It was a mixed bag on the airwaves last night: Yesterday’s pipeline explosion understandably attracted the most attention, but we were also handed an interview with the International Labor Organization’s Cairo boss as well as the coverage of the latest goings on at the GERD negotiations.

No fatalities as pipeline explosion on Cairo-Ismailia road injures 17: Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan spoke with Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed who discussed the incident in which the Shokeir-Mostorod oil pipeline caught fire near the Cairo-Ismailia road. He said some 17 people were injured but there were no fatalities (watch, runtime: 4:18). Oil Ministry spokesperson Hamdi Abdulaziz told Radwan that the accident was caused by a leak in the pipeline, and that a spark on the road caused the fire. He added that the fire services were able to swiftly extinguish the flames (watch, runtime: 8:09). Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa spoke with the Public Prosecutor’s office regarding the incident, which said that an investigation had been launched, and the injured at the hospital were being questioned (watch, runtime: 2:53). Yahduth Fi Misr’s Sherif Amer also covered the accident (watch, runtime: 6:19), (watch, runtime: 5:29).

The story is getting plenty of attention in the international press: Associated Press | Reuters | XInhua | Arab News | Gulf News.

Call for Egyptian military intervention in Libya receives support: Radwan spoke with Khaled Al Mahjoub, the spokesman for Tripoli operations room of the Libyan National Army (LNA), who denied Turkish claims that there is a significant battle brewing in the town of Sirte. He accused Ankara of misinformation and said that there were no boots on the ground near the strategic town. Al Mahjoub welcomed the Tobruk-based House of Representatives’ call for Egyptian military intervention (watch, runtime: 8:05). Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa spoke with Abd Elhamid Safi, an adviser at the Libyan parliament, who also said he welcomed the invitation for Egypt to intervene in the conflict (watch, runtime: 4:21).

ILO on covid-19 in Egypt: Amer spoke with Eric Oechslin, director of the International Labor Organization’s Cairo branch, who discussed the impact of covid-19 on employment. Oechslin said that covid-19 has pummelled labor markets in African and Arab countries, and that the organization has no idea when and how the crisis will end. He lauded Egypt for taking early measures to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on the country’s labor market and to support the private sector. He said that the organization is working closely with the government and private sector to ensure safety and security for workers. Oechslin also discussed the Women National Council's work with the United Nations Women Program to provide employment and training opportunities for women across Giza, Siwa, and Alexandria, as well as raise awareness about gendered violence (watch, runtime: 5:45), (watch, runtime: 3:23).