Egyptian X-Files : Keep an eye out for the missing Khentika limestone relief from Saqqara “Updated”

Egypt’s Public Prosecution has officially launched an investigation into the disappearance of a limestone relief from the world-famous Saqqara necropolis.

The Giza Public Prosecution opened the probe into the missing relief on Monday from the ancient tomb of Vizier Khentika, two days after the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed the incident.

The prosecution has instructed security authorities to conduct urgent investigations to uncover the full circumstances of the theft.

All personnel responsible for securing the tomb of Khentika, along with officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, have been summoned for questioning. Surveillance footage from the surrounding area will be seized and reviewed, with a detailed report to follow.

The tomb of Khentika

Khentika—also written Khenti-Ka or Ḫenti-ka Ikhekhi—was a high-ranking vizier and priest of the goddess Maat during Egypt’s Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, serving under Pharaoh Teti. He also held the title of “Overseer of the Royal Palace.”

His mastaba was first uncovered in 1942 by the Egyptian Antiquities Service during the Saqqara survey led by Egyptian Egyptologist Abdel-Salam Hussein, near the pyramid of Teti. Although recorded, the chambers were left sealed due to structural instability and wartime conditions. The tomb remained closed until 1953, when British Egyptologist T. G. H. James completed its excavation and publication.

The tomb is renowned for its detailed wall reliefs depicting scenes of daily life in ancient Egypt—especially those illustrating the authority and activities of its owner, Vizier Khentika.

The disappeared relief from the tomb "Khantika Paints the season" 
From Harvad archives 

The stolen relief—known as the Seasons Relief—is among the original depictions from the tomb of Vizier Khentika.

Egyptian X-Files : Tut’s Grasshopper, the Qatari Prince and Apollo "‘Updated"

It won’t be the first time, nor will it be the last—but raising awareness is still worthwhile.

On 27 July at 1 PM GMT, the Apollo Art Auctions showroom in Central London will host the second day of a unique and highly controversial auction, both in person and online.

The sale features ancient artefacts from a private collection long associated with the shadowy world of the underground antiquities market.

The first day of the auction, held on 26 July at 1 PM GMT, showcased artefacts from Medieval, Asian, South American, and Western Asiatic cultures. But the second day is the real centerpiece.

On both days, a total of 953 lots to be auctioned. Day 1 included 434 lots while Day 2 included 519 lots.

Out of the total 894 lots, 297 lots are from ancient Egypt, making it the largest representation among all civilizations and cultures covered in the auction. The overall average starting price of Ancient Egyptian artefacts is £4,00.

This is a controversial auction by all accounts, focusing on a selection of ancient artefacts from the Prince Collection—described in Apollo’s catalogue as “a private collection assembled over many years, with attention to historical context, craftsmanship, and provenance.”

The auction brochure emphasizes that the second day’s lots represent a “thoughtfully selected” group of antiquities from the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman worlds, with particular focus on “the lasting cultural impact of ancient Egypt.”

The crown jewel of the auctioned Prince Collection is Lot 112—listed as Lot 462 in the Apollo Art Auction.

According to the auction’s brochure, lot 462 is “Egyptian Ivory and Wood Cosmetic Vessel in the Form of a Grasshopper, believed to be (among the known and potential strays from the tomb of Tutankhamun), and once part of the collection of the late Howard Carter.”

The alleged King Tut's grasshopper 

You read it right, an artefact from King Tut’s tomb. It was the reason why the official name of the auction is ‘Fine Ancient Art – The Prince Collection – The Legend of Tutankhamun’ auction.

Updated : the grasshopper was sold for £340,000 ( LE 22,507,884.40) on Sunday.

Egypt in the past 10 days (Vol.2)

I could not update or write anything on the blog for ten days or something because whenever I started on something, another huge thing happened that needed attention.

