Surprise, surprise: GERD talks fail to reach breakthrough: Tripartite talks in Addis Ababa between the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) ended yesterday without reaching any “specific outcome,” according to an Irrigation Ministry statement. The meeting, which was also attended by a tripartite scientific committee, was meant to iron out “pending issues” and misunderstandings over the filling of the dam’s reservoir. Tensions had been on the rise between the three neighboring countries last year, before they agreed to arrive at a “joint vision” for the dam’s construction, which would see Ethiopia catering its timeline of filling the dam to Egypt’s needs in exchange for economic cooperation.