Egypt, Russia to Activate Contracts for Buying Nuclear Fuel

A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
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Egypt, Russia to Activate Contracts for Buying Nuclear Fuel

A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)
A Russian delegation visits Egypt to follow up on the nuclear project. (Nuclear Power Plants Authority)

Egyptian and Russian officials discussed on Monday activating contracts to purchase the nuclear fuel needed to operate Egypt’s Second Research Reactor (ETRR-2) by 2030.

Chairman of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) Amr El-Hag held talks with a Russian delegation from the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) and TVEL Fuel Company of the state-owned Rosatom.

Talks tackled the implementation of the contracts inked between the two sides in 2017.

Under the contracts, Russia will supply another batch of uranium components and products made of the aluminum alloy and aluminum powder for the ETRR-2 and extend needed nuclear fuel for operating the reactor by 2030.

Hag stressed that the EAEA has qualified human cadres, laboratories and various research activities in the fields of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

He pointed to its expertise in manufacturing nuclear fuel for ETRR-2, which produces radioactive isotopes and covers the Egyptian local market.

Egypt’s second nuclear reactor is located at the Atomic Research Center in Inshas, ​​60 km northeast of Cairo.

It is used to conduct studies on particle physics research and matter and produce radioactive isotopes.

Egypt and Rosatom signed on December 11, 2017 several documents to put into force the commercial contracts for the construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant.

The plant consists of four nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts.

They stipulate that Rosatom will build the El-Dabaa NPP on the Mediterranean coast, conduct personnel training and assist its Egyptian partners in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years of its operation.

Russia is also contracted to build a special storage facility and supply containers for storing used nuclear fuel.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 Palestinians in three separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, taking the weekend death toll to 102, Palestinian medics said, as US and Arab mediators stepped up efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.

Health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed five people in a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while another airstrike killed four others in Jabalia in the northern edge of the enclave, where Israeli forces have been operating for three months.

Later on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing five people, medics said. It wasn't immediately clear if all the dead were policemen.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Sunday's strikes.

Earlier on Sunday, the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed at least 88 Palestinians and wounded more than 200 others in the past 24 hours.

In Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, relatives and neighbors rushed to the Zuhd family's house, which was struck by an Israeli airstrike late on Saturday, killing seven people, medics said. The search continued on Sunday morning for four others believed to be trapped under the rubble.

A hand belonging to one of the dead could be seen amongst the ruins, with the rest of his body buried under collapsed masonry. Three men removed dirt with their bare hands to retrieve bodies and search for possible survivors.

"Three young men, the son’s wife, and three children are still here. We retrieved this cousin of mine. Another cousin has been martyred and is now in the hospital. Approximately 11 people have been martyred here," Ammar Zuhd, a relative, told Reuters.

ISRAEL SAYS DOZENS OF HAMAS MILITANTS KILLED

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that its forces had attacked more than 100 targets across Gaza over the weekend, killing dozens of Hamas fighters. It said it had also destroyed rocket launching sites that had been used to wage rocket attacks on Israel in recent days.

A renewed push is underway to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, and return Israeli hostages who were taken to Gaza, before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli negotiators were dispatched on Friday to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, while US President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to mediate, urged Hamas to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible, but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas fighters on communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign, with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas, has leveled swathes of the enclave, driving most people from their homes, and has killed 45,805 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.