At the same time, I battled some cold or the flu or that variant and it already weakened me as I realized firsthand how due to the economic crisis, the effective material in Egyptian medicines “once a top product of Egypt highly demanded in the Arab world” was reduced due to importation woes.

In fact, I do not know if they are ten days or more, but I know I was starting an attempt to do something about Egypt’s victims in Libya’s Derna Deluge tragedy. If my calculations are right, we have the biggest human loss for Egyptian expats across the borders.

Nevertheless, nobody is ready to speak about it or hear it.

Busy ten days 

I hate to say it, but I am trying to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the October War but the shadow of what is happening whether the elections circus or rather that battle of proxies on one side and the economic developments in the past 48 hours from another side do not give me a chance.

Needless to say, I feel that this is the quietest anniversary Egypt has seen so far despite all knowing that there are huge preparations for big celebrations involving air shows and so on because it is the jubilee. Maybe the airshows will be held on the Egyptians Air Forces Day.

Now here is a terrible summary of what is happening in Egypt and outside and you tell me how I can deal with all that.

The Menendez Halal’s bribe allegations

On 22 September, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation “FBI” James Smith unsealed the indictment charging US Senator Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez and three other men including Egyptian-American Wael Hana aka Will Hana with federal bribery charges.

Zambia’s T7WSS private jet mystery: What we know so far including "Julian Assange's French lawyer joins East Africa's gold controversy"

First of all, Egyptian journalist Karim Asaad who was arrested on Saturday was freed on Sunday. 

Asaad, a member of the editorial team of the fact-finding platform Matsada2sh in Cairo was detained on Saturday following the impressive and revealing coverage of the platform to the T7WSS private jet incident.

Following the release of Asaad, Matsada2sh announced on Tuesday that it would take some time off till next week. Asaad’s detention and release were like the first implication back in Cairo involving the controversial T7WSS private jet mystery.

Many people are wondering if Matsada2sh, which has become one of the few independent free fact-finding and news sources will continue the same path after what happened.

In those three days, I believe the absence of Matsada2sh and its unbiased news coverage for real resulted in the spread of rumors in Cairo that travelled to Lusaka. It is better to give freedom to Matsada2sh and similar independent news websites instead of letting rumors and fake news for real to spread.

The rumors are currently about one thing: The identity of the sixth Egyptian detained in Lusaka but we will deal with that later.

T7WSS gold scandal: The mystery of the six in Zambia’s jet

There is no doubt that many people in Cairo are now aware of the importance of open-source intelligence (OSINT), at least in the past 72 hours following the unfolding of the private jet that was busted in Zambia and its interesting connections to Egypt.

The Zambian guards guarding the T7WSS at Kenneth Kenuda International 
On Thursday "DEC"

On Friday, in the latest developments concerning the incident of Zambia’s jet, as it is known in Egypt, or the gold scandal, as it is known in Zambia, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema asserted at a press briefing that no one is above the law and that "there are no sacred cows in this case."

The mysteries of T7-WSS or that private jet in Zambia

It's official: Zambia has secured a prominent place among Egypt's most searched words for August and the year 2023 as a whole. Remarkably, this newfound attention has nothing to do with football, which is a departure from the usual context.

Typically, Zambia garners attention in Egyptian media when Egypt's national football team competes against Zambia's team in various African tournaments, or during official visits between the two countries' presidents—either Zambia's President visiting Cairo or their Egyptian counterpart journeying to Lusaka.

The events of the past 24 hours, however, have propelled Zambia into Egyptian headlines in an unexpected manner.

The sequence of events commenced with the landing of a private jet at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in a distant African country on a Sunday afternoon.

By late Tuesday, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Cairo 24 had reported that Zambian authorities had made a startling discovery aboard the private jet: approximately USD 5 million in cash and 127 kilograms of gold bars. The jet had originated from Cairo, Egypt, and six out of the ten individuals on board, all Egyptians, were detained for further investigation.

