Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta
The ministry will hold a series of periodic meetings with the governors of the affected provinces, starting with Kafr El-Sheikh, to coordinate efforts between the ministries of agriculture, environment, and local development, Awad said in a Tuesday statement.
The first of these meetings took place on Monday in Kafr El-Sheikh, attended by local officials and representatives from the ministries and the World Bank-funded Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project.
'This comes in implementation of the political leadership's directives to provide a clean and safe environment for citizens, and in preparation for dealing with acute air pollution episodes associated with the burning of agricultural waste,' Awad stated.
She emphasised that the combined efforts of ministries and relevant bodies will help turn this environmental challenge into an economic opportunity by utilising rice straw as an economic product instead of burning it.
'This system represents a success story for Egypt in addressing climate change, as it has increased farmers' awareness of the economic value of rice straw, reduced open burning rates, and created new job opportunities in rural areas,' Awad added.
During the meeting in Kafr El-Sheikh, the governorate's assistant secretary-general, Major General Mohamed Sha'ir, stressed the importance of coordinating efforts to tackle the open burning of agricultural waste by promoting its recycling into fertilisers and feed.
The plan for the 2025 season includes enhancing the collection and recycling of rice straw, coordinating between agencies to prevent waste accumulation, and enforcing penalties for violators.
Officials at the meeting noted that Kafr El-Sheikh is one of Egypt's top rice-producing governorates and that its farmers have become increasingly aware of the benefits of using rice straw to produce organic fertilisers, animal feed, and other products.
Dr. Mohamed Hassan, the national coordinator of the Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, highlighted the project's role in reducing air pollutant emissions from two main sources: open waste burning and vehicle emissions. The $200 million project, launched in 2021 with World Bank funding, is establishing monitoring networks, implementing an integrated air quality management plan, and supporting waste management infrastructure.
Hossam Amin, head of the branch affairs sector at the Environmental Affairs Agency, said that recycling rice straw also contributes to producing organic fertilisers, biofuel, and handicrafts, creating non-traditional job opportunities for youth in rural areas.
Dr. Alaa Azzouz, head of the agricultural extension sector at the Ministry of Agriculture, affirmed the ministry's continued technical support for farmers and the implementation of awareness campaigns to promote safe management practices for agricultural waste.
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Daily News Egypt
2 days ago
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta
Egypt is launching preparations to combat the seasonal episodes of acute air pollution, often referred to as the 'black cloud,' that affect the Nile Delta region, Minister of Local Development and acting Minister of Environment, Manal Awad, has announced. The ministry will hold a series of periodic meetings with the governors of the affected provinces, starting with Kafr El-Sheikh, to coordinate efforts between the ministries of agriculture, environment, and local development, Awad said in a Tuesday statement. The first of these meetings took place on Monday in Kafr El-Sheikh, attended by local officials and representatives from the ministries and the World Bank-funded Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project. 'This comes in implementation of the political leadership's directives to provide a clean and safe environment for citizens, and in preparation for dealing with acute air pollution episodes associated with the burning of agricultural waste,' Awad stated. She emphasised that the combined efforts of ministries and relevant bodies will help turn this environmental challenge into an economic opportunity by utilising rice straw as an economic product instead of burning it. 'This system represents a success story for Egypt in addressing climate change, as it has increased farmers' awareness of the economic value of rice straw, reduced open burning rates, and created new job opportunities in rural areas,' Awad added. During the meeting in Kafr El-Sheikh, the governorate's assistant secretary-general, Major General Mohamed Sha'ir, stressed the importance of coordinating efforts to tackle the open burning of agricultural waste by promoting its recycling into fertilisers and feed. The plan for the 2025 season includes enhancing the collection and recycling of rice straw, coordinating between agencies to prevent waste accumulation, and enforcing penalties for violators. Officials at the meeting noted that Kafr El-Sheikh is one of Egypt's top rice-producing governorates and that its farmers have become increasingly aware of the benefits of using rice straw to produce organic fertilisers, animal feed, and other products. Dr. Mohamed Hassan, the national coordinator of the Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, highlighted the project's role in reducing air pollutant emissions from two main sources: open waste burning and vehicle emissions. The $200 million project, launched in 2021 with World Bank funding, is establishing monitoring networks, implementing an integrated air quality management plan, and supporting waste management infrastructure. Hossam Amin, head of the branch affairs sector at the Environmental Affairs Agency, said that recycling rice straw also contributes to producing organic fertilisers, biofuel, and handicrafts, creating non-traditional job opportunities for youth in rural areas. Dr. Alaa Azzouz, head of the agricultural extension sector at the Ministry of Agriculture, affirmed the ministry's continued technical support for farmers and the implementation of awareness campaigns to promote safe management practices for agricultural waste.
Egypt Independent
02-08-2025
- Egypt Independent
US envoy Witkoff visits Gaza aid distribution site as starvation crisis deepens
Steve Witkoff, the United States' special envoy to the Middle East, on Friday visited a controversial US-backed aid distribution site in Gaza, one of three such locations near which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach scarce food supplies. Witkoff said he spent five hours in Gaza on Friday to better understand the humanitarian situation in the enclave and to relay it to Donald Trump. The US president said earlier this week that there was 'real starvation' in Gaza, contradicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims. 'I spoke to Steve Witkoff. He had a great meeting with a lot of people, and the primary meeting was on food,' Trump said early Friday evening. 'And he had, he also had some other conversations that I'll tell you about later, but he had a meeting on getting the people fed, and that's what we want.' Along with US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Witkoff visited an aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – one of only three such operational sites in the blockaded enclave. The GHF was created to sideline the United Nations' role in distributing aid, after Israel complained that UN aid was reaching Hamas. But the new group has been criticized for failing to improve conditions as Gaza's starvation crisis deepens. The UN refused to participate in the new scheme, saying the GHF model violates basic humanitarian principles. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food, hundreds of them near GHF sites, according to the UN. The GHF disputes this. For two months, the scenes at GHF distribution sites have been chaotic, with the Israeli military seen firing towards scores of Palestinians, some of whom have been crushed in the scramble to reach aid. Ambassador Huckabee praised GHF after his Gaza visit, saying Hamas 'hates' the organization because its food reaches Palestinians in Gaza without reaching Hamas. Witkoff said he spent more than five hours in Gaza on Friday to better understand the humanitarian situation. Ambassador Mike Huckabee/X Despite Israel's claims that the UN allowed aid to reach Hamas, an internal US government review found no evidence of widespread theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza. Huckabee also praised GHF for distributing more than 100 million meals to Gaza since it was launched in May. But other aid agencies have warned that this is insufficient. If 100 million meals have been distributed to each of Gaza's 2.1 million people, that works out at just over one meal a day for 47 days for every resident. The GHF has been operating for nearly 70 days. A senior Hamas official condemned Witkoff's trip as little more than a photo opportunity. 'Mr. Witkoff, Gaza is not an animal farm that requires a staged personal visit to take some personal photos in front of the death traps overseen by your American companies,' Basem Naim, a former Palestinian health minister in Gaza, said in a statement shared with CNN. 'Random gunfire' Palestinians said that the Israeli military shot at them while they waited to receive food near the same distribution hub visited by Witkoff on Friday. The nearby Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said it had received at least three people who were killed and six who were injured by gunfire near the hub. It said many other injured people were being treated at a Red Cross field hospital. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it fired warning shots to prevent a group of people advancing toward its troops, after calling on the group to distance itself. The IDF said it was not aware of any casualties as the result of its fire but was investigating the incident. A US embassy spokesperson also said it had not received 'reports of clashes or injuries of any kind in the vicinity of the visit.' CNN has asked the GHF for comment. Eyewitnesses told CNN the Israeli military shot at people who had gathered at Al Tina, where residents wait before moving on to the distribution site at al-Shakoush. Abu Armanah is seen at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Friday. Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu/Getty Images Abu Armanah, who was being treated for a gunshot wound to his abdomen at Nasser hospital, added: 'People are literally battling each other. Witkoff and his visit are nonsense.' 'As soon as Witkoff was in the area, there was random gunfire. The shooting intensified, along with drones and quadcopters in the air, and they started firing at people,' Ahmad Abu Armanah told CNN shortly after the incident. Bodies were 'scattered all over the place,' he said. Mahmoud Awad, another witness, told CNN he was 'shocked' by the violence he saw at the hub. 'Today was madness,' he said. 'As we arrived, young men started getting shot. There was gunfire, and it was direct,' he said. 'We were shocked to hear that the American envoy could come under these conditions.' Later on Friday night, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Gaza City's Al-Quds Hospital received at least 12 people who were killed and 90 others injured after the 'targeting of crowds of civilians' by Israeli forces as the civilians were waiting for aid trucks in southwestern Gaza City's Nabulsi area. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. Shifting diplomacy Witkoff's trip to Israel was his second in two weeks. Last week, he abruptly pulled US delegates out of Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, accusing Hamas of negotiating in bad faith. He said the Trump administration would explore 'alternative options' to bring the hostages home and 'create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.' Hamas reportedly later chose to stop engaging in peace talks. A senior Israeli official said Thursday that Israel and the US are forming a new understanding on Gaza, following Hamas' reported withdrawal from negotiations. 'An understanding is forming between Israel and the United States that, in light of Hamas's refusal, there is a need to shift from a framework focused on the release of some of the hostages to one aimed at the release of all hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,' a senior Israeli official said on Thursday. 'At the same time, Israel and the United States will work to increase humanitarian aid, while continuing military operations in Gaza,' the official added. Meanwhile, in a Thursday statement, Hamas said it is committed to continuing negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, provided the humanitarian crisis in the enclave improves considerably. 'It is essential to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation significantly and to obtain a written response from the enemy regarding our response,' Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas' political bureau, told CNN. 'This is a condition to go back to negotiations.'
Daily News Egypt
29-07-2025
- Daily News Egypt
Gaza on verge of famine as war escalates, ceasefire talks stall
The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to intensify as the Israeli assault escalates and ceasefire negotiations stall, with growing warnings of an impending famine. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that 88 Palestinians were killed and 374 others wounded in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll since 7 October 2023, to 59,821, with 144,851 others injured. Amid these devastating developments, Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, accused Israel of backtracking on the understandings reached during recent ceasefire negotiations. He condemned the Israeli government for prolonging the 'genocide' in Gaza and stated that the immediate entry of food and humanitarian aid is a prerequisite for any continued talks. 'There is no point in continuing negotiations amid starvation and extermination,' he emphasized. On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to shift the blame for the worsening humanitarian situation to the United Nations, asserting that the Israeli military had opened safe corridors for aid delivery. His remarks came as an Israeli security delegation arrived in Cairo to discuss coordination over the Rafah crossing, signaling some technical progress despite the political deadlock. In Washington, US President Donald Trump acknowledged the dire hunger crisis in Gaza, pledging that the US would help establish unrestricted food distribution centers with the participation of other countries. He also stressed that Israel bears significant responsibility for ensuring aid reaches Gaza and vowed to remove any barriers to food delivery. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has warned that all Gaza residents, particularly children, are suffering from hunger. UNICEF reported that since 25 July, at least 83 children had died due to malnutrition, and many others are risking their lives in search of food. The agency urgently called for the immediate entry of sufficient humanitarian aid. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called an emergency meeting on Gaza, cutting short the government's summer recess. British MPs, across party lines, urged Starmer to take a stronger stance with Israel during his upcoming meeting with President Trump in Scotland. Meanwhile, Italy's Foreign Minister called on Israel to protect Palestinians and cease settler attacks in the West Bank, suggesting that the EU might impose new sanctions on violent settlers. Internationally, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the use of hunger as a weapon of war, specifically referencing the Gaza and Sudan conflicts. Germany joined calls for an immediate ceasefire, warning of increased pressure on Israel if no progress is made on improving Gaza's humanitarian conditions. In a significant development, CNN revealed an internal US government review that found no evidence to support Israeli claims that Hamas had diverted or stolen American-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, contradicting repeated Israeli allegations. Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing mass killings, forced displacement, and the systematic destruction of refugee camps. The group condemned the lack of international accountability, claiming that both Europe and the US have enabled these atrocities rather than stopping them. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi urged President Trump to exert maximum pressure on Israel to end the war and allow the entry of humanitarian aid. He reiterated that the situation in Gaza has become unbearable and that Egypt will not accept any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land. On the ground, Palestinian resistance factions continue to target Israeli forces. The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for shelling an Israeli troop gathering near Al-Muntar Hill east of Gaza City, using 60mm mortars in coordination with the Ansar Brigades. In an attempt to bypass Israeli restrictions, Jordanian and Emirati aircraft have airdropped food aid over parts of Gaza. However, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs emphasized that air drops are not a substitute for coordinated ground access. Despite Israel announcing limited 'tactical pauses' in military operations for humanitarian purposes in specific areas, scenes of destruction and rising casualties continue to dominate Gaza. Dwindling supplies and a collapsing health infrastructure threaten to spark an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
