Blackouts headlined the airwaves last night: Rolling nationwide blackouts were the main topic of discussion among the country’s talking heads. The coverage comes shortly after the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) told people to brace for hour-long blackouts over the coming days. We have the ins and outs of the story in the news well, above.

The Electricity Ministry remains optimistic: “We are hopeful that this is a temporary situation … and the ministry is ready to receive any complaints of elongated power cuts or otherwise,” Electricity Ministry spokesperson Ayman Hamza told Ala Mas’ouleety ( watch, runtime: 3:43 | 3:53 | 3:51). The power cuts will remain more or less consistent, he added, explaining that they will likely continue to take place in the same window (between 10 minutes before and 10 minutes past the hour) .

Meanwhile: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi talked to Tharwat El Zeiny (deputy c hairman of the Egyptian Poultry Association) on the power cuts’ impact on the poultry industry ( watch, runtime: 4:44), and to FEDCOC’s Ashraf Helal on the need to disconnect your electronics from wall sockets before the power returns so that you don’t fry a circuit ( watch, runtime: 5:54).

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES-

GERD negotiations are yet to take off: Egypt and Ethiopia are yet to revive talks to find a solution to the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam told El Hadidi ( watch, runtime: 1:01 | 1:21), adding that the two sides are currently preparing to return to the negotiating table. “We are not starting the negotiations from scratch, and will be building on what we have already covered over the past years,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of time to start the talks from the very beginning. We need to reach a solution or try to reach a solution over the coming four months.”

Remember: Earlier this month President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Ethiopian Premier Abiy Ahmed agreed to accelerate talks to finalize an agreement within the next four months, bringing an end to years of acrimonious negotiations over how to fairly distribute the Nile’s water.

The High Dam will remain untouchable: T he Aswan High Dam is the country’s method of fighting through periods of drought so “there will be no compromise regarding the amount of water stored in the High Dam,” Sewilam said. “We are optimistic but we need to find a solution to coordinate between the two dams and the Nile’s limited resources.”

FACT CHECK- Egypt isn’t selling off its high-speed electric rail network: “We haven’t and will not sell off Egypt’s electric rail network, but we don’t have the necessary expertise to manage it,” Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir told El Hekaya ( watch, runtime: 1:03:08). The Transport Ministry last year awarded a EUR 1 bn contract to Deutsche Bahn and Elsewedy Electric to manage and operate the first line of the USD 23 bn, 2k-km high-speed railway for 15 years. Siemens Mobility, Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors are in charge of designing, installing, commissioning and maintaining the line for 15 years.

Who’s paying? The Madbouly government has taken out a long-term low-interest development loan from the German government to finance the project, El Wazir said.

Celebrating the 23 July revolution: Masa’a DMC ( watch, runtime: 2:05), Kelma Akhira ( watch, runtime: 4:43), and Al Hayah Al Youm ( watch, runtime: 5:54) celebrated the anniversary of the 23 July revolution.

Tags: