Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the Second World War Battle of El Alamein, which saw Nazi forces halted at Egypt and pushed back. The removal of landmines left over from the conflict was an issue at a ceremony commemorating the event yesterday. UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Representative Richard Dictus said that a 2,680 square km area around the battlefield is still unusable because of landmines and unexploded ordinance, Youm7 reports. He noted that the EU has provided EUR 4.7 mn over the past three years for demining programs, adding that the this funding would need to continue to clear the problem. The UK’s ambassador to Egypt John Cassin drew a connection between Egypt and UK’s joint fight in the battle against terrorism.

Our friend Andre Valavanis successfully defended his WBF Intercontinental Welterweight title at a bout in Maadi last night. Andre, who is IRO at GB Auto, won by TKO over challenger Vladimer Janezashvili. We’ll have a match report tomorrow.