Latest news with #MinistryofSupply
Saba Yemen
11-05-2025
- Business
- Saba Yemen
Egyptian Gov't says adulterated gasoline behind vehicles' damage
Cairo - Saba: The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the results of fuel samples tested nationwide following complaints of adulterated gasoline causing damage to car fuel pumps. The ministry explained in a statement on Sunday that 807 fuel samples from various governorates were analyzed by teams from the Ministries of Petroleum and Supply, as well as independent analysis companies. These tests confirmed that 802 samples met specifications and 5 did not meet specifications. The ministry stated that, based on complaints received from May 4 to 9, 2025, regarding the quality of gasoline products offered in local markets, 870 complaints were registered nationwide. She noted that she conducted an analysis of the samples collected, and the results for the governorates were as follows: In the Greater Cairo Petroleum Region: 250 samples were analyzed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and 205 by the Ministry of Supply. Two non-compliant samples were found in Cairo and Qalyubia governorates. In the Alexandria Petroleum Region (Alexandria, Kafr El-Sheikh, Beheira, and Matrouh), 136 samples were analyzed, including 73 by independent companies. All but one sample met the specifications. In the Suez Petroleum Region (Suez, Red Sea, and South Sinai): 75 samples were all compliant. In the Upper Egypt governorates, 68 samples were analyzed, including two non-compliant samples in the Fashn Center - Beni Suef and Qena governorates. The ministry said in light of the observations of some samples that did not conform to specifications at fuel stations, as well as the difficulty of determining the technical causes of the malfunctioning vehicle pumps reported in complaints, including the quality of the gasoline product, the technical condition of the vehicle, or the expected lifespan of the pumps, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has decided to disburse an amount equal to the value of the approved invoice to replace the fuel pump, with a maximum of EGP 2,000, to complainants who submit their complaints via the hotline (16528) or the government complaints system website. It stated that the Ministry will contact citizens successively, subject to regulations, including that the complaint must be submitted between May 4 and 10, 2025, and that the complaint must be related to the same period. Documents proving the complainant's ownership of the vehicle and a certified invoice proving the replacement of the vehicle's pump must be submitted. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Egypt Today
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Egypt Today
Egypt acknowledges bad gasoline samples at petrol stations, sets conditions for fuel pump compensation
CC/Rusty Clark CAIRO – 11 May 2025: The government on Sunday acknowledged spotting noncompliant gasoline at petrol stations in several areas across Egypt, including Cairo, setting conditions for affected citizens to get up to LE 2,000 in compensation. The Ministry of Petroleum said in a statement on Sunday that it will disburse an amount equivalent to the value of the approved invoice for gasoline pump replacement, up to a maximum of LE 2,000. Many citizens have already voiced concerns about the requirement to submit approved invoices, as they often have damaged parts replaced by mechanics informally, without formal documentation. The ministry's statement did not specify who was responsible for the substandard fuel or whether an investigation is underway to hold those responsible accountable. Following recent complaints about petrol quality harming car gas tanks, Egypt's Ministry of Supply is stepping up inspections at gas stations to ensure fuel availability, quality, and compliance with standards#Egypt #Africa #MENA — Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) May 6, 2025 Over the past week, citizens have taken to social media to report car problems, including dashboard warning lights and various mechanical malfunctions. In the wake of the complaints, the ministry asserted last week that all fuel samples collected by "neutral" accredited inspectors from distribution and refining companies had thus far conformed to Egyptian standards. The statement noted that further testing is underway, collecting samples from petrol stations. Following that statement, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said he had ordered the petroleum minister to investigate the issue, emphasizing transparency. Madbouly stated that penalties would be applied according to the law if misconduct is proven. In today's statement, the ministry reported receiving 870 complaints regarding fuel quality between May 4 and 9, primarily from Cairo and Giza. It also stated that five out of 807 samples taken for examination in various governorates were noncompliant. Journalist Mostafa Bakry has questioned the ministry's figures, suggesting that five noncompliant samples seem too low given the widespread public outcry. Conditions for Compensation The ministry stated that it will only contact complainants who reported the issue via the hotline (16528) or the government complaints system. The ministry outlined the conditions for compensation eligibility: complaints must have been submitted between May 4 and 10 and must concern the same period. Complainants must also submit documents proving car ownership besides an approved invoice for the fuel pump replacement. The ministry said it will pay for fuel pump replacements due to the noncompliant samples found at gas stations and the difficulty in determining the technical reasons for car pump failures, including gasoline quality, the vehicle's condition, and the pump's lifespan. Breaking Down Sampling During the specified week, Greater Cairo accounted for the majority of fuel quality complaints, with 429 in Cairo, 208 in Giza, and 59 in Qalyubia. The Nile Delta governorates of Sharqia, Menoufia, Dakahlia, and Ismailia reported 31, 18, 12, and 9 complaints, respectively. Alexandria, on the North Coast, reported 29 complaints, and Minya, in Upper Egypt, reported 12 complaints, according to the ministry's figures. The remaining governorates experienced few or no complaints, the statement added. The ministry asserted that sampling was conducted by teams from the ministry itself, the Ministry of Supply, and 'neutral' companies. Preventing Recurrence The ministry outlined enhanced measures to ensure fuel conformity and prevent future incidents, including requiring double testing of samples. For locally produced gasoline, refineries will be prohibited from releasing any product for consumption unless samples are analyzed in two different laboratories and the results match (instead of analysis in only one laboratory). For imported gasoline, samples will be taken under the supervision of independent companies and analyzed in three different laboratories to ensure accuracy (instead of one laboratory). Analyses will also be conducted before and after fuel release to ensure quality throughout the supply chain. Independent companies will be commissioned to conduct the analyses to ensure impartiality. Punishing Negligence While stating that inspection and monitoring activities will continue, the ministry affirmed its commitment to cooperating with relevant authorities to hold accountable anyone found to be negligent. The issue follows a recent increase in fuel prices, reaching up to 14.5 percent depending on the grade. This significant rise has caused public discontent, adding to the burden of previous fuel price increases in recent years. The government has cited the increasing burden on the state budget due to heavy fuel subsidies, with plans to completely eliminate these subsidies by the end of 2025.
Egypt Today
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Egypt Today
Egypt acknowledges substandard gasoline samples, sets conditions for fuel pump compensation
CC/Rusty Clark CAIRO – 11 May 2025: The government on Sunday acknowledged spotting noncompliant gasoline in several areas across Egypt, including Cairo, setting conditions for affected citizens to get up to LE 2,000 in compensation. The Ministry of Petroleum said in a statement on Sunday that it will disburse an amount equivalent to the value of the approved invoice for gasoline pump replacement, up to a maximum of LE 2,000. Many citizens have already voiced concerns about the requirement to submit approved invoices, as they often have damaged parts replaced by mechanics informally, without formal documentation. The ministry's statement did not specify who was responsible for the substandard fuel or whether an investigation is underway to hold those responsible accountable. Following recent complaints about petrol quality harming car gas tanks, Egypt's Ministry of Supply is stepping up inspections at gas stations to ensure fuel availability, quality, and compliance with standards#Egypt #Africa #MENA — Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) May 6, 2025 Over the past week, citizens have taken to social media to report car problems, including dashboard warning lights and various mechanical malfunctions. In the wake of the complaints, the ministry asserted last week that all fuel samples taken by independent inspectors from accredited bodies had thus far conformed to Egyptian standards. Following that statement, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said he had ordered the petroleum minister to investigate the issue, emphasizing transparency. Madbouly stated that penalties would be applied according to the law if misconduct is proven. In today's statement, the ministry reported receiving 870 complaints regarding fuel quality between May 4 and 9, primarily from Cairo and Giza. It also stated that five out of 807 samples taken for examination in various governorates were noncompliant. Journalist Mostafa Bakry has questioned the ministry's figures, suggesting that five noncompliant samples seem too low given the widespread public outcry. Conditions for Compensation The ministry stated that it will only contact complainants who reported the issue via the hotline (16528) or the government complaints system. The ministry outlined the conditions for compensation eligibility: complaints must have been submitted between May 4 and 10 and must concern the same period. Complainants must also submit documents proving car ownership besides an approved invoice for the fuel pump replacement. The ministry said it will pay for fuel pump replacements due to the noncompliant samples found at gas stations and the difficulty in determining the technical reasons for car pump failures, including gasoline quality, the vehicle's condition, and the pump's lifespan. Breaking Down Sampling During the specified week, Greater Cairo accounted for the majority of fuel quality complaints, with 429 in Cairo, 208 in Giza, and 59 in Qalyubia. The Nile Delta governorates of Sharqia, Menoufia, Dakahlia, and Ismailia reported 31, 18, 12, and 9 complaints, respectively. Alexandria, on the North Coast, reported 29 complaints, and Minya, in Upper Egypt, reported 12 complaints, according to the ministry's figures. The remaining governorates experienced few or no complaints, the statement added. The ministry asserted that sampling was conducted by teams from the ministry itself, the Ministry of Supply, and 'neutral' companies. Preventing Recurrence The ministry outlined enhanced measures to ensure fuel conformity and prevent future incidents, including requiring double testing of samples. For locally produced gasoline, refineries will be prohibited from releasing any product for consumption unless samples are analyzed in two different laboratories and the results match (instead of analysis in only one laboratory). For imported gasoline, samples will be taken under the supervision of independent companies and analyzed in three different laboratories to ensure accuracy (instead of one laboratory). Analyses will also be conducted before and after fuel release to ensure quality throughout the supply chain. Independent companies will be commissioned to conduct the analyses to ensure impartiality. Punishing Negligence While stating that inspection and monitoring activities will continue, the ministry affirmed its commitment to cooperating with relevant authorities to hold accountable anyone found to be negligent. The issue follows a recent increase in fuel prices, reaching up to 14.5 percent depending on the grade. This significant rise has caused public discontent, adding to the burden of previous fuel price increases in recent years. The government has cited the increasing burden on the state budget due to heavy fuel subsidies, with plans to completely eliminate these subsidies by the end of 2025.
