New customs head FINANCE Minister Mohamed Maait on Tuesday picked Kamal Hassan Negm to chair the Customs Authority. Maait and Negm discussed finishing the new customs authority draft law, facilitating customs procedures, developing human resources and completing the computerisation of the authority. A 1983 graduate of the Faculty of Commerce at Mansoura University, Negm joined the Customs Authority in 1985 and has held several leading posts since 2012. Car blast A CAR exploded on Monday morning near the on-ramp of the Sixth October Bridge in Dokki district, leaving 13 people injured, Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said. Security sources said the blast was caused by a sudden short circuit in the car's battery, which started a fire in the fuel tank. The car went up in flames. According to eyewitnesses, the fire spread to two other near-by cars. A minibus coming from behind collided with the cars and caught fire as well. The minibus was wrecked with debris scattered close by. The minibus driver jumped out when it caught fire. He is being detained as a witness to the incident. The injured were taken from the scene to three hospitals where they are being treated for wounds and burns. A Health Ministry official told a radio station that several others were treated for minor injuries. No deaths have been reported. Tragic accident SIX people were killed and 26 others injured in a bus accident on the Matrouh-Alexandria highway in Marsa Matrouh governorate on Saturday afternoon, the Matrouh Health Directorate stated. The victims, mostly bank employees, were heading for Cairo after spending their summer vacation when their bus overturned near the village of Al-Haraby in Al-Dabaa city. The injured were transferred to Ras Al-Hekma Hospital, Al-Dabaa Central Hospital and Al-Alamein Hospital. Eighteen ambulances rushed to the scene. All governorate hospitals were put on alert, according to officials from Matrouh Health Directorate. Doctors from all specialisations were called on to provide the necessary treatment. Blood bags were supplied to hospitals. Bodies of the deceased were moved to Al-Dabaa and Ras Al-Hekma hospitals. The road was re-opened after the bodies and the injured were taken away. A team from the prosecution-general was dispatched to the site of the incident. Egypt is considered one of the worst countries in road accidents. The carelessness of drivers and the poor conditions of roads are among the main reasons behind most accidents. Detention renewed FOR the fifth time in over two months, the Supreme State Security Prosecution on Sunday renewed a 15-day detention order issued to political activist and blogger Wael Abbas pending further investigations into case No 441/ 2018. During Sunday's court hearing, the prosecution also ordered that Abbas be transferred to Tora Prison Hospital after it was reported that he suffers from a chronic health condition. Together with Abbas, several journalists, lawyers, bloggers and political activists have been recently arrested. Abbas faces charges of aiding a terrorist group, using a website to propagate a terrorist group's ideology and publishing false news. Second pilgrim dies THE MINISTRY of Health announced on Monday the second death of an Egyptian pilgrim in Saudi Arabia. Mahmoud Ibrahim Mansour, 61, passed away at Ajyad Hospital in Mecca from a heart attack while performing Omra rituals at dawn on Monday, Mohamed Shawki, head of the Haj medical mission, said, adding that the mission was coordinating with the authorities to issue a death certificate. On Thursday, the ministry announced the first Egyptian death, a 56-year-old pilgrim, Galal Marzouk, who also died of a heart attack. Crocodiles in Sohag A FISHERMAN in the city of Akhmim, in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag, discovered two crocodiles on the shores of the Nile facing his house. In his complaint to Akhmim police station and the municipality, Khaled Ahmed said the crocodiles posed a danger to his family and his neighbours. Sohag security directorate issued an official statement about the incident and the authorities concerned have started to take the necessary measures regarding the complaint. Meanwhile, Dar Al-Salam, to the south of Sohag, urged governorate officials to purify Al-Faroukiya Lake where they too found crocodiles in large numbers. Their presence threatens the lives of people there, the residents complain, adding that children were ordered to stay at home as a precautionary measure. Sometimes, according to their narration, crocodiles leave the lake, causing panic among pedestrians.
