Egypt: Fatal train crash kills 11

A passenger train has derailed in Egypt, killing 11 and injuring 98. Egypt has been plagued with rail incidents in recent years.

The Egyptian government said on Sunday that at least 11 people were killed and 98 injured when a passenger train derailed just north of the capital, Cairo.

The country's health ministry said the crash happened about 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the capital.

Over 55 ambulances were dispatched to treat the injured, the ministry said, and investigators

have been sent to assess the accident's cause.

The train was set to travel to

the northeast city of Mansoura.

Reuters news agency said eight carriages had overturned, citing a post on the province's verified Facebook page.

The state-run Ahram daily reported that authorities have detained at least 10 railway officials, including the train driver and his assistant.

A video on social media purported to show the train lying on its side and widespread debris. This footage has not been independently verified by DW.

In March, two trains collided in the Sohag Governorate in Egypt, killing 18 people and injuring at least 200 others.

Egypt sees frequent crashes on its railway system due in part

to poor maintenance and lack of investment.

One of the deadliest train disasters happened in 2002 when 373 people died after a fire broke out on a train travelling south of Cairo.

jf/aw (DPA, AP, Reuters)

perse protesters as they blocked crucial transport routes overnight, demanding the release of Rizvi.

The death toll is unclear, but several casualties have been reported.

What are people protesting?

Protests erupted across Pakistan as the radical Islamist party was outraged by French government support for the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad.

Police had arrested Rizvi on Monday for giving the government an ultimatum to expel the French ambassador or face protests.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government did not ban the TLP because it disagreed with the party's sentiments but rather because they "used street violence & attacking the public and law enforcers."

What about France?

President Emmanuel Macron had defended the right for magazines to publish images of

Prophet Muhammad, which the TLP and several other Muslims have deemed offensive.

The French Embassy in Pakistan's capital Islamabad has advised its nationals to temporarily leave the country over "serious threats."

According to the French AFP news agency, many of the French nationals it contacted in Pakistan seemed to not want to leave. They reportedly questioned the timing of the embassy's message after he Pakistani government banned the TLP.

Some AFP interviewees criticized how the embassy's message delivered a negative image about Pakistan.

About eight carriages overturned, according to local officials

Scores of people were injured in the incident