Latest: Ethiopian dam talks end without breakthrough, says Egypt
Delegations from Sudan and Ethiopia met Egyptian officials in Cairo on Sunday for the latest round of talks over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The new round of talks indicate a warming of ties between Cairo and Addis Ababa after years of threats and heated exchanges over the construction of the dam and its numerous fillings.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in July at the Sudan Neighbouring States summit, held in Cairo to discuss an end to the continuing conflict in Sudan.
The two states issued a joint statement after the meeting last month, announcing that negotiations over the dam would resume.
Sunday’s talks are the first official negotiations between all concerned parties since 2021, when another round of talks sponsored by the African Union collapsed with no binding agreement and heated criticisms from both sides.
Both Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly sought to bind Ethiopia to an agreement on how it would operate its dam to limit its affect on the neighbouring states.
However, Addis Ababa has maintained that recommendations, rather than a binding deal, should suffice. It repeatedly refused to come to the table despite calls from Cairo and Khartoum.
On Sunday, Egypt’s Water Resources Minister Hany Seweilam emphasised the importance of reaching a binding agreement “taking into account the interests and concerns of the three countries” on the rules concerning the filling and operation of the dam.
The agreement should stress “the importance of stopping any unilateral steps in this regard, and that continuing to fill and operate the dam in the absence of an agreement is a violation of the Declaration of Principles”, he said.
Mr Seweilam was referring to a preliminary agreement signed in 2015 by the three Nile basin countries in Khartoum, which outlined a set of principles according to which the dam would be operated.
However, the agreement was described as vague, only outlining a list of 10 principles – some of which were common understanding, good faith, development and not causing significant damage.
The agreement did not get into the specifics of managing the dam and Cairo's response since then has ranged from military threats to assurances that only diplomacy could end the dispute.
Egyptian public opinion over the dam has also fluctuated. However, in recent years, the inability to reach an agreement has been used by opposition figures to criticise Mr El Sisi’s management of the country’s resources.
Cairo has repeatedly said that it considers the dam a matter of national security, adding that it threatened hundreds of thousands of agricultural jobs and Egypt's delicate food balance at a time of rising prices and a rapid increase in its population.
However, Addis Ababa has maintained that it is well within its rights to build the dam, considering the fact that the Nile’s main tributary, the Blue Nile, originates in Lake Tana in Ethiopia.
The tributary provides more than 85 per cent of the Nile's waters, with the rest coming from Lake Victoria’s White Nile tributary.
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
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The National selections:
1.45pm: Galaxy Road – So Hi Speed
2.15pm: Majestic Thunder – Daltrey
2.45pm: Call To War – Taamol
3.15pm: Eqtiraan - Bochart
3.45pm: Kidd Malibu – Initial
4.15pm: Arroway – Arch Gold
4.35pm: Compliance - Muqaatil
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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