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Queen's 10-word message of defiance after Buckingham Palace bombed by Nazis
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, won hearts and minds when she revealed her first thoughts after the Royal Family's home, Buckingham Palace, was damaged by German bombs during World War 2's Blitz Bomb damage at Buckingham Palace and London during World War II On September 13 1940, six German bombs rained down on Buckingham Palace after a Luftwaffe plane screamed up the Mall and dropped its load over the iconic building. It marked a turning point in the Royal Family 's role in the Second World War, transforming a reluctant King George VI into a national hero who refused to leave London, against his own government's advice. 'I am glad we have been bombed,' the then-Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, wrote to her mother-in-law Queen Mary. 'Now we can look the East End in the eye.' The royals played an important part in the war. Not only did they stand as figureheads for the values Britain and her allies were fighting for, but their steadfast refusal to leave the Blitz-torn capital for the safety of the countryside - or even North America - boosted national morale. "The children will not leave unless I do," declared Queen Elizabeth. "I shall not leave unless their father does, and the King will not leave the country in any circumstances whatsoever." Images of the Queen Mother picking her way through rubble in her heels and handbag in the devastated docklands were as reassuring as the King visiting munitions factories and speaking to workers to boost spirits. Royal visits, research by the Ministry of Supply revealed at the time, boosted weekly production figures and were an easy way for the monarch to stay in touch with his traumatised subjects. The future queen - then Princess Elizabeth - was just 13 when war broke out in 1939. She and her younger sister Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle, where they remained for the duration of the conflict. 'They were cosseted and didn't see much of their parents,' says historian Tessa Dunlop, author of Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments. 'They were trapped really, going through adolescence with nothing to do but stare at still-lifes of horses and dogs, then rocking up for the odd photoshoot.' Elizabeth famously gave a radio broadcast with Margaret early on in the war, sending a message to evacuees in Canada on the Children's Hour programme, urging them to 'have courage'. And it was during her cloistered teenage years that a dashing young naval cadet by the name of Prince Philip caught Lilibet's eye, after they met for the third time during a visit to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. It was at that meeting that the 14-year-old princess fell in love, although it would take them another eight years to announce their engagement. 'He was showing off, jumping over a tennis net and later he chased down the royal yacht in his row boat,' says Tessa. His charm offensive worked. 'The princess kept a scrapbook and cut out pictures and stories of her prince, and knew the vessel he was serving on - she had an eye for him right through the war,' Tessa reveals. By 1944, Elizabeth was displaying his photograph on her mantle - and he carried a picture of her throughout the conflict, even when his ship, HMS Whelp, joined the action in the Pacific. 'There was this underlying war hero narrative, with the princess in her turret,' says Tessa. At the age of 18, towards the end of the war, the princess was permitted to join the Auxiliary Territory Service (ATS) as second subaltern. Despite having never ridden in a bus or even a taxi, Elizabeth trained as a mechanic and driver of heavy military trucks, passing her test two days earlier than the prescribed course. While the King decreed Elizabeth should receive no special privileges because of her royal status, she was not allowed to stay in the barracks at Camberley, Surrey, with her fellow ATS trainees. 'She was the first female royal to serve full-time in a military service, albeit for a couple of months,' says Tessa. 'She would be driven back to Windsor Castle to sleep. The whole 'bust-out-your-bodice' time in the war was about being away from your parents, being independent. Elizabeth didn't get that. She learned to drive a Bedford truck but she didn't get to muck in.' A woman called Gwen who trained with the princess in Camberley remembers her being 'weirdly composed around cameras but very shy among her peers,' Tessa added. 'She'd never been around peers, she'd been brought up by governesses. Even posh girls went to boarding school but she'd been trapped in Windsor Castle; the best she'd got was a pantomime in Windsor Park at Christmas with some of the estate children.' VE Day: 80th Anniversary Magazine Specials To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we bring you two special special collector's magazines that look back at events that led to the end of World War II in Europe and marked a new era. In the VE Day 80: Anniversary Collector's Edition we share photographs from the street parties that were held all over Britain, while esteemed author and journalist Paul Routledge paints a picture of how the day was bittersweet, mixed with jubilation and hope for the future, as well as sadness and regret for the past. Routledge also recounts the key events of the Second World War, including Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and Pearl Harbour. The magazine costs £9.99. Also available