
Blaze at Cairo telecommunications building kills 4, disrupts internet, phone
The blaze at a Telecom Egypt facility, which state TV said was contained on Monday, caused disruptions to communications across the capital.
Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that services will be gradually restored within 24 hours.
In a statement on Tuesday, Telecom Egypt said it mourned the employees that lost their lives and offered support for their families.
The fire halted phone calls, and disrupted internet access, with internet monitoring group Netblocks saying network data showed national connectivity at 62 per cent of ordinary levels.
The health ministry posted alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case people were unable to reach its main hotline.
Besides phone calls, some digital banking services were also impacted including credit cards, ATM machines and online transactions, a bank source and residents said on Monday. Banks had already been closed for the day.
The injuries were mostly because of smoke inhalation, health ministry spokesperson Ghaffar said on Monday.

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CNA
08-07-2025
- CNA
Blaze at Cairo telecommunications building kills 4, disrupts internet, phone
CAIRO: Four workers were killed and at least 22 others were injured in a fire that broke out on Monday (Jul 7) at a key data centre in Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the spokesperson at Egypt's Health Ministry, told Reuters on Tuesday. The blaze at a Telecom Egypt facility, which state TV said was contained on Monday, caused disruptions to communications across the capital. Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that services will be gradually restored within 24 hours. In a statement on Tuesday, Telecom Egypt said it mourned the employees that lost their lives and offered support for their families. The fire halted phone calls, and disrupted internet access, with internet monitoring group Netblocks saying network data showed national connectivity at 62 per cent of ordinary levels. The health ministry posted alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case people were unable to reach its main hotline. Besides phone calls, some digital banking services were also impacted including credit cards, ATM machines and online transactions, a bank source and residents said on Monday. Banks had already been closed for the day. The injuries were mostly because of smoke inhalation, health ministry spokesperson Ghaffar said on Monday.


Independent Singapore
13-06-2025
- Independent Singapore
Starvation crisis deepens; Kenyan refugee wards overflow with children after U.S. slashes aid
KENYA: In the scorching heat of north-western Kenya, fear and worry grip the expansive Kakuma evacuee campground, where approximately 300,000 exiled people are now living on a fraction of their past food provisions. According to a recent BBC report, scrawny children lie immobile in infirmary beds, suffering from extreme critical malnutrition, as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) cautions a 'slowly starving population.' At Amusait Hospital, emaciated bodies indicate the marks of starvation. One baby, Hellen, lies immobile with flaking, red skin, her ailment a direct consequence of insufficient nourishment. In an adjacent area, nine-month-old James, the youngest of eight children, grips to life as his mother Agnes Awila begs, 'The food is not enough. My children eat only once a day. If there's no food, what do you feed them?' From three meals to one; families on the brink The WFP has dropped provisions to just 30% of the least suggested consumption after the U.S., once its major benefactor, reduced support, citing President Donald Trump's 'America First' overseas aid program. The cascading impacts have been distressing. See also Poll: Trump's approval rating at all-time high Mothers like Mukuniwa Bililo Mami, a diabetic evacuee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, now struggle to make a single monthly share last two months. Once able to complement her nourishment and income through UN-issued cash transfers, she now depends on lentil plant and rice. 'We used to eat three times a day. Now, I don't know how long this will last,' she says. The removal of the 'bamba chakula' cash package, which infused $4 million per month into refugee families, has strangled local markets. Sellers like Badaba Ibrahim, a dealer from Sudan's Nuba Mountains, can no longer provide credit. 'Customers come and camp outside my shop all day. They tell me their children haven't eaten in 24 hours,' he said with desperation. Hunger shadows the future as aid dries up In improvised accommodations made of grooved metal, families like Agnes Livio's wait until mid-afternoon for their first meal of the day. 'We used to get porridge in the morning, but not anymore,' says the South Sudanese mother of five. See also Snow business: The icemen behind China's frozen festival At Amusait Hospital, children who have extra nourishment are being sent back into communities where food is precariously infrequent. With a tiny chance of a new subsidy before August, charitable organisation representatives are anxious about a disastrous food emergency. Felix Okech, WFP's head of evacuee actions in Kenya, warns, 'If this continues, we are talking about starvation at scale. Even with some potential support, we are still facing a 70% shortfall.' Without direct and significant donor interference, Kakuma's inhabitants face an ugly future, one where famine, not war, could become the most lethal menace of all.


CNA
03-06-2025
- CNA
World Boxing apologises after naming Khelif in mandatory sex testing announcement
World Boxing has apologised after Imane Khelif was named in their announcement on mandatory sex testing for all boxers in its competitions, saying the Paris Olympics gold medallist's privacy should have been protected. The global body, which will oversee boxing competitions in the 2028 Olympics after being granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee, made the announcement last week, less than a year after Khelif won gold in Paris amid a gender-eligibility row. The announcement specifically said the body had sent a letter to the Algerian Boxing Federation saying Khelif "may not participate in the female category" of any World Boxing event until she undergoes the test. However, a source said World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst had personally written to Algerian Boxing Federation president Abdelkader Abbas to apologise for including Khelif's name. Van der Vorst said World Boxing should have made a greater effort to protect Khelif's privacy. In last week's announcement, World Boxing said all athletes over the age of 18 will have to undertake a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test, which can be conducted by a nasal or mouth swab, saliva or blood. Khelif and the Algerian Boxing Federation could not be immediately reached for comment. The country's federation joined World Boxing in September, one of more than 100 national federations that have joined the body since it was established in 2023.