Cairo, Washington Agree to Launch Initiative to Adapt to Clime Changes

 US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Environment on the sidelines of the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Senegal. (Egypt’s Ministry of Environment)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Environment on the sidelines of the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Senegal. (Egypt’s Ministry of Environment)
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Cairo, Washington Agree to Launch Initiative to Adapt to Clime Changes

 US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Environment on the sidelines of the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Senegal. (Egypt’s Ministry of Environment)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Environment on the sidelines of the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Senegal. (Egypt’s Ministry of Environment)

Egypt and the United States agreed on the importance of adapting to climate changes, especially in developing countries and the African continent.

This came during a meeting between US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad on the sidelines of the 18th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Dakar, Senegal, on Saturday.

Kerry underlined the efforts exerted by the two sides to launch an initiative to adapt to climate changes on the sidelines of the upcoming COP27 climate summit.

He called for advancing climate action at COP27 as a conference for implementation, despite the current global challenges.

The envoy said he has coordinated with various countries and international organizations, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to implement Cairo’s ambitious program to increase 10 gigawatts of new and renewable energy.

Fouad, for her part, underscored the need for the US continuous support for Egypt’s “Nowfi” program.

The program is the link between food, water projects and energy, and aims to mobilize concessional development finance, technical support, and investments by the private sector for a package of priority green development projects within the framework of Egypt’s 2050 Comprehensive National Climate Strategy.

Fouad said the meeting tackled the expected outcomes of the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022, which Egypt will host at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

The Minister stressed the need for developed countries to fulfill their commitments and work on doubling financing for adaptation, especially the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, before the summit.

She also emphasized the need to come up with a special mitigation program to maintain the Earth's temperature in the range of 1.5 degrees Celsius, in accordance with the recommendations and outcomes of the Glasgow Conference (COP26).



Marseille Airport Suspends Flights Due to Wildfire as Public Warned to Stay at Home

 Smoke rises over Marseille as a fast-moving wildfire spreads on the outskirts the city, southern France, July 8, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over Marseille as a fast-moving wildfire spreads on the outskirts the city, southern France, July 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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Marseille Airport Suspends Flights Due to Wildfire as Public Warned to Stay at Home

 Smoke rises over Marseille as a fast-moving wildfire spreads on the outskirts the city, southern France, July 8, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over Marseille as a fast-moving wildfire spreads on the outskirts the city, southern France, July 8, 2025. (Reuters)

A wildfire spurred by hot summer winds reached France's second-largest city Tuesday, grounding all flights to and from Marseille, injuring at least nine people and forcing many residents to evacuate or barricade themselves indoors as smoke choked the Mediterranean air.

A big city hospital switched to generator power, train traffic was halted in most of the surrounding area, and some roads were closed and others tangled with logjams.

More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau before racing toward Marseille. Some 720 hectares (acres) were hit by the blaze, the prefecture said.

Nine firefighters were injured, according to the prefecture, or local administration. No dead have been reported.

The prefecture said in a statement Tuesday evening that “the situation is under control,″ though the fire has not yet been extinguished. It described the fire as “particularly virulent.″

It came on a cloudless, windy day after a lengthy heat wave around Europe left the area parched and at heightened risk for wildfires. Several have broken out in southern France in recent days.

Light gray smoke gave the sky over Marseille’s old port a dusty aspect as water-dropping planes tried to extinguish the fire in the outskirts of the city, which has some 900,000 inhabitants.

Hundreds of homes were evacuated. The prefecture urged people in the affected areas to stay indoors and off the roads. With the fire approaching Marseille, the prefecture also advised residents in the north of the city to keep windows closed to prevent toxic smoke from entering their homes.

One distressed family watched the smoke over their neighborhood in the hills above the port city and showed AP how the roof of their neighbor's house had been damaged in the fire as they worried about their own.

Marseille airport announced that the runway had been closed at around midday. The prefecture said train traffic was halted, notably after a fire neared the tracks in L'Estaque, a picturesque neighborhood of Marseille.

As a safety measure, the city's Hospital Nord switched to generators “due to micro power cuts.”

“The aim is to secure the imaging sector. We are not worried as we have a high level of autonomy,” the University Hospitals of Marseille said, adding that because of the disrupted traffic it asked workers to remain at their posts until the next teams starts its shift.