is World War Two - A History in 50 Photographs, a definitive pictorial account of the war. Carefully chosen from hundreds of thousands of images, this commemorative magazine shares 50 exceptional photographs - including many rarely seen shots - that capture the devastating moments, horror, hope and eventual triumph of World War Two. The magazine costs £6.99. In 1942 the royals were devastated by the death of the King's brother Prince George, the Duke of Kent, who was the last royal to die in active service. The playboy prince, whose marriage to Princess Marina made them one of the most glamorous couples of the 1930s, was serving as an air commodore in the RAF when his aircraft crashed into hills in Caithness, Scotland. While the weather conditions were poor, mystery still surrounds the exact circumstances of the crash, which killed all but one of the 15 passengers on board. Conspiracy theories exploded, fuelled by the destruction of the plane's fuselage and the lone survivor being gagged by the Official Secrets Act. An official report into the incident went missing before its findings could be made public and George's death faded from public consciousness. Meanwhile, the King's elder brother, Edward VIII - who had abdicated the throne in December 1936 to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson - was 'a loose cannon', Tessa explains. Made Duke of Windsor when he gave up the throne, he used his royal connections to tour Nazi Germany with Wallis the following year, fuelling speculation that the pair were Nazi sympathisers. But instead of damaging the Royal Family's public relations, Edward's questionable behaviour simply made the monarch look good in comparison. 'Edward left, he's the traitor. It's a little like Harry and William now - the unpopularity of one heightens the popularity of the other,' says Tessa. The war, ultimately, was good for George VI. 'He started the war as a bit gauche, he stumbled around, he was nothing like his charismatic brother Edward. But appeasement fell massively out of fashion, all of the royal family were appeasers pre-war, but once they'd leant into the war and they were standing on the balcony, the King and Queen didn't leave Buckingham Palace or flee abroad or even hang out in Balmoral. "They stayed at the coal face of the Blitz: that was massively significant and symbolic for Britain.' By May 8, 1945, the King had cemented himself as the symbolic head of state, having held weekly meetings with Churchill to discuss the war effort. When crowds started gathering outside the palace on VE Day, they chanted, 'We want the King!' Immediately after Churchill's famous victory speech, the Royal Family appeared on the palace balcony - the King dressed in his Admiral of the Fleet uniform and Princess Elizabeth in her khaki ATS uniform. Their waves and smiles were captured by the television cameras mounted on vans below, and a crowd of more than 100,000 people screamed and cheered for them. In perhaps their first taste of real freedom, Elizabeth and Margaret left the palace to join the crowd below, sneaking in among the public outside the gates and cheering alongside them for their parents, who had made several more balcony appearances throughout the afternoon and evening, even positioning Churchill among them - the first time a political figure had been allowed in such a prestigious place. Elizabeth's sense of duty had been forged by her wartime experience, but the night of May 8 would stay with her forever. "I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall. All of us just swept along in a tide of happiness and relief," she recalled 40 years on, after becoming Queen herself. "After crossing Green Park, we stood outside and shouted, 'We want the King!' I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life."
BBC News
05-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
How a tiny Surrey village became a penicillin powerhouse
Penicillin is a cornerstone of modern medicine - but how did an old ice cream fridge and a makeshift incubator built by a local baker help bring it to the masses?The antibiotic was first discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 but it took until 1940 to master the process of mass this time the UK was in the grips of World War Two, so the government wanted to keep penicillin under wraps and for military use only, meaning the authorities were not issuing the chemicals or culture needed for large-scale one resourceful pharmacist from Ripley, a small village in Surrey, would not be defeated and would become the first person to produce it for the public in the UK. Kenneth White, like so many others, was turned down for the things he needed to begin producing penicillin, but managed to get hold of an old ice cream refrigerator and asked a baker from the area to build an the help of a plant pathologist from Wisley Gardens in Woking, Mr White then had everything he needed to make the antibiotic. He began giving it away to people, rather than charging for it, so the authorities were unable to clamp down on his the Ministry of Supply provided Mr White with what he needed and later issued him a production would soon receive letters from various pharmaceutical companies as production began, including one from Bayer Products in July 1944, which congratulated him on becoming the first pharmacist in the UK to manufacture penicillin filtrate for members of the people of Ripley remain proud of Mr White's huge achievement, one which is commemorated by a blue plaque on the front of his former chemist building in the High Street.
