Huge blaze destroys prestigious Arab film studio in Egypt

Huge blaze destroys prestigious Arab film studio in Egypt
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A fire in Cairo has destroyed one of the Arab world’s most prestigious and oldest film production houses, founded 80 years ago. (X/@MouradTeyeb)
Huge blaze destroys prestigious Arab film studio in Egypt
2 / 2
A fire in Cairo has destroyed one of the Arab world’s most prestigious and oldest film production houses, founded 80 years ago. (X/@MouradTeyeb)
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Updated 16 March 2024
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Huge blaze destroys prestigious Arab film studio in Egypt

Huge blaze destroys prestigious Arab film studio in Egypt
  • Flames overtook the Al-Ahram Studio in Cairo’s Giza district, burning everything inside and spreading to three surrounding buildings
  • Local media reported that the fire broke out 24 hours after filming finished for a Ramadan television series

CAIRO: A fire in Cairo has destroyed one of the Arab world’s most prestigious and oldest film production houses, founded 80 years ago.
Flames overtook the Al-Ahram Studio in Cairo’s Giza district, burning everything inside and spreading to three surrounding buildings, which were evacuated before the blaze reached them.
Residents of neighboring buildings were still sleeping on the ground in nearby streets at dawn on Saturday.
Security sources said that there were no deaths, though some people suffering from smoke inhalation were treated at the scene.
Local media reported that the fire broke out 24 hours after filming finished for a Ramadan television series.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, and firefighters needed more than six hours to extinguish it, according to the security sources.
Yusif Mohammed, a neighbor who witnessed the fire, told AFP that flames “reached the surrounding buildings before fire trucks arrived.”
“No one knows what really happened” to cause it, he said.
The fire erupted after the production team of the series “El-Moallem,” starring Egyptian star Mustafa Shaban, concluded a regular filming day.
Egypt’s Premier Mostafa Madbouly, along with several top officials and ministers, rushed to the site to oversee the firefighting efforts, assess the damage, and expedite the compensation process.
An official statement said that the premier and his colleagues toured the site and the affected residential buildings.
They were briefed about the situation by the governor of Giza who said that the blaze significantly damaged the facades of seven buildings.
The statement added that the premier ordered the urgent formation of a committee to prepare estimates about the time and cost to restore the buildings to their pre-fire condition.
He announced compensation for the affected families to cover the rent until the buildings are rehabilitated to their original state.
A local resident told Arab News that a woman saw the flames in the studio and tried to call the studio’s security guard and others for help, but before action could be taken the fire engulfed the entire studio and spread to nearby residential apartments.
The witness added: “What happened was that those filming inside the studio were shooting a scene with flares, but as we know, the studio is all made of wood, and I assume the flares set a small fire to the wood that escalated over time.”
Security forces evacuated a number of workers and technicians from the studio after the fire.
Al-Ahram Studio was founded in 1944 and built on 27,000 sq m containing three production stages, a screening room and an editing suite.
Many Egyptian films and television series were produced there.
In the 1950s, Egypt was the third-biggest film producer in the world.


US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says

US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says
Updated 3 sec ago
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US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says

US, France working on Lebanon diplomatic initiative, Cyprus president says
UNITED NATIONS: The United States and France are trying to hammer out an interim accord to halt hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah with a view to opening broader diplomatic talks, Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday.
“I don’t see that we can have a (broad) agreement but a form of interim agreement in order to avoid further escalation. This is the effort right now especially from the United States and France,” Christodoulides told Reuters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is the closest European Union member state, some 264 km (164 miles) from Lebanon. It has been at the forefront of maritime aid efforts for Gaza and has a key interest on developments in Lebanon should there be a need to evacuate foreign nationals.
Christodoulides said he had spoken to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and French President Emmanuel Macron in New York and by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“During the last days there are a lot of deliberations to avoid further escalation, especially with Lebanon. There is a diplomatic initiative from the United States and France,” he said, adding that meetings in New York on Wednesday would be crucial.
“Avoid further escalation to give time to diplomacy to find a permanent solution,” he said.

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
Updated 15 min 42 sec ago
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Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
  • The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue

CAIRO: Libya’s factions signed an agreement on the procedures, criteria and timelines for appointing a governor, deputy governor and board of directors for the country’s central bank, the United Nations Libya mission (UNSMIL) said on Wednesday in a statement.
The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue that has slashed Libya’s oil output and exports.


Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
Updated 51 min 23 sec ago
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Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
  • Militant group deploys forces across northern Yemen to crack down on gatherings, and abducts more than 200 people over online anniversary celebrations
  • The 1962 revolution overthrew the Zaidi Imamate, which ruled northern Yemen for centuries and was ideologically similar to the Houthis

AL-MUKALLA: The Houthis vowed to violently suppress any public celebrations this week of the 62nd anniversary of the Sept. 26 revolution in Yemen.

The militant group has deployed armored vehicles and forces across northern Yemen to crack down on any gatherings that take place on Thursday, and abducted more than 200 people who celebrated it online.

The revolution, which began on Sept. 26, 1962, resulted in the overthrow of the Zaidi Imamate rulers who had controlled northern Yemen for centuries, paving the way for the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic.

The Houthis share a similar ideology with the Zaidi Imamate, including a desire to limit rule over the country to Hashemites. The group fears people will be motivated by the anniversary to take to the streets in large numbers and demand an end to repressive Houthi rule.

Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, threatened to “cut off the heads” of those who gather on Thursday to commemorate the 1962 revolution. He accused them of being “stooges for the Zionists” and seeking to undermine security and stability in areas under Houthi control. Houthi authorities will allow people to celebrate the anniversary under supervision, in designated locations, he added.

“We do not have mercy or pity for enemies … If anyone tries to twist our arm, we will remove his head,” Amer said. “This is our nature and methodology. We are unconcerned about the entire world or public opinion.”

Abdulkader Al-Murtada, the head of the Houthi prisoner-exchange committee, issues similar threats and accused people who would celebrate the revolution of “serving the US agenda” in an attempt to force the Houthis to halt their attacks on international shipping, which the group claims to be carrying out in support of the Palestinian people.

“We will deal with any anarchists or charlatans, as well as anyone who attempts to cause trouble, in the same way that we deal with the enemy, and everyone is aware of how we do so,” Al-Murtada said.

Local media and residents of Sanaa, Hodeidah and other Houthi-controlled areas confirmed on Wednesday that the group had deployed armed vehicles and military forces as part of an intensive crackdown on those who celebrate the revolution or incite others to do so online.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights and Development said that in the past few days the Houthis abducted 270 Yemenis, including teachers, activists, journalists and members of the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress, in Sanaa and other areas for posting online messages that praised the Sept. 26 revolution and urged the public to commemorate it.

“We denounce these intimidation campaigns against civilians, particularly women, which coincide with security crackdowns and public threats of arrest aimed at deterring people from participating in planned public celebrations and raising the national flag,” the organization said.

Activists reported that in the past 24 hours the Houthis abducted people in Sanaa and other areas for flying the Yemeni flag, as well as a person in Sanaa who appeared in a video dancing to nationalist songs commemorating the revolution.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate also demanded the immediate release of four Yemeni journalists abducted over the past six days as part of the Houthi crackdown on Sept. 26 anniversary celebrations.

“The syndicate reiterates its call to all organizations concerned with freedom of opinion and expression to show solidarity with the abducted journalists and press for their release,” it said.

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of the government-controlled southern city of Taiz on Tuesday night to commemorate the 1962 revolution, carrying the Yemeni flag and chanting nationalist slogans. Thousands of people in Marib and other cities were expected to hold similar rallies on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Wednesday that its forces destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea before it reached a vessel it was targeting in a critical shipping lane.

It was the latest US military response against the Houthis intended to weaken them and pressure them into halting their attacks on ships in international waters off the coast of Yemen.


US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
Updated 25 September 2024
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US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
  • The US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher
  • “We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday announced $424 million in new aid for displaced and hungry Sudanese at a high-level meeting on the country’s brutal war at the United Nations.
The US mission to the UN said the assistance includes $175 million with which the United States will buy surplus food from its own farmers to feed people in and around Sudan, where a UN-backed assessment has warned of wide-scale famine.
Addressing the event, the US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher, which has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the paramilitary force seeks a complete takeover of the western Darfur region.
“We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses in El-Fasher, Khartoum and other highly vulnerable areas, eliminate barriers to humanitarian access along all routes, and put down their weapons and come to the negotiating table,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Sudan plunged into a devastating war last year as the army battled the RSF.
The World Health Organization said this month at least 20,000 people have been killed. But some estimates are far higher, with the US envoy on Sudan, Tom Perriello, saying that up to 150,000 people may have died.


Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
Updated 33 sec ago
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Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
  • It was reportedly the highest number of executions reported in one day in years in Iraq
  • The same security source said they were executed in Al-Hut prison in the southeastern city of Nassiriya

BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have hanged at least 21 people, including a woman, most of them convicted over “terrorism” charges, three security sources said on Wednesday.
It was reportedly the highest number of executions reported in one day in years in Iraq, which has previously come under fire over its trial processes and the use of capital punishment on a mass scale.
“Twenty-one convicts including a woman were executed” on charges including “terrorism” and being part of the Daesh militant group, an Iraqi security official told AFP.
“The woman was part of a group who killed a person” in 2019 as anti-government protesters demonstrated elsewhere in Baghdad, the source said.
A young man accused of firing shots was killed and his body hanged from a pole.
The same security source said they were executed in Al-Hut prison in the southeastern city of Nassiriya. Two other sources said they were all Iraqi nationals.
A medical source in Dhi Qar province, of which Nassiriya is the capital, said the forensic department had received the bodies of the executed convicts from the prison authority.
It was not immediately possible to confirm when the executions took place, with some sources saying Tuesday and others Wednesday.
Courts have handed down hundreds of death and life sentences in recent years to Iraqis convicted of “terrorism,” in trials rights groups have denounced as hasty.
In July, authorities hanged 10 “terror” convicts in Nassiriya, prompting a rights group to call for an end to the death penalty.
And in May, eight people were executed after being convicted on similar charges, while another 11 people were hanged earlier that month.
In late January, UN experts looking into the issue expressed “deep concern at reports that Iraq has begun mass executions in its prison system.”
The independent experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on its behalf, mentioned in their statement executions carried out late last year in the Nassiriya prison.
The statement said that “13 male Iraqi prisoners — previously sentenced to death — were executed on 25 December 2023,” calling it “the largest number of convicted prisoners reportedly executed by the Iraqi authorities in one day” since November 16, 2020, when 20 were executed.
At the end of July, Iraq’s Justice Minister Khaled Shuani dismissed the UN experts’ analysis as “not based on documented evidence,” the official Iraqi News Agency reported.