The news found its way to Sky News Arabia and other regional Gulf news websites but was subsequently removed from Al-Masry Al-Youm and Cairo 24.

Unfortunately pulling the news off the Egyptian websites made it as if something fishy was going on fueling speculations even without knowing the rest of the details.

Delving into Zambian media accounts, it was revealed that Zambia's Drugs Enforcement Commission (DEC) had issued a press statement and convened a press conference regarding the incident.

Egypt’s former top auditor Genena is a free man pending investigation

 Egypt’s former top auditor Hesham Genena is officially now a semi-free man after fully completing his five-year sentence in prison for spreading false news about the Egyptian armed forces and the country in 2018.

Hesham Genena outside his house Tuesday evening in New Cairo by his 
daughter Shorouk Genena 

Why is he a semi-free man!? Well, after leaving prison on Tuesday, he was detained shortly by the State security prosecution for another case and then he was released pending the investigation in the case that goes back to 2018.

It is another chapter in his saga that started several years ago.

Genena is currently accused of spreading false news and being a member of an illegal group in State security case No.441 of 2018.

State security case No.441 of 2018 was a large case then where a number of media and social media figures including known liberal and atheist figures were accused of spreading false news and being members of the Muslim Brotherhood including blogger Wael Abbas who is known to be anti-MB even before 2011.

Most of those who have been arrested and were not affiliated with the MB, in that case, have been released  pending investigation including journalist Moataz Wadnan who conducted the interview with Genena in the year 2021.

I think that those who hoped that Genena would play a political role after coming out of prison should not keep their hopes high. Needless to say, his statements about corruption in the state are still making rounds, especially in times of economic crisis.

But one thing is for sure the Hesham Genena saga is not over, it always has twists and surprises.

Anyhow, I think that the man needs to take some time off to spend with his family.

Seen in Cairo: King Farouk’s Golden Cradle

Once Seen in Cairo: On the occasion of King Faoruk's birthday on 11 February 1920 “11 February is an interesting day for Egypt’s rulers as it seems", here is the special gold-painted handmade baby cradle of Egypt and Sudan's late ruling king from Mohamed Ali Dynasty.

King Farouk I's golden wooden cradle 

He was then Crown Prince of Upper Egypt

The Photo was taken at a special temporary exhibit at Prince Mohamed Ali Manial Palace estate in January dedicated to the retrieved lost Mohamed Ali Family’s artefacts.

Mansour meets the British Press over Russian connection

It seems that Mohamed Mansour is starting to know the meaning of being involved in politics in real democracy with transparency and accountability.

The British press is speaking that the man chosen by Conservative Party leader and current British PM Rishi Sunak and former Chairman Nadhim Zahawi as senior treasurer turned to own or co-own a subsidiary in Russia that is still active in the Russian oil and gas sector despite sanctions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The Mirror spoke about the matter too.”

Well the UK is not Egypt, and the Conservative Party with all its cons is not the National Democratic Party.

Mohamed Mansour, the British senior treasurer of the Conservative Party 

Last month, we know in Egypt from the British media that Sunak announced that Egyptian business tycoon Mohamed Mansour would be the senior treasurer of the Conservative Party in the UK. We knew back in Egypt that he had a US passport already, and that the British passport was new information.

According to the Guardian, the Conservative Party refused to comment on Mansour’s role stating that he was not “the party’s treasurer”, but sources told the famous newspaper that Mansour has actually a separate role as “the senior treasurer” and he is involved in fundraising in the run-up to the next general elections.

On the other hand, Mansour confirmed the news and issued a statement stating that it was a great honour and privilege to have been appointed as senior treasurer of the Conservative party and a member of the treasurer’s team of the party.

Thursday Rave and Rants: #EP7 “Mohamed Al-Amin and case 188/2022” (Part#2)

Here is the 7th episode from my podcast in Arabic. It is the second part of my post/podcast’s episode about the late media tycoon Mohamed Al-Amin who died earlier in December while serving a three-years-sentence in prison on charges related to human trafficking.

