Egyptians Urged to Rationalize Water Consumption

A boat on the Nile River in Atfih town, Giza, Egypt. (AP)
A boat on the Nile River in Atfih town, Giza, Egypt. (AP)
TT

Egyptians Urged to Rationalize Water Consumption

A boat on the Nile River in Atfih town, Giza, Egypt. (AP)
A boat on the Nile River in Atfih town, Giza, Egypt. (AP)

Egypt’s Housing Minister, Assem el-Gazzar, issued a directive to increase awareness among citizens on the importance of rationalizing water consumption, optimizing its use and maximizing the utilization of all available water resources.

Gazzar chaired a meeting of the Egyptian Water and Wastewater Regulatory Agency (EWRA), during which he called for the safe reuse of treated water based on the top international standards.

Egypt suffers from a scarcity of freshwater resources, and according to official statements, it has officially entered the “water poverty” era, in which the per capita share is less than 1,000 cubic meters annually.

The Egyptian government is implementing a national strategy to manage and meet water demand until 2037, with investments of nearly $50 million, including projects to desalinate seawater, implement modern irrigation methods in agricultural lands and treat wastewater.



US Launches Airstrikes on Military Targets of Houthis in Yemen

Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

US Launches Airstrikes on Military Targets of Houthis in Yemen

Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)

The US military has launched airstrikes targeting military facilities belonging to Yemen's Houthi militias in capital Sanaa.

US Navy ships and aircraft targeted a Houthi command and control facility and advanced conventional weapon production and storage facilities that included missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles, the Central Command said.

It said the facilities that were hit were used in attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. US Navy and Air Force aircraft also destroyed a Houthi coastal radar site, seven cruise missiles and UAVs over the Red Sea, it said.

The Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at Israel, as well as attacking shipping in the Red Sea corridor — attacks they say won’t stop until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis' media office said Tuesday that 10 airstrikes hit the May 22 facility in Sanaa’s northern Thurah district and two more hit the Aradi facility, which houses the militias’ so-called defense ministry in central Sanaa.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthi chief negotiator and spokesman, called the strikes “a gross violation of the sovereignty of an independent state.”