Investigations shelved ON MONDAY judge Amani Al-Rafei, newly-appointed head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority, ended investigations into last April's fire at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The fire did not breach the outer walls of the museum and no artifacts were damaged. A report prepared by the engineering committee supervising the project found the private sector company constructing the museum had failed to abide by safety measures specified in the contract and as a consequence must bear the costs of repairing damage caused by the fire. The report found the damage caused did not extend beyond scaffolding and wooden supports. Investigators concluded there was no culpability on the part of Antiquities Ministry officials or workers. The museum covers about 490,000 square metres and will include more than 100,000 artifacts dating back 7000 years. It is due to be inaugurated early next year. Central ablaze A FIRE in the early hours of Sunday at Sidi Gaber Telecommunications Central in Alexandria, a subsidiary of Telecom Egypt (TE), resulted in service being cut to75,000 subscribers. Forces from the Civil Protection Authority subdued the blaze with firefighting vehicles. No injuries were reported. Fire fighters were called when Alexandria security directorate received reports of thick clouds of smoke rising from the five-storey building. The fire broke was caused by an electrical fault at the main power board of one of the first floor convertors. It caused damage to the convertor, a cable and 10 subsidiary power boards. Until TE technicians are able to complete repair work batteries are being used to power services. Eastern Alexandria prosecution has launched an ongoing investigation into the fire. Hunger strike ended MANSOURA Southern Prosecution has extended the detention of political activist Mohamed Adel for an additional 15 days. Monday's renewal of the detention order came a day after Adel ended a two-week hunger strike in protest against the conditions in which he is being held. Adel, a co-founder of 6th April opposition movement, was arrested on 18 June on charges of spreading false news via Facebook posts, inciting against the state and belonging to an illegal organisation. Adel was initially held in an overcrowded cell with criminal defendants. According to his lawyer Amr Al-Kadi, Adel was moved to a less crowded cell holding defendants in public finance cases. Adel had earlier been sentenced to three years on charges of protesting illegally and attacking police personnel after being tried alongside Ahmed Maher and Ahmed Douma. The charges relate to a November 2013 demonstration against the protest law outside the Shura Council. Temperature to be blamed ON 12 JULY an explosion at a petro-chemical factory near Cairo Airport injured 12. Residents of Heliopolis, Nasr City and New Cairo said the sound of the explosion was deafening and flames could be seen from a distance. Photos shared on social media show a fireball and a thick plumes of smoke coming from the site of the explosion. “The blast was caused by high temperatures at one of the petrochemical storage facilities affiliated to Heliopolis Company for Chemical Industries,” Army Spokesman Tamer Al-Refai stated on his Facebook page. “Firefighting vehicles from the Civil Protection Authority managed to subdue the flames.” “Air traffic at the airport has not been affected,” Aviation Minister Younis Al Masri said in a statement.