Al-Amin who was Egypt’s biggest media tycoon a couple of years ago suffered from Cancer in a late stage from a couple of months ago and was transferred to a Private hospital to receive treatment. He passed away earlier this month. You can listen to this post in Arabic in the podcast below.

You can check the first part of the episode/post here to refresh your memory.

We stopped at the arrest of Mohamed Al-Amin in January and how the media went mad.

It is expected honestly considering who he was and the severity of the accusations he was facing.

On 11 January, news websites began to publish his alleged statements in front of the prosecution denying all the charges and claiming that the three girls he was accused of molesting in his orphanage were sent to him by the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s officials despite they were older than the rest of the girls. 

On 5 February, Al-Amin was referred to the Criminal court by the Prosecutor General on charges of human trafficking over sexually abusing and threatening seven underage girls." Not only two".

The referral order was full of details like the prosecution depended upon the testimonies of 13 eyewitnesses including the confessions of the victims, the examination of the defendant’s mobile phone, the Forensic Authority’s reports, the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood and the physiological and social research department at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Thursday Rave and Rants: #EP6 “Mohamed Al-Amin and case 188/2022” (Part#1)

Here is the 6th episode from my podcast in Arabic and it is about the late media tycoon Mohamed Al-Amin.

Famous Egyptian businessman and former media tycoon Mohamed Al-Amin died last week while serving a three-years-prison for sexually assaulting underage girls in a case that shocked society less than a year ago.

Al-Amin who was spending his prison sentence at Wadi Al Natroun Centre for Correction and Rehabilitation was transferred to Private El-Salam hospital several months ago to be treated for cancer.

A Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Al-Amin to three years and fined him LE 200,000 for sexually assaulting seven underage girls in May at an orphanage he established in Upper Egypt.

It was a first-degree sentence, and he was already challenging the first direct sentence.

Ironically, I wrote this post on a draft I made in May after his sentencing that for some reason I did not complete. This is what I wrote then “It is like the end of season one of his saga.”

I was writing that post then because I wanted to express how I and others believed that that was a light sentence for a grave crime.

As soon as the news of his death was announced, we found news websites and news groups following state-affiliated “United Media service” mourning him politely on its channels as well as social media accounts with no mention or regard whatsoever to his conviction.

UMS acquired Future Media Group which acquired CBC Network and Al-Watan under its umbrella in 2018 from Mohamed Al-Amin.

Those were the same channels and websites that shared the news of his arrest and his trial as an example no one is above the law.

Now to the main question about who Mohamed Al-Amin was.

New Central Bank of Egypt’s acting governor, old faces in a time of crisis (Part-2 : Amer vs Abdallah)

Appointing Hassan Abdallah as the acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt “CBE” was by all measures a very interesting one for several reasons. Mostly, it means that to fix or undo what Tarek Amar had done, you must bring one of his old nemeses in his place.

Hassan Abdallah has not wasted any time in undoing what his processor had done already and took a couple of decisions earning the praise of many despite what his decisions so far are of short-term medicine than a long-term solution.

Now, it is time for some juicy summer economic and financial gossip and our post tonight is about Amer vs Abdallah and that fight between them that ended somehow so far in the favor of the latter.

Please pay attention to the names because they are too many in our post. 

They all play the musical chairs game but in the adult real world of finance.

Amer Vs banks chairmen

In March 2016, Amer as the governor of CBE issued a decision to place a-9-years-limit on the tenures of CEOs of commercial banks in Egypt. The CBE said in its statement about the decision that it was taken to “Help to modernize the sector and inject new blood”.

Abdallah on the left and Amer on right

In essence, you would think it was a good decision but during then it was said that Amer wanted to get rid of some former rival Egyptian banks’ CEOs who did not like his policies above them two: Commercial International Bank “CIB”'s Hisham Ezz al-Arab and AAIB’s Hassan Abdallah.

