logo
Egypt Says Ethiopia's Completed Power-Generating Dam Lacks a Legally Binding Agreement

Egypt Says Ethiopia's Completed Power-Generating Dam Lacks a Legally Binding Agreement

Yomiuri Shimbun5 days ago
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt said Friday that Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on its now-complete dam, an issue that involves Nile River water rights and the interests of Egypt and Sudan.
Ethiopia's prime minister said Thursday that the country's power-generating dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, on the Nile is now complete and that the government is 'preparing for its official inauguration' in September.
Egypt has long opposed the construction of the dam, because it would reduce the country's share of Nile River waters, which it almost entirely relies on for agriculture and to serve its more than 100 million people.
The more than the $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile near the Sudan border began producing power in 2022. It's expected to eventually produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia's current output.
Ethiopia and Egypt have spent years trying to reach an agreement over the dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011. At one point, tensions ran so high that some feared the dispute would escalate to war.
Both countries reached no deal despite negotiations over 13 years, and it remains unclear how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in case of a drought.
Egyptian officials, in a statement, called the completion of the dam 'unlawful' and said that it violates international law, reflecting 'an Ethiopian approach driven by an ideology that seeks to impose water hegemony' instead of equal partnership.
'Egypt firmly rejects Ethiopia's continued policy of imposing a fait accompli through unilateral actions concerning the Nile River, which is an international shared watercourse,' Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement Friday.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in his address to lawmakers Thursday, said that his country 'remains committed to ensuring that our growth does not come at the expense of our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters.'
'We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,' he said. 'Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.'
However, the Egyptian water ministry said Friday that Ethiopian statements calling for continued negotiations 'are merely superficial attempts to improve its image on the international stage.'
'Ethiopia's positions, marked by evasion and retreat while pursuing unilateralism, are in clear contradiction with its declared willingness to negotiate,' the statement read.
However, Egypt is addressing its water needs by expanding agricultural wastewater treatment and improving irrigation systems, according to the ministry, while also bolstering cooperation with Nile Basin countries through backing development and water-related projects.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump's Tariffs May Overshadow Rubio's First Official Trip to Asia
Trump's Tariffs May Overshadow Rubio's First Official Trip to Asia

Yomiuri Shimbun

timean hour ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Trump's Tariffs May Overshadow Rubio's First Official Trip to Asia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may overshadow his top diplomat's first official trip to Asia this week — just as the U.S. seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China's growing influence in the region. Trump on Monday sent notice to several countries about higher tariffs if they don't make trade deals with the U.S., including to a number of Asian countries. The move came just a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed for a Southeast Asian regional security conference in Malaysia. Top diplomats and senior officials from several countries that Trump has targeted for the new tariffs, which would go into effect on Aug. 1, will be represented at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional forum in Kuala Lumpur that Rubio will attend on Thursday and Friday. State Department officials say tariffs and trade will not be Rubio's focus during the meetings, which Trump's Republican administration hopes will prioritize maritime safety and security in the South China Sea, where China has become increasingly aggressive toward its small neighbors, as well as combating transnational crime. But Rubio may be hard-pressed to avoid the tariff issue that has vexed some of America's closest allies and partners in Asia, including Japan and South Korea, which Trump says would face 25% tariffs if there is no deal. Neither of those countries is a member of ASEAN, but both will be represented at the meetings in Kuala Lumpur. Rubio's 'talking points on the China threat will not resonate with officials whose industries are being battered by 30-40% tariffs,' said Danny Russel, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific during the Obama administration. 'In fact, when Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week said ASEAN will approach challenges 'as a united bloc' — he wasn't talking about Chinese coercion but about U.S. tariffs,' Russel said. Among ASEAN states, Trump has so far announced tariffs on almost all of the 10 members of the bloc, including the meeting host Malaysia, which would face a 25% tariff that could specifically hit its electronics and electrical product exports to the United States. Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz said Wednesday that while Malaysia is ready to resume tariff negotiations, it would not cross its red lines, including U.S. requests for changes to government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes. Trump sent tariff letters to two more ASEAN members Wednesday: Brunei, whose imports would be taxed at 25%, and the Philippines, at 20%. Vietnam recently agreed to a trade deal for 20% tariffs on its imports, while Singapore wasn't part of Trump's original April 2 tariffs. Both are ASEAN countries. The Trump administration has courted most Southeast Asian nations in a bid to blunt or at least temper China's push to dominate the region. In Kuala Lumpur, Rubio also will likely come face-to-face with the foreign ministers of two of America's biggest adversaries: China and Russia. U.S. officials could not say if meetings with either are planned for the short time — about 36 hours — that Rubio will be in Malaysia. Russel noted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is a veteran of such gatherings and 'fluent in ASEAN principles and conventions,' while Rubio 'is a rookie trying to sell an 'America First' message to a deeply skeptical audience.' Issues with both countries remain substantial, particularly over Ukraine. Trump on Tuesday expressed his exasperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, 'I'm not happy with him, I can tell you that much right now' as Moscow ramps up attacks in Ukraine amid the American leader's push for a peace deal. Trump also announced that the U.S. would resume providing Ukraine with defensive weapons after the Pentagon announced a surprise pause in some deliveries last week. U.S. officials continue to accuse China of resupplying and revamping Russia's military industrial sector, allowing it to produce additional weapons with which it can attack Ukraine.

