Train Crash in Egypt Kills 1 and Injures More than 20 People

 A general view shows Egypt's Nile river and the the University bridge in the capital Cairo on November 11, 2022. (AFP)
A general view shows Egypt's Nile river and the the University bridge in the capital Cairo on November 11, 2022. (AFP)
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Train Crash in Egypt Kills 1 and Injures More than 20 People

 A general view shows Egypt's Nile river and the the University bridge in the capital Cairo on November 11, 2022. (AFP)
A general view shows Egypt's Nile river and the the University bridge in the capital Cairo on November 11, 2022. (AFP)

A locomotive crashed into the tail of the Cairo-bound passenger train Sunday in southern Egypt, killing at least one person and injuring multiple others, authorities said. It is the second train crash in a month in the North African country.

The collision occurred in the province of Minya, 270 kilometers (about 168 miles) south of Cairo, the railway authority said in a statement, and two railway carriages fell into an adjacent watercourse. The cause of the crash was being investigated, the statement added.

Footage aired by local media showed the two carriages partially submerged in the watercourse.

Along with the fatality, the Health Ministry said in a separate statement at least 21 people were taken to hospitals, of which 19 were later discharged after receiving treatment.

Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, where an aging railway system has also been plagued by mismanagement. In September, two passenger trains collided in a Nile Delta city, killing at least three people.

In recent years, the government announced initiatives to improve its railways. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in 2018 some 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion, would be needed to properly overhaul the neglected rail network.



Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.