There were 8 CEOs including Abdallah and Ezz al-Arab to be affected by that decision and they would not leave without a fight in front of the courts even if they let others go on their behalf to the court

In June 2019, Cairo’s Administrative court nullified the decision after a lawsuit and during then the CBE decided not to appeal the decision. The veteran CEOs seemed to win that round, but it was not over.

In September 2018, the CBE appointed Abdallah as the first assistant to the CBE governor and a new CEO was appointed for AAIB.

In May 2019, suddenly leaked reports based on anonymous sources surfaced on a couple of websites like Cairo 24 speaking about the real reason for dismissing Abdallah from his position in the AAIB, claiming his involvement in huge financial violations discovered by the CBE’s supervisory body.

If a person is accused of corruption, why would he be given a position like CBE governor’s assistant as a punishment!?

Gamal Mubarak’s video: Myth and Reality

 Gamal Mubarak’s video is still making people in Egypt wondering what he wants.

For days now after its release it is still among the top trending topics in Egypt especially that many young Egyptians found it a good material for memes in addition it comes in time of an economic crisis as well as political desert literality in the country

Egyptians have not forgotten the Mubarak legacy which we still suffer from its repercussions.

Gamal Mubarak as appeared in his video. In the back , the photo of his father
former president Mubarak with his son Omar 

Now for the sake of truth and reality as well as young generations who consider the Mubaraks as victims of defamation campaigns or are simply amazed by Gamal Mubarak’s fluency in English, there are certain points I must clarify here as I worked on their cases and that file of their assets abroad for the past decade.

The return of Gamal Mubarak : More than clearing a name !?

 For the past 48 hours Egypt has not nothing to speak about except that sudden return of Gamal Mubarak on Tuesday. 

Egyptians have forgotten that on Thursday the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) Monetary Policies Committee (MPC) is going to convene mostly to raise once again the key interest rates and thus to devalue the Egyptian pound against the US dollar for the second time in less than 6 months. 

You can not blame then because Gamal Mubarak made a sudden reappearance in the most provoking way especially that we saw in Philippines how Bongbong Marcos , the son of the infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos won the presidential elections in an ugly warning tale.

 In case you do not know Gamal Mubarak , the youngest son of late ousted Hosni Mubarak released a video statement allegedly to clear the name of his family following the decision of the General Court of the European Union to uphold its previous decision to unfreeze the Mubaraks' assets in Europe. 

You can watch here without translation because for some unknown reason to us , Gamal Mubarak decided to speak English in most of the video. He speaks nearly 17 minutes in English. 

In case you do not know Gamal Mubarak was among the main reasons why Egyptians revolted on 25 and 28 January 2011 leading to the ouster of his father and the fall of his regime. 

Gamal Mubarak was groomed to become the next president of Egypt after Hosni Mubarak. 

 I do not understand if this video is a message to the Egyptians or the World or the West or what. Does he try to impress that class of Egyptians who are always impressed by anyone who speaks English or French fluently !? 

Some say that he is just trying to find his way back to business and I do not know what kind of business or what businesses we are speaking about.

Rayan of Chefchaouen and the tragedy that united Arabs from the Gulf to the ocean

When the Arab TV channels announced late Saturday night that the Moroccan child Rayan was rescued and retrieved from that deep well in a remote area in Rif Mountains’ Chefchaouen , it was a moment of hope after nearly of 100 hours of anxiety.

Rayan and a small goat in happier times "Twitter"

The video of the rescue members team transferring Rayan wrapped in a foil blanket gave hope to many that the 5-years-old boy can make it after four days in 32m deep dry well.

Little Rayan in the foil blanket after his retrieval in the outskirts of Chefchaouen 
"Mosaab El-Shamy for AP" 

After all , the Moroccan media gave us information that medical teams hours earlier were looking after him.

It was a short moment of hope unfortunately like the many moment of hopes in the Arab World. It ended by a statement issued by the Moroccan Royal Court. 

