Thousands pack narrow alleys in Cairo for Egypt's mega-Iftar
CBSN
Cairo — The narrow streets and alleys of a working-class neighborhood in Egypt's capital hosted thousands of people Monday who came together to break their Ramadan fast at the longest dinner table in the country. It was the 10th time that northern Cairo's Matareya neighborhood had hosted the annual Iftar meal on the 15th day of Ramadan, and it was the biggest so far.
Organizers said some 400 volunteers helped to line up about 700 tables along a handful of connected, and ornately decorated, streets and alleys and then fill them with food prepared by community members. There was no official count, but those behind the gathering claimed as many as 30,000 people had turned up to break their fast after sundown.
Hamada Hassan, one of the organizers, told CBS News the story of the mass-Iftar started 12 years ago on the 15th night of Ramadan when some local residents decided to break their fast together after playing soccer. No one had a house big enough to host everyone, so each went home and got some food. Then, they brought two tables out onto the street and ate together.
Officials in Cuba reported an island-wide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after President Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to it. In:
Two boats carrying 21 people capsized Monday off Henoko, a controversial relocation site for a U.S. military base off Japan's southern island of Okinawa, throwing all into the water and leaving two of them dead, officials said. In:
Ecuador on Sunday began two weeks of operations against drug traffickers with support from the United States, the latest joint show of force against drug cartels in the South American country. In:
Right after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Karabash Elementary, like schools across Russia, was ordered to indoctrinate young minds with a so-called "patriotic curriculum." Pasha Talankin, the school's videographer, was assigned to shoot it all, to prove to Russia's government that the school was toeing the line. In:
Six U.S. service members who were killed in a military refueling aircraft crash over Iraq last week have been identified as members of the Ohio Air National Guard and Florida-based crew members. Tucker Reals contributed to this report. In:
Ten months after taking office, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday finally moved into his apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, a historic papal residence that his predecessor had eschewed. In:
President Trump said the U.S. military "totally obliterated" every military target on Kharg Island during large-scale precision strikes Friday, thrusting the strategic small isle into the global spotlight. In:
Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries, while affirming Tehran's right to defend itself against Israel and the United States. In:
A Jewish school in Amsterdam was damaged after an overnight explosion against its exterior wall, Mayor Femke Halsema said in a statement Saturday, denouncing the blast as a "cowardly act of aggression." In:
A growing number of social media users, including foreigners, are facing charges in the United Arab Emirates under the Gulf state's broad cybercrime laws for sharing or possessing digital content that depicts or comments on the impact of ongoing Iranian attacks, the advocacy group Detained in Dubai has warned. In:
CBS News asked its reporters and editors to gauge the local mood in foreign capital cities as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, now nearing the two-week mark, leaves energy and stock markets in turmoil. In:
A court in Moscow on Thursday convicted 19 people of involvement in the 2024 shooting rampage in a Moscow concert hall that killed 149 people and wounded over 600 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report. In:
Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, authorities said Wednesday. In: