Egypt

BBC

Ethiopia and Egypt say they have reached an agreement on a key aspect of the vast dam that Ethiopia is building on the River Nile.

There have long been fears that The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Africa's biggest hydro-electric project - due to begin operation later this year, could spark a war, with downstream states Egypt and Sudan who are afraid it will reduce their water supplies.

Few details have emerged from the latest round of talks in Washington, but both Ethiopia and Egypt said that basic agreement had been reached on the filling process.

Egypt has long pressed for the dam to be filled gradually over several years in order not jeopardise the water flow that is vital to its economy.

A joint statement said that the final agreement could be signed in February.

Read more: Egypt-Ethiopia row: The trouble over a giant Nile dam

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Archaeologists have put on display 16 ancient Egyptian tombs discovered at a site in the Minya region, south of the capital Cairo.

They were the burial places of high priests and senior officials who lived 3,000 years ago.

The tombs contained 20 stone coffins, including one dedicated to the sky god, Horus.

Ten thousand figurines were found in the graves, along with 700 amulets. Some were made of pure gold.

Also unearthed were limestone jars that would have been used to store the entrails of the mummified dead:

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Reuters

The final day of talks to resolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt on the fate of Africa’s largest hydropower project ended yesterday without a word from any of the parties.

Foreign and water ministers from the two countries and Sudan have been meeting in Washington for the last two days to hammer out a final deal on how the dam will operate.

A draft agreement on 15 January, brokered by the US Treasury Department and the World Bank, noted that the mega dam on the River Nile should be filled in stages during the rainy season.

But it did not specify the time frame for implementation, with finer details expected be worked out in the final agreement.

The issue of how the dam is to operate has been contentious for years.

Ethiopia considers the project as critical to its energy needs and wants the dam to be filled and be operational as soon as possible.

But Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 90% of its water needs, has serious concerns that its supply would be compromised should the dam be filled too fast.

Ethiopia, which began construction of the $4bn (£3bn) dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile, a tributary that contributes 85% of the Nile waters, has always said it wants the dam to be filled within six years.

Egypt has maintained that a longer period - of between 10 and 21 years - would be better so that the water flow is not drastically reduced.

Read: Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan's draft deal on Nile River dam row

The daughter of philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, Jennifer, has announced she has got engaged to her Egyptian partner, Nayel Nassar.

Ms Gates and Mr Nassar have been dating since 2017 and their engagement happened while on a skiing trip.

The couple enjoy show jumping and have been together at several shows across the world.

Ms Gates in her Instagram announcement said, "I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives learning, growing, laughing and loving together."

Ms Gates in a past interview with CNN said her boyfriend supported her and described their shared love for horse sports as "incredible".

A video has gone viral in Egypt of a father shielding his daughter on the railway tracks as a freight train roars by a hairsbreadth from their bodies.

Witnesses said that the young girl was walking on the railway tracks at the station in Ismailia when a train sounded its siren and started speeding towards her.

The father is said to have jumped down and held her away from the train as it passed.

He has been hailed as "Super Dad", but the railway authorities have a different view, accusing him of negligence - suggesting that he and his daughter were trying to cross the tracks rather than using a tunnel to reach their platform.

An Egyptian court has sentenced 37 people to jail for joining or supporting the Islamic State (IS) group in the Sinai peninsula.

The area has seen a militant insurgency which has led to the deaths of hundreds of security personnel.

The jailed men were accused of planning attacks and spreading IS ideology.

Eight of the defendants were handed life sentences.

Mass sentencing under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has drawn criticism from human rights group who have called for fairer trials.

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