Latest news with #AlAhram
NBC News
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
1 person dead and multiple injured in fireworks explosion at Mohamed Ramadan concert in Egypt
One person is dead and multiple others are injured after a fireworks display malfunction at a Mohamed Ramadan concert Thursday night in a resort town on the north coast of Egypt. One of the fireworks canisters exploded the moment Ramadan came out on stage at the Porto Marina Theater, killing a member of the show's technical team responsible for operating the fireworks, according to Egypt's semi-official newspaper Al Ahram. The incident also injured at least six people, per the outlet's English counterpart. Ramadan, an Egyptian actor and musician, posted a video statement to his Instagram about the incident, extending his condolences to a victim he called "Hossam." Al Ahram identified the victim as Hossam Abdel Moneim, a 24-year-old graduate from Ain Shams University who worked in party planning and special effects for over a decade. "I extend my condolences to the family of Hossam, may God have mercy on him and grant him a place in his spacious paradise," Ramadan said in the video. "And grant patience to his loved ones, and his friends, and heal those who were injured." Ramadan said that he stopped the concert immediately after he saw what had happened. "I handled it like any human would, I went down to the audience and I helped get the injured to the ambulance," he said. "And I stopped the concert, and helped guide people so that their departure doesn't cause any crowd surge or additional accidents." Ramadan did not identify the victim beyond a first name, but alluded in his statement that the victim was working during the concert. Videos depicting the incident began circulating on social media shortly afterwards. One video shows Ramadan performing as an explosion go off near the stage. Seconds later, Ramadan can be heard saying "Stop, stop, stop!" before the music comes to a halt. Another video shows people in the audience carrying the body of a man who appears to be injured or deceased. Ramadan, who can be seen on the stage, is heard speaking into the mic, instructing them to bring the body on stage. The incident is being investigated by Egypt's Public Prosecution Office, according to Al Ahram. Ramadan has been gaining international recognition in recent years, releasing songs with French Montana, Future and Gims. His song, "Rayheen Neshar - Bum Bum" began going viral on TikTok in 2020. The artist posted to his Instagram that he will be performing again on Friday at another venue on Egypt's north coast.
New York Times
11-07-2025
- New York Times
Cairo Telecommunications Building Hit With 2nd Fire in a Week
A fire broke out at one of Egypt's main telecommunications hubs on Thursday evening, according to state news media, days after a blaze there killed four people and disrupted internet, transport and banking services. The fire on Thursday in central Cairo at a building known as the Ramses Exchange was much smaller than the one on Monday and was quickly extinguished, the media company Al Ahram reported, citing local authorities. There was no official information about the cause of either fire. Egyptian prosecutors said they had launched an investigation. The telecommunications exchange is run by state-owned Telecom Egypt and is one of many handling phone and internet services. Officials said that services had largely been restored, but some Egyptians still complained on Friday of patchy internet connections, especially in the area near the Ramses Exchange. The earlier blaze killed at least four people and injured at least two dozen others, according to the local government. Internet connectivity dropped to about 40 percent of normal levels, according to NetBlocks, a group that tracks internet outages. The fire also disrupted the stock exchange and banking sectors and delayed flights, according to local news reports, with some Egyptians posting photos on social media of air travelers using handwritten boarding passes. Customers were unable to buy train tickets for nearly two days in parts of the country, according to local media. The stock exchange reopened on Wednesday. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visited the exchange on Wednesday and said the government would produce a recovery plan to ensure that the building returned to full operation as soon as possible, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement. The fire on Monday started on a floor that houses equipment run by telecommunications operators, the nation's Ministry of Communications said in a statement. Despite the presence of fire suppression equipment, the blaze quickly spread to other floors, it said.
Euronews
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
‘A bargaining chip': What did the Cairo Summit for Gaza achieve?
