn't be independently verified. More than 1,400 people in Israel have died since Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, and around 220 Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas, per the latest national figures. Hamas released two more civilian hostages yesterday after setting two others free over the weekend, though talks over the release of 50 additional hostages broke down after Israel refused Hamas’ demand to allow fuel deliveries into Gaza.

🇻🇪 Venezuelans are attempting to cross the US’ southern border in spades. Arrests of Venezuelans on the US-Mexico border more than doubled between August and September to reach ~55,000/month, taking the top spot among all nationalities for the first time on record. Venezuela's refusal to accept US deportations and Mexico's decision to only accept a limited number of Venezuelans means most migrants are released into the US from Border Patrol custody. Separately, the Biden administration recently announced temporary legal status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who were already in the US as of July 31.