Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
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Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)

Egypt is launching a number of projects to support the Nile Basin countries and maximize the exploitation of water resources.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced the final preparations to equip the weather early warning center in Kinshasa, ahead of its inauguration next month.

It also dispatched the equipment for the center, and several Egyptian experts will arrive in Congo to install the equipment and start a trial operation.

Egypt experts will train the Congolese staff at the center on dealing with rain and flood forecasts and aerial imagery systems.

Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati announced that the new center is equipped with the latest rain forecast systems and will be concerned with studying climate change in Congo.

The center will contribute to protecting Congolese citizens from probable sudden climate disasters, Abdel Ati said.

The minister pointed out that Egypt established the Kinshasa center to transfer its expertise in the field of the integrated management of water resources to the Nile Basin countries.

Egypt and Congo signed a protocol for technical cooperation in the water resources field, under which the “Integrated Management for Water Resources” project is implemented, said the minister, adding that the project is carried out via an Egyptian grant to maximize Congo’s use of water resources and boost its capability to manage these resources.

Over the past few years, Egypt implemented a number of bilateral projects with the Nile Basin countries in the fields of water and electricity linkage, including rainwater harvesting dam, underground drinking water treatment plants to provide clean drinking water to remote areas that are far from the sources of water, fish farms, and river marinas.

Egypt and Sudan have been negotiating with Ethiopia for almost ten years to conclude a legal agreement regulating the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa built on the main tributary of the Nile to generate electric power.

Egypt and Sudan are calling for a binding legal agreement, that Ethiopia rejects, which led to the suspension of negotiations.



US Launches Airstrikes by Fighter Jets and Ships on Yemen’s Iran-Backed Houthis

 Smoke rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen October 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen October 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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US Launches Airstrikes by Fighter Jets and Ships on Yemen’s Iran-Backed Houthis

 Smoke rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen October 4, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen October 4, 2024. (Reuters)

The US military struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment belonging to the Iranian-backed militias, US officials confirmed.

Military aircraft and warships bombed Houthi strongholds at roughly five locations, according to the officials.

Houthi media said seven strikes hit the airport in Hodeidah, a major port city, and the Katheib area, which has a Houthi-controlled military base. Four more strikes hit the Seiyana area in Sanaa, the capital, and two strikes hit the Dhamar province. The Houthi media office also reported three air raids in Bayda province, southeast of Sanaa.

The strikes come just days after the Houthis threatened “escalating military operations” targeting Israel after they apparently shot down a US military drone flying over Yemen. And just last week, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack targeting American warships.

The militias fired more than a half dozen ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and two drones at three US ships that were traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but all were intercepted by the Navy destroyers, according to several US officials.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet publicly released.

Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza started last October. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels.

The Houthis have maintained that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.