Sudan Plans to Benefit from its Full Share of Nile Water

Sudan's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
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Sudan Plans to Benefit from its Full Share of Nile Water

Sudan's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)

Sudan's Water Minister Yasser Abbas said on Friday that his country was barely using 6 billion cubic meters of water from its 18.5 billion share from the Nile River, stressing the need to revise the laws regulating water projects in a way to allow Khartoum benefit from its full share.

“Sudan is not using more than 6 billion cubic meters of water from its 18.5 billion share, listed in the 1959 agreement,” he said.

The agreement with Britain increased Egypt’s share of the Nile water to 55.5 billion, while Sudan received 18.5 billion.

The deal has governed the use of Cairo’s water to date and it allowed Egypt the right to veto any construction projects that would impede the flow of water into the Nile.

During the first meeting of the advisory council tasked with placing the ministry’s policies and programs during the transitional phase in Sudan, Abbas said that the isolated system of the water harvesting program in Sudan was used for political and not service purposes, adding that this program was not implemented in the best ways.

He said that the principle challenges that the ministry was currently facing are to build water harvest facilities and to manage them in a sustainable manner.

“We rely on the advisory council to discuss and draw new policies and programs to allow the implementation of such projects,” he said.

The minister mentioned the lack of water engineers working at the ministry. “We are working to restructure the ministry during the upcoming phase to attract young engineers,” he said.

Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile began in 2012, but since then Egypt has sounded the alarm that the project would severely reduce its water supplies.

In November, the foreign ministers and water resources ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia met in Washington to discuss issues related to the dam and they agreed to hold four technical meetings to follow up and assess the progress.

The first meeting was held in Ethiopia in November and the second meeting was held in Cairo in December.



Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 25 in Gaza and Huckabee Makes First Appearance as US Ambassador

A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 25 in Gaza and Huckabee Makes First Appearance as US Ambassador

A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)
A man looks through the rubble to inspect a destroyed building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 18, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 25 people on Friday including children, hospital workers said, as the new US ambassador to Israel made his first public appearance in Jerusalem.

The dead included 15 people killed in three strikes on the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Ten people were killed in Jabalia, including eight from the same home, according to the Indonesian Hospital, where the bodies were brought.

The strikes came a day after more than two dozen people died in Gaza as Israel continued attacks, pressuring Hamas to return the hostages and disarm.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited the Western Wall on Friday, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump. "Those are his initials, D.T.,“ said Huckabee while showing the note to the media.

In his first act as ambassador, Huckabee said Trump told him to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Huckabee also said every effort was being made to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. A one-time presidential hopeful, Huckabee has acknowledged his past support for Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel but said it would not be his “prerogative” to carry out that policy.

During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital over Palestinian objections and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv. Palestinians seek the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as their future capital.

Huckabee's arrival comes at a pivotal time in the 18-month war, as international mediators including the US are trying to get a broken ceasefire back on track.

Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Israel has said it plans to occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ negotiating delegation, said Thursday the group had rejected Israel’s latest proposal along those lines. He reiterated Hamas’ stance that it will return hostages only in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached in January.

Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

Friday’s airstrikes came a day after aid groups raised alarm over Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where it has barred entry of all food and other goods for more than six weeks. Thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day as stocks dwindle, the United Nations said.

Israel’s Defense Minister says the blockade is one of the “central pressure tactics” against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain its rule. Aid workers deny there is significant diversion of aid, saying the UN closely monitors distribution. Rights groups have called it a “starvation tactic.”

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.  

The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.