Egypt and Sudan welcomed a UN Security Council statement on their dispute with Ethiopia over a hydroelectric Nile dam being built by Addis Ababa, despite the international body’s reluctance to become directly involved in the long-running row.
The two downstream nations had wanted the Security Council to directly intervene in the dispute with upstream Ethiopia, but the international body instead urged the three nations to return to negotiations led by the African Union.
The council said late on Wednesday that the three should “finalise expeditiously” a deal on filling and operating the multibillion-dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
When completed, the dam on the Blue Nile – the source of more than 80 per cent of the river’s water – will be Africa’s largest and will generate 6,000 megawatts of power.
Ethiopia says the dam is key to its development and will lift millions of its people from poverty. It has repeatedly assured Egypt and Sudan that they have nothing to fear from the dam, which is less than 20 kilometres from the Sudan border.
But Egypt is concerned that the dam could significantly reduce its share of Nile water, on which it depends for almost its entire fresh water needs, wiping out hundreds of thousands of jobs and upending its delicate food balance.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has said the dam posed an existential threat to his country. In March, he warned of serious instability in the region if his country’s share of the Nile water was reduced.
Sudan, Egypt’s neighbour to the south, insists Ethiopia must co-ordinate the running and filling of the dam quickly to ensure work at its own power-generating dams is not disrupted and destructive floods can be averted. It says the life of half its 40 million people would be at risk if no deal is reached.
Late on Wednesday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the UN Security Council statement amounted to “an important push to current efforts to ensure the success of the African negotiating track".
“This forces Ethiopia to be seriously involved with a genuine political will in negotiations leading to a legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam.”
In a statement on Thursday, Sudan also welcomed the UN statement, saying Khartoum hoped it would soon lead to the resumption of negotiations.
"Sudan is ready to be constructively involved in any process leading to the resumption of the negotiations," the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said.
The UN Security Council statement and the Egyptian response came amid of flurry of diplomatic activity that suggests the resumption of talks, which collapsed in April, could be imminent.
Christophe Lutundula, foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the current African Union chair, was in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, on Wednesday and was expected in Cairo on Thursday for talks.
Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, flew to Khartoum on Wednesday on a previously unannounced visit. Mr El Sisi on Tuesday spoke to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi by telephone.
Egypt and Sudan, bound by close political, economic and military ties, want Ethiopia to enter a legally binding agreement on the filling and operating of the dam as well as mechanisms to deal with future drought and disputes.
They also wanted outside parties such as the US, European Union and the UN to be involved in the negotiations. They said a year of negotiations under the leadership of the African Union has yielded no progress.
Ethiopia says guidelines, not a legally binding deal, on the filling and operating of the dam should suffice. It rejects the involvement of outside parties in the talks, arguing that the dispute is an African issue that should be settled by Africans.
Egypt and Sudan initially wanted the UN Security Council to issue a resolution that would declare the dispute a threat to security and stability in the region.
A draft resolution tabled by non-permanent member Tunisia included an outline of the grave dangers the dam posed to Egypt and Sudan.
After the council released its statement, Ethiopia’s UN ambassador Taye Atske Selassie said the row was beyond the council’s remit.
“The council deals only with threats to international peace and security,” Mr Selassie said. “The tripartite negotiation is the only way to reach a conclusion on the matter.”
Egypt’s deputy UN ambassador Osama Abdelkhalek said Cairo’s concerns had been “duly considered” by the council.
“Egypt was always supportive of the right of Ethiopia to generate electricity,” Mr Abdelkhalek said. “But equally of the same right of the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, to guarantee their water security to have safeguards when it comes to their existential needs of water.”
Additional reporting by James Reinl in New York.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Match info
Manchester United 1
Fred (18')
Wolves 1
Moutinho (53')
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Leaderboard
64 - Gavin Green (MAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
65 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
66 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Ross Fisher (ENG), Aaron Rai (ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL)
67 - Dustin Johnson (USA), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Joost Luiten (NED), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
68 - Alexander Bjork (SWE), Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Adrian Meronk (POL), David Howell (ENG), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Sean Crocker (USA), Scott Hend (AUS), Justin Harding (RSA), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Renato Paratore (ITA)
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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ARGYLLE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matthew%20Vaughn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Sam%20Rockwell%2C%20John%20Cena%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
