CAIRO: A passenger train derailed Tuesday north of Cairo, killing at least two people and injuring 16 others, Egyptian authorities said. It was the latest in a series of rail accidents in the country in recent years.
The derailing happened as the train was traveling through a station in the city of Qalyub on its way to the city of Menouf in the Nile Delta, state prosecutors said in a statement. They said they had opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.

ANKARA: Turkiye’s six-party opposition bloc on Monday announced the joint presidential candidature of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkiye’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), who is set to face off against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May elections.

“We will govern Turkiye with consultations and compromise,” Kilicdaroglu said during the launch ceremony of his candidature in Ankara. “Our table is the table of peace. Our only goal is to take the country to days of prosperity, peace and joy.”

VIENNA: Iran’s concessions to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi during his visit to Tehran over the weekend depend to a large extent on future negotiations, Grossi conceded on Monday, walking back some comments he made upon his return.
Two days before a quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors, the IAEA and Iran said they had agreed to make progress on various issues, including a long-stalled IAEA inquiry into uranium particles found at three undeclared sites in Iran.

BAB-AL-HAWA: Syria’s cancer patients are the latest victims of the fragile status of Bab Al-Hawa, an international crossing point that sits on the border of Turkiye and Syria.

Cancer patients in northwestern Syria were transferred through the border post to hospitals in Turkiye prior to the earthquake on Feb. 6, to receive the necessary care unavailable in the rebel-held zone.

That changed when the Turkiye-Syria quake rocked the region and prompted Turkish authorities to close the borders on those awaiting lifesaving treatment.

BAGHDAD: The head of the UN cultural agency on Monday started a three-day visit to Iraq where many priceless cultural treasures have been damaged or destroyed during decades of conflict.

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay will visit reconstruction projects and meet top officials.

Years of war and insurgency have taken a heavy toll on Iraq’s many treasures including six UNESCO World Heritage sites.

“This visit is dedicated to reconstruction in Iraq,” said a spokesman for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which funds several projects in Iraq.