Sudan rejects Ethiopian proposal to begin filling GERD: Sudan has refused to sign an early agreement with Ethiopia to go ahead with the first phase of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s reservoir as key sticking points on the timeline and long term operation of the dam still need to hashed out between Egypt and the two African countries, the Sudanese Irrigation Ministry said in a statement carried by Sky News Arabia. Ethiopia has repeatedly stated that it will begin filling the dam in July without committing to a formal agreement to resolve the dispute, and earlier this year walked away from US-backed talks.