Blasts hit Egypt's Coptic churches; 36 dead, over 140 injured

April 9, 2017

Egypt

Cairo, Apr 9: At least 36 people were killed and over 140 others injured today in twin blasts targeting Coptic churches packed with worshippers who had gathered for Palm Sunday mass in Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria.

The first blast took place in the Coptic church of Mar Girgis, also known as St George, in the Nile delta city of Tanta, about 120 kilometres from Cairo, killing 25 people and injuring 71, according to a statement by the Health Ministry.

Security sources said the primary investigations suggest that a person put an explosive device inside the church during the Christian prayers celebrating the Palm Sunday.

However, other sources suggest that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Hours later, the second explosion took place in Alexandria's Manshyia district when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near Saint Mark's Church.

Citing eyewitnesses, Ahram Online said that an explosion has been heard near Saint Mark's Church in Manshyia district near downtown Alexandria.

At least two were killed and 21 injured in the blast near Saint Mark's Church in Manshiya, state TV reported.

Egypt's Coptic church said Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, was leading Palm Sunday Mass just before the explosion.

Local media reported that most of the injured are from security forces outside the church and passersby.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for a National Defence Council meeting in response to the attack.

The National Defence Council is made up of the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, the minister of defence and the commanders of the Egyptian armed forces, and is chaired by the president.

President El-Sisi ordered the opening of military hospitals to receive the injured.

Al-Azhar, the world's highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, strongly condemned the attacks, calling it an "outrageous crime" against all Egyptians.

"This terrorist attack is devoid of all the principles of humanity and civilisation," it said in a statement.

The explosion come weeks before the visit of Pope Francis to Egypt on April 28-29.

Palm Sunday falls on Sunday before the Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 85 million.

Egypt's Christian minority has often been targeted by Islamist militants.

Egypt has seen a wave of attacks by militants since 2013 when the military toppled president Mohammed Morsi, an elected leader who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood, and launched a crackdown against Islamists.

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News Network
May 20,2020

Washington, May 20: The United States recorded another 1,536 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tracker said.

That figure, tallied as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT), raises to 91,845 the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the US.

The US tops the global rankings both for the highest death toll and the highest number of infections, with more than 1.5 million cases.

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News Network
April 10,2020

Paris, Apr 10: French pharma major Sanofi said on Friday it has decided to donate 100 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug which could be a potential weapon against novel coronavirus, across 50 countries.

The company has already doubled its incremental production capacity on top of the usual production for current indications across its eight hydroxychloroquine manufacturing sites worldwide and is on track to quadruple it by the summer.

"In this global health emergency, Sanofi stands ready to assist as many countries as possible, starting with countries where its medicine is registered for current approved indications as well as countries where there are no hydroxychloroquine suppliers or countries with underserved populations," it said in a statement.

Sanofi called for coordination among the entire hydroxychloroquine chain worldwide to ensure the continued supply of the medicine if proven to be a well-tolerated and effective treatment in COVID-19 patients.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health and economic crisis which is shaking some of the very fundamentals of international solidarity and cooperation among countries," said Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson. "This virus does not care about the concept of borders, so we should not either," he added.

"It is critical that international authorities, local governments, manufacturers and all other players involved in the hydroxychloroquine chain work together in a coordinated manner to ensure all patients who may benefit from this potential treatment can access it. If the trials prove positive, we hope our donation will play a critical role for patients," said Hudson.

While hydroxychloroquine is generating a lot of hope for patients around the world, said Sanofi, it should be remembered that there are no results from ongoing studies and the results may be positive or negative.

To date, there is insufficient clinical evidence to draw any conclusion over the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the management of COVID-19 patients.

It is one of several medicines being investigated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its international clinical trial seeking a treatment solution for COVID-19. "Sanofi is supporting ongoing trials by providing the medicine to some participating investigator sites and other independent research centres," it said.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Vienna, Jun 17: Austrian police fined a man 500 euros for loudly breaking wind after officers stopped him earlier this month to check his identity.

The police defended the massive fine saying he had deliberately emitted a "massive flatulence," lifting his backside from the bench where he was sitting.

The accused complained of what he called the disproportionate and unjustified fine when he gave his account of the June 5 events on the O24 news website.

In reply to social media commentaries that followed, the police in the Austrian capital justified their reaction on Twitter.

"Of course, nobody is put on the spot if one slips out by accident," the police said.

However, in this case, the police said, the young man had appeared "provocative and uncooperative" in general.

He then "slightly raised himself from the bench, looked at the officers and patently, in a completely deliberate way, emitted a massive flatulence in their immediate proximity."

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