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Egyptian Ministries Begin Gradual Move to New Cairo

The first meeting of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral at the New Capital (Egyptian Gov)
The first meeting of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral at the New Capital (Egyptian Gov)
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Egyptian Ministries Begin Gradual Move to New Cairo

The first meeting of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral at the New Capital (Egyptian Gov)
The first meeting of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral at the New Capital (Egyptian Gov)

Egyptian ministries are gradually establishing New Cairo as the country's New Administrative Capital, with several officials holding meetings at their headquarters.

The New Capital is located about 75 kilometers east of Cairo, and the cost of investments in its first phase is estimated at EGP300 billion.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described the New Cairo as "the birth of a new state and republic."

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral resources held its first meeting at its headquarters in the government district.

Minister Tarek el-Molla said during the meeting that the step comes in the implementation of the President's directions to move to the New Capital gradually.

Molla explained that the move reflects the civilized form of the new republic to adopt an integrated state characterized by modernity, development, and digital transformation in all its sectors in implementing the Egypt Vision 2030.

The ministerial meeting touched on the program to maximize dependency on natural gas as a fuel for cars and launched the plan to establish 1,000 gas stations.

The meeting also addressed the completion of car conversion centers following the specific time programs to meet the needs of citizens wishing to alter their cars to natural gas. About 500,000 owners have switched their vehicles to natural gas so far.

The statement noted that natural gas had been transferred to most areas in the administrative capital, and the external installations of buildings, residential units, the diplomatic district, the investors' area, the GOV2 area, the Chinese towers, and the presidential area have been implemented.

Modern Gas Company is connecting the internal network to the government district.

Last December, the government held its first full cabinet meeting at the New Administrative Capital, within the framework of an experimental transitional period that begins in December and will last for six months.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at the time that "it is a historic day."

"Our meeting today in the government district at the New Administrative Capital sends a strong and clear message to the world that Egypt is taking steady and vigorous steps towards the future despite the challenges it faces."

"Moving to the new capital is not only a geographic transfer, it means a complete change of the administrative work in the government in light of seeking to promote good governance and digitalizing services," Madbouli added.

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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 11 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."