The day after leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa met to discuss and sign a proposal for 'comprehensive and just peace' in Gaza, without displacing its 2.1 million inhabitants, press from across the region praised the summit as "a unified Arab position". "Egypt throws a 'lifeline' to the cause," read the headline in Egypt's state-run newspaper Al Ahram, while one of Jordan's leading newspapers called it 'a clear and implementable vision for managing Gaza'. When Euronews spoke to senior Jordanian diplomatic sources who were present at the emergency summit – which European Council President António Costa also attended – they were resolute that the meeting showed 'unity' and 'a clear refute to (US President) Donald Trump's plans' to make Gaza 'the riviera of the Middle East,' forcibly removing the population. The Jordanian officials' initial comments reflected statements by the country's King Abdullah II. 'The outcome of our summit must be practical steps to support our Palestinian brethren, support their steadfastness on their land, alleviate their suffering, and mobilise international efforts to stop everything that prevents the achievement of peace,' the monarch told the conference. Speaking to Euronews from Beirut, Human Rights Watch's regional director Lama Fakih believed the summit did achieve this. 'Some of the things that we were looking for in the agreement were confirmation that there would be scope for Palestinians and Gaza to have self-determination and have agency,' she explained. 'I think it's a serious proposal and it should be engaged with on the substance.' 'Falling significantly short' Not so, argues David Schenker, who was US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during Trump's first term, helping to bring in the Abraham Accords, normalising diplomatic relations between Israel and an array of Arab nations. "The reconstruction plan has 100 pages of details about temporary housing and structures. I think that's of less concern … the document doesn't even mention Hamas,' he told Euronews from his office at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy think-tank. The former diplomat contends that the plans lack concrete proposals for maintaining security in Gaza and the West Bank. Because of this, he sees them as a non-starter for Israel – and its biggest financial and military backer. 'The only thing they have on security is police training, which is something that has happened before. Then the document talks about UN peacekeeping forces,' which Schenker believes 'is also totally unacceptable to both Israel and the United States'. The two countries believe peacekeeping forces in Lebanon previously 'aided and abetted' one of Israel's other regional enemies, Hezbollah, he explained. After courting Arab and Muslim voters in November, Trump has doubled down on his support for Israel. On Wednesday, the US president warned Hamas on his Truth Social platform that if they didn't release all remaining hostages, ' it is over for you,' promising to 'finish the job'. The issue of Hamas is also of concern for Hesham Alghannam, director general of the Security Research Centre at Naif Arab University in Saudi Arabia. 'The plan's ambiguity on critical issues — like Hamas's role, implementation timelines, and enforcement mechanisms — undermines its practicality,' he said, concluding that it lacked a 'clear governance structure or security framework'. While Schenker says that his former boss' proposals for Gaza are 'unrealistic,' he maintains that any proposals are doomed to fail without Trump's support. 'The Arab leader that comes to Washington and presents this vision to President Trump is going to be given the Zelenskyy treatment,' Schenker pointed out. United we stand? The emergency summit on Tuesday certainly appeared to show harmony amongst members of the Arab League — or at least among those in the room. Governments from across the region issued statements reiterating their support for the Egyptian proposal, which might be enough to stave off Trump's controversial ambitions for the time being. However, behind closed doors, Jordanian officials told Euronews they were concerned with the lack of attendance by leaders of key countries in the region. They quickly contrasted this with the Jordanian king, who they contend has shown himself 'ready to be there at every opportunity to solve the crisis'. Abdullah was the first – and to date only – Arab leader to meet with Trump, where he talked about plans for Gaza. Not everyone was happy, however. Algerian leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune angrily pulled out of the Cairo summit, with the country's official press agency reporting he was ' deeply troubled ' after members of the Gulf Cooperation Council met with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders in Riyadh on 21 February for a 'mini-summit' on Gaza. Algeria said this amounted to the 'process being monopolized by a narrow and limited group … as if supporting the Palestinian cause has become the exclusive right of a select few'. Meanwhile, the leaders of some of the countries Algeria pointed fingers at also stayed away. Most notably, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were not among those present in Cairo. Alghannam puts this partly down to money. 'Both leaders have been central to earlier discussions, particularly in Riyadh, and may have viewed the Cairo summit as less decisive or redundant. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with their significant economic and political influence, might prefer to exert leverage in smaller, more controlled settings,' he said, mentioning the meeting in Riyadh. Schenker was more direct in his analysis. 'These countries, Saudi Arabia and UAE in particular, are no longer the ATM of the Arab world. And with oil prices down at $70 a barrel, I don't think they're feeling particularly flush these days in any event," he said. Yet, despite the disagreements and remaining ambiguity, Fakih and many others still see the Arab League's unanimously backed proposal as an achievement and something to work from going forward. 'It's a starting point for discussion,' Fakih concluded. 'I see it as a bargaining chip.'
CairoScene
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Cairo Book Market Soor El Azbakeya Participates in Abu Dhabi Book Fair
Egypt is the guest of honour at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, which is celebrating Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz's legacy. May 03, 2024 The 33rd edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is currently underway, running until May 5th, and this year's session is playing host to an exported exhibition from Cairo's famous historical book market Soor El Azbakeya. The bustling second-hand and vintage souq has been selling works of literature from all over the region, and the world, since 1907. 2024 marks the first year that the market has travelled to the Abu Dhabi Book Fair; no coincidence, seeing as Egypt is the guest of honour for this year's exhibition, which centres on the works of Naguib Mahfouz, who remains the only Arab writer to win a Nobel Prize for literature. The version of the market at the book fair echoes the design of the Cairo original, with the seven book shops participating to emulate the real Soor El Azbakeya displaying over 15,000 books and magazines. Amongst the oldest vintage pieces include the first issue of Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper, published in 1876, as well as some early editions of Mahfouz's most famous works.