The Moroccan Royal Court announced 20 minutes or less after the initial hopeful moment that Rayan passed away and that rare moment of hope turned into the a moment of sadness and despair

King Mohamed IV who did not issue a single statement about the incident in those four days presented his condolences to Rayan’s Parents via mobile phone as Moroccan TV cameras recorded the moment in unbelievable scene showing the faces of the sad grieving and extremely tired parents !!!

Why would the Moroccan state-owned TV record that sad moment ?? What do they want to prove !? That Mohamed IV was too human and cared for his own people !? If he and his men really cared , he would not have allowed the TV to air that private moment.

Another thing in this tragedy and unfortunately no one wants to bring it up.

Egyptian Chronicles’ Movers and Shakers of 2021 “Egypt’s edition”

Welcome to the 2021 edition of Egyptian Chronicles' Movers and Shakers.

It is time of our annual post
Here is my list of those I believe that have been the shakers and movers of 2021 in Egypt.

There will be another list for “Region and world edition”

This is not the list of the top people but rather those who made an impact whether positive or negative based on my own views

This list is without any order. You know me, I write what I remember.

Locally :

From left to right "Egypt's Olympics delegation, Suez Canal workers, healthcare workers 
and antiquities workers"

A Special Mention

• Egypt’s healthcare workers: For the second year in a row, they are the unsung heroes of a bloody pandemic that does not want to end or fade away. I do not need to speak about their sacrifices in those hard times.
• The Egyptian Olympian and Paralympian team: For their victories against all odds in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics scoring the highest numbers of Medals in 7 decades against all odds and corruption in the Egyptian sports federation. The names of our champions are Feryal Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Al-Gendy, Gianna Farouk, Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed “Kesho”, Hadeya Malak, Seif Issa, Sherif Othman, Rehab Radwan, Mahmoud Attia, Fatima Omar, Mohamed Sobhy, Hany Abdel Hady and Mohamed El-Zayat.  
• The Suez Canal Authority workers and all those who worked hard for nearly 6 days in March to make the gigantic Ever Given float again and unblock the Suez canal saving global trade from another crisis. For their efforts all those years.
• The Egyptian archaeologists and workers: For their discoveries throughout the years and not only 2021.

Jeffrey Epstein and the Israeli connection

In case you do not know (and probably you do not) ex-girlfriend of late sex predator and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is standing currently in a trial at US District Court in Manhattan on several charges above them sex trafficking and conspiracy.

For the past 7 days, Maxwell came face to face to women who accused her and her late ex-boyfriend of destroying their lives turning them into underage escorts or rather sex slaves of Epstein and his friends from important figures around the globe.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein smiling and pretending to be normal
 a newly released photo during Maxwell's trial this week 

Now as the court is on and we are hearing more and more on how perverted Maxwell and her partner were from the survivors, reporters and the public are waiting for juicy details that can implicate figures like Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton in that scandal. “I think they will be disappointed but what has been said so far so sick and damning to the Oxford graduate uptown girl turned into a madam from hell.”

Yet there are remarkably interesting parts in the Epstein-Maxwell affair I believe that won’t be mentioned in the court. That part is related to how this sick couple and their dirty brothel played a role in the Middle East peace process.

Those two paragraphs are from Vanity Fair’s investigative report published in summer 2021 on Jeffrey Epstein and his relationship with mogul Lee Wexner.

“During the 1990s, both Epstein’s and Wexner’s profiles grew on the world stage. In 1991, Wexner cofounded a philanthropic organization of Jewish billionaires known as the Mega Group, which uses some of its vast resources to shape Middle East policy. In 2003, Wexner’s foundation commissioned GOP messaging guru Frank Luntz to advise American Jewish leaders on how to rally support for Israel. “For a year—a SOLID YEAR—you should be invoking the name of Saddam Hussein and how Israel was always behind American efforts to rid the world of this ruthless dictator and liberate their people,” Luntz’s recommendation stated.