French Police Raid Far-Right National Rally Headquarters in Finance Probe
French Police Raid Far-Right National Rally Headquarters in Finance Probe

Yomiuri Shimbun

timean hour ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

French Police Raid Far-Right National Rally Headquarters in Finance Probe

PARIS (AP) — French police raided the headquarters of far-right party National Rally on Wednesday and seized documents and accounting records, the party's leader said, as part of a sweeping campaign finance inquiry. Prosecutors said they are investigating allegations of illegal financing of longtime party leader Marine Le Pen's 2022 presidential bid, and the party's European Parliament and French parliamentary campaigns. The National Rally, which seeks to sharply curtail migration and restrict Muslims' rights, is the biggest single party in France's lower house of parliament. Jordan Bardella, 29, who took over the presidency of the popular party in 2022, said that police seized 'all files relating to the party's recent regional, presidential, legislative, and European campaigns — in other words, all of its electoral activity.' Bardella slammed the raid in a message on X. 'This spectacular and unprecedented operation is clearly part of a new harassment operation. It is a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change,' he said. The raid came after Le Pen — runner-up to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 — was convicted of embezzlement in April and barred from seeking office for five years. She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc's regulations. But Wednesday's raid stems from a different, more recent case. The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement to the AP that searches were carried out at the National Rally's headquarters, at the headquarters of unidentified companies and at the homes of people leading those companies. The searches were prompted by a judicial inquiry opened a year ago into a raft of allegations, including fraud, money laundering and forgery, the prosecutor's office said. The inquiry aims to determine whether Le Pen's 2022 presidential campaign, and the party's campaigns for European Parliament in 2024 and French parliamentary elections in 2022, were financed by 'illegal loans from individuals for the benefit of the party or National Rally candidates,' the statement said. The inquiry is also investigating allegations that the National Rally overbilled for services or billed for fictitious services in order to artificially augment the amount of state aid provided to the party for its electoral campaigns. The prosecutor's office says no one has been charged in the case. Bardella said on X that the investigation targets National Rally members who loan money to the party because banks won't, calling the raids a ″spectacle″ serving political ends. Former party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just told reporters outside the headquarters, ''We did nothing wrong.″ Le Pen has not commented publicly. The National Rally was born from a party with racist and antisemitic roots founded by Le Pen's father. In recent years, the party has broadened its messaging and seen its support rise steadily. It has longstanding ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took out a loan from a Czech-Russian bank in 2014 because it said it could not get credit elsewhere. Le Pen had been considered a top contender for France's 2027 presidential election before her March conviction. While her appeal in that case is pending, she asked the European Court of Human Rights for emergency action to suspend the ban on running for office. The court rejected her request Wednesday, arguing that there was no ''imminent risk of irreparable harm' to her human rights.

South Korean court approves new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree
South Korean court approves new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree

Asahi Shimbun

time2 hours ago

  • Asahi Shimbun

South Korean court approves new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, centerm arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025. (Pool Photo via AP) SEOUL--A South Korean court early Thursday approved the new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges related to his brief imposition of martial law in December, accepting a special prosecutor's claim that he poses a risk of destroying evidence. The arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court sent Yoon back to a detention center near the capital, four months after his release in March, when the same court overturned his January arrest and allowed him to stand trial for rebellion without being held in custody. His criminal case is being handled by a team of investigators under special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk who are pursuing additional charges over Yoon's authoritarian push, including obstructing official duties, abuse of power and falsifying official documents. Cho's team questioned him twice before submitting a request for his arrest warrant to the court on Sunday. Yoon's lawyers had described the arrest request as excessive and unsubstantiated. They didn't immediately react to the court's decision to approve the arrest of Yoon , who was formally removed from office in April after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment. Yoon didn't respond to questions by reporters after arriving at the court on Wednesday afternoon for a hearing to review the special prosecutor's request. After the hearing lasting about seven hours, Yoon was taken to the detention center to await the court's decision. Yoon's new arrest could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody, potentially lasting months or longer. Yoon can be initially detained at the center for up to 20 days, while the special prosecutor will aim to indict him on additional charges. If Yoon is indicted on new charges, that could keep him under arrest for up to six months until an initial court ruling. If that court convicts him and issues a prison term, Yoon would serve that sentence as the case possibly moves up to higher courts. The former conservative leader described his martial law imposition on Dec. 3 as a necessary step to quash his 'anti-state' liberal opponents, accusing them of using their legislative majority to obstruct his agenda. But Yoon's decree lasted only hours, after a quorum of lawmakers broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers at the National Assembly and voted to lift the measure. Yoon was impeached by lawmakers Dec. 14 and indicted Jan. 26 by public prosecutors who accused him of masterminding an attempted rebellion, describing his power grab as an illegal attempt to seize the legislature and election offices and detain political opponents. The charges are punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment. Yoon also faces accusations of enforcing martial law without following required legal procedure, such as deliberation by a formal Cabinet meeting, and of unlawfully deploying the presidential security forces like a private army to block an initial attempt by law enforcement to detain him at his residence in early January. His liberal rival and current President Lee Jae Myung, who won the June snap election to replace him, last month approved legislation to launch sweeping special investigations into Yoon's martial law debacle and other criminal allegations involving his wife and administration.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store