Egypt, Sudan halt talks with Ethiopia
Cairo: Egypt and Sudan suspended talks with Ethiopia after it proposed linking a deal on its newly constructed reservoir and giant hydroelectric dam to a broader agreement about the Blue Nile waters that would replace a colonial-era accord with Britain.
The African Union-led talks among the three key Nile basin countries are trying to resolve a years-long dispute over Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile.
Ethiopia says the dam will provide electricity to millions of its nearly 110 million citizens, while Egypt, with its own booming population of about 100 million, sees the project as an existential threat that could deprive it of its share of the Nile waters. (AP)
US sending rep to Taiwan
Taipei: The US says Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will visit Taiwan in coming days in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979.
The visit will likely create new frictions between the US and China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
Taiwan is a key irritant in the troubled relationship between the world’s two largest economies, who are also at odds over trade, technology, the South China Sea and China’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
22 hurt from fires near Marseille
Paris: Fires fueled by strong Mediterranean winds have raced across multiple towns in the Marseille region of France, leaving at least 22 people injured, destroying several businesses and forcing the evacuation of 2,700 tourists, nursing home residents and others.
Some 1,800 firefighters, backed by planes and helicopters, battled the worst fire through the night around the town of Martigues. They were still working on Wednesday to extinguish it more than 14 hours after it broke out on Tuesday. (AP)
Heavy rains pound N Korea
Seoul: Torrential rains are lashing North Korea, prompting authorities to take steps to minimize damage, state media said.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that the heavy rain is expected to continue in most of the country until Thursday.
It said authorities handling economic and agricultural affairs are taking measures to prevent damage.
The places hit by heavy rain include North and South Hwanghae provinces, a major agricultural region, KCNA said. (AP)