Egypt’s Sisi, CIA Director Discuss Ethiopian Dam Crisis

Sisi meets the CIA chief in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency spokesman)
Sisi meets the CIA chief in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency spokesman)
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Egypt’s Sisi, CIA Director Discuss Ethiopian Dam Crisis

Sisi meets the CIA chief in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency spokesman)
Sisi meets the CIA chief in Cairo. (Egyptian Presidency spokesman)

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed his country’s interest in boosting cooperation with the US in various fields, namely on the security and intelligence levels in light of the growing threat of terrorism and extremism.

He made his remarks during a meeting with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, in Cairo on Sunday.

Developments in Afghanistan and the Palestinian cause, the dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and the crisis in Libya were tackled during the meeting, according to spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady.

Burns expressed his country’s pride in the constructive cooperation and inextricable relations with Egypt, Rady added.

He stressed Washington’s keenness on the continued coordination with Egypt regarding various challenges, especially in light of developments in the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa.

Separately, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty ordered the continuation of work on the national project to rehabilitate canals and transform them into modern irrigation projects.

The minister said the modern irrigation project aims to shift 3.7 million feddans of lands to modern irrigation over three years.

So far, up to 393,000 feddans have adopted the new system.



Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Iraq has detained six local officials and suspended other public employees following a fire that killed 61 people at a shopping mall earlier this week, authorities said Saturday.

The blaze broke out late Wednesday in a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.

After an initial investigation, the interior ministry said "there was clear negligence among several officials and employees" in Kut, located around 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

It added that three local officials, including the head of civil defense in Kut, had been detained, and 17 employees suspended from work until further notice.

The Commission of Integrity, an anti-graft body, said later that security forces had detained three more officials "over the violations that led to the fire" at the Corniche Hypermarket Mall, including the head of the violations department at Kut's municipality.

Officials say their investigation is ongoing, and the number of detainees may change.

The cause of the mall fire was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded on the second floor before the five-story building was rapidly engulfed in flames.

Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened.