Iran’s foreign minister met Houthi militia representatives in Oman on Wednesday, to express Tehran’s support for a cease-fire and a return to talks to end the country’s long conflict.

At the talks with Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam, Mohammad Javad Zarif “once again stressed our country’s view regarding the political solution being the only solution to the crisis of Yemen,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The foreign minister “emphasised our country’s support for a cease-fire and Yemeni-Yemeni talks,” it added.

Several meetings have taken place in past years between Iran’s chief diplomat and the Houthi spokesman in the Omani capital.

Zarif’s comments came a day after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called on the Houthis to stop fighting and enter peace negotiations.

The war in Yemen, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed since the conflict erupted in 2014, has flared anew in the past two months with a Houthi campaign to seize Marib.

Saudi Arabia has proposed a “comprehensive” cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table, a proposal that the Houthis immediately rejected.

CAIRO: Egypt will not give up a single drop of water from its share of the Nile, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly warned amid increasing efforts by Cairo to resolve the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute.
Madbouly said that Egyptian agencies and ministries are doubling their efforts to preserve all water supplies as the country seeks to protect and maximize the essential resource.
Ethiopia began building the 1.8 km-long dam in 2011. However, Egypt fears the GERD will threaten its supplies of water from the Nile.
Sudan is concerned about the dam’s safety and water flow through its own dams and water stations.
Both Cairo and Khartoum stress the need to reach a binding and comprehensive deal that guarantees the rights and interests of all three countries.
Ethiopia has adopted a defiant tone toward both Egypt and Sudan, describing the water-sharing agreements as unacceptable.
Egypt has intensified international efforts in an attempt to strengthen its position and reach an acceptable solution to all parties.
In the latest move, Ahmed Abu Zeid, Egypt’s ambassador to Canada, held meetings with members of the House of Commons and Canadian Senate representatives of all political parties to present Egypt’s case.
Abu Zeid said in a statement that the meetings with the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the members of the Canadian House of Commons and the Senate, and the chairman and members of the Canada-Egypt Parliamentary Friendship Group in parliament reflected a full understanding of the importance of the Nile River to Egypt, and stressed of the need to adhere to international law related to international rivers.
The envoy discussed several proposals and ideas with MPs aimed at enhancing Canada’s role in reaching a comprehensive and urgent agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.
Abu Zeid explained details of the tripartite negotiations over the past 10 years, and the reasons for their failure due to what he described as the absence of political will for a solution on the Ethiopian side.
Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, recently conducted an African tour that covered several countries as part of Egyptian efforts to find a solution to the crisis, and to inform countries about the Egyptian efforts to reach a fair agreement.

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Wednesday a group of Japanese experts supervising the Egyptian-Japanese school system in Egypt, in the presence of Tarek Shawky, minister of education, and Nevin Farouk, supervisor of the Egyptian-Japanese Schools Unit.
The meeting reviewed the efforts of the experts, who are working in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Education, to implement the education model called “Tokkatsu” at the schools.
“The president praised the great efforts exerted by the Japanese experts in this vital national project that comes within the framework of the state’s strategy to build the Egyptian character since the early stages,” said the presidential spokesperson.
The statement added that it is part of Egypt’s strategy to create a comprehensive educational system that strikes a balance between the academic aspect and the development of individuals’ ability to think and innovate.
It said that the system aims at preparing students that have a balanced personality and possess human and moral values.
The Japanese experts emphasized their keenness to work on consolidating the foundations of the Japanese education system in Egypt, including the process of training teachers and developing educational curricula in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
They praised the seriousness of the Egyptian state to develop its education system according to the highest standards.
They said recent performance evaluations reflected the success of the new system and establishing the basic principles of Japanese education systems.
The experts praised Egyptian teachers for their ability to comprehend the concepts and principles of the Japanese education system and inculcate them in children swiftly.
Shawky discussed the training of Egyptian teachers who were sent to Japan to learn the system and gain the necessary qualifications and experience.
Some 120 teachers and principals have visited Japan from the new schools and work is underway to send more after the end of the pandemic.

AL-MUKALLA: The Yemeni army and allied tribesmen have pushed back Houthi assaults on Marib city, an army spokesman said Tuesday as he denied media reports that the rebels were getting close to their target.

Maj. Gen. Abdu Abdullah Majili said the rebels had failed to make major gains in their continuing offensive and had lost hundreds of fighters, including many military leaders.

“Until now the Yemeni national army and tribesmen are inflicting heavy defeats on the Houthis, foiling their attacks, killing their fighters and destroying their equipment,” he told Arab News, adding that the Houthis were still sending reinforcements to the battlefield in their bid to defeat government troops. “The Houthis are spreading lies and rumors as part of their psychological warfare to compensate for their setbacks on the battlefields.”

On Sunday the AFP news agency reported that the Houthis had made gains after seizing control of Al-Kasara, which is northwest of the city.

Yemeni military officials and journalists visited Al-Kasara, interviewing soldiers and tribesmen who denied the Houthis were making progress.

“We are stationed in our barricades and our hands are on the trigger,” a soldier called Mohammed told the army’s official news site. “We will keep fighting off the Houthis on all fronts and not allow them to make any advance toward Marib.”

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that government forces had mounted a counteroffensive in Al-Mashjah, west of Marib, and killed many Houthis.

Arab coalition warplanes targeted rebel gatherings and military equipment, with at least 10 Houthis killed in Al-Makhdra after troops attacked their locations.

More than 2,000 rebels and government troops have been killed since early February, when the Houthis resumed their offensive to take control of oil-rich Marib.

On Monday senior military and security officials attended a funeral procession for military judge Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Hadhri, who was killed in fighting with the Houthis in Marib.

Abdu Rabbo Meftah, deputy governor of Marib, said the offensive had pushed the number of displaced people to more than 2.3 million after thousands abandoned their camps close to the battlefields and took shelter in overcrowded camps in the city.

In the southern city of Taiz, troops seized control of several villages in Maqbanah district after clashes with the Houthis.

They were now battling to push the rebels from the district’s center, Taiz army spokesman Abdul Basit Al-Baher told state media on Tuesday.

The fighting came as the UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths called for the assault on Marib to stop and demanded that the warring factions comply with UN peace efforts.

“The parties must prioritize the needs of the Yemeni people, stop fighting and engage seriously with the UN’s efforts,” he said. “I will continue to pursue my good offices with the support of regional and international stakeholders to stop military hostilities, alleviate humanitarian suffering and find a peaceful and sustainable settlement to end the conflict in Yemen.”

CAIRO: The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) has authorized the emergency use of China’s CoronaVac.

Mahmoud Yassin, who is the EDA’s head of Central Administration for Biological and Innovative Products, said Monday that the license was given after the vaccine had passed through the authority’s assessment and evaluation process while also following local and international rules to ensure the jab’s effectiveness and quality.

Emergency EDA licenses were previously granted to the Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and AZD1222 vaccines.

Last week Egypt signed two agreements with China’s Sinovac allowing it to have local manufacturing rights. 

The Russian Direct Investment Fund also announced an agreement with Egyptian firm Minapharm to produce more than 40 million doses of Sputnik V.

These steps are part of the government’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and provide vaccines to everyone in Egypt.