Beirut Blast : Welcome to post-apocalyptic Beirut

First of all, this how you can help Lebanon as a person if you can.

You can donate to Lebanese NGOs through this link.

You can donate to buy food items directly through this link

You can donate to the Lebanese Red Cross directly through this link

It is nearly 24 hours following the huge blast in Beirut port that is changing the fate of a whole country in the saddest way ever.

Last night Beirut was on another date with misery with those series of explosions that made it trend for all the wrong reasons once again, a city of disaster.

An old Lebanese lady spending the night at the street due to the explosion 
"Twitter"

What makes me sad for real is that Beirut is a synonym for happiness and bon vivant for us, the Arabs but for the west Beirut is only in the centre of news for this kind of disasters and civil wars.

The photos and videos showing post-apocalyptic Beirut in a very sad way. 

Victims numbers are increasing

In the past few hours the Lebanese health officials announced that the number, we are speaking about at least 150 dead and over 5,000 injuries according in addition to hundreds of missing people.

On social media, you will find sisters searching for brothers and nephews searching for uncles.

According to the Lebanese officials, 300,000 Lebanese people spent their night in the street because they could not spend their night at their homes due to the huge damages the buildings suffered.

All the journalists living in Beirut I know or I follow online reported that some kind of damages in their homes.No one was spared.

Beirut Port Explosion : The Cost of negligence “or Warehouse 12 of hell ”

2020 won’t be an easy or unforgettable year by all measures as it seems

In case you do not know the news yet, the Lebanese capital Beirut was rocked by huge multiple explosions at the Port of Beirut. The explosions that shocked the city to the core killed at least 78 people and injured over 4,000 people.

The explosions happened at 6.30 PM Beirut Local Time when multiple explosions took place at a warehouse in the port. At first, it was reported that it took place at a fireworks warehouse but it was soon debunked.

According to the Lebanese Prime Minister Hasan Diab, the explosion happened at a warehouse that stored explosives and chemicals specifically Ammonium Nitrate.

After the explosions in Beirut Port by AFP 

The Lebanese officials say that the warehouse stored 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which is equivalent to 600 tonnes of TNT for nearly 6 years !!

It is unclear yet what caused the first explosion or fire that led to multiple fires.

The Lebanese High Council of Defense declared a state of emergency for two weeks as well as Beirut as “Disaster City”.

The situation is more than horrible according to citizens and reporters online.

Warehouse 12 in the Port of Beirut or the bloody cargo of m/v Rhosus

The story of Black Tuesday’s explosions started on 23/9/2013 when M/V Rhosus flying a Moldavian flag sailed from Batumi Port, Georgia heading to Beira port in Mozambique carrying a cargo of 2,750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate.

Due to technical problems, the Rhosus stopped at Beirut Port and upon inspection by the Lebanese authority, it was forbidden to continue its voyage because of its highly explosive cargo.

The cargo was transported later to warehouse 12.

Nobody understands why the Lebanese officials let a highly explosive material like that for 6 years in a civilian port in a civilian area.

After the Dragon : When the Nile in Egypt turned in to Brown

Brownish River Nile in Cairo

This is how the River Nile looks like in Cairo on Sunday two days after the Dragon storm.
"It is like the Nescafe," an elderly Egyptian told me this Sunday morning.

The ministry of irrigation issued a statement saying that this color was resulted due to the dust and sand the heavy rains brought in its trips from the hills of Upper Egypt to the heavy rains torrents which end up in the River Nile.

This is creating a problem for Water companies in Egypt which had to cut water for nearly 12 hours across the country in order to purify water from dust lees.

Up till we know that only 20 people across the country. The most devastating part in the country is the 15 May Shantytown.

On Saturday, a mass funeral was held at a Church near the area and the photos there are so sad.

From the mass-funeral of the victims by Nader Nabil