A letter dated January 16, 2026 and attributed to former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, addressed to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, has reignited debate over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the future governance of the Nile River. Though not a treaty or legally binding document, the letter is drawing intense scrutiny for the diplomatic, legal, and geopolitical signals it sends in one of Africa’s most sensitive transboundary disputes.A Subtle Move Away From “Historic Rights”The letter’s most consequential phrase asserts that “no state in this region should unilaterally control the precious resources of the Nile.” Legal analysts note that this language aligns more closely with contemporary international water law than with Egypt’s traditional reliance on the 1929 and 1959 Nile agreements, which Ethiopia has never recognized.By invoking principles such as equitable and reasonable utilization and the obligation not to cause significant harm, the letter implicitly lends weight to Ethiopia’s long-standing argument that Nile governance must be inclusive, forward-looking, and rooted in post-colonial legal norms.U.S. Mediation Back on the TableThe offer to “restart U.S. mediation” signals a possible American return to a negotiation process Ethiopia has consistently argued should remain African-led, under the auspices of the African Union (AU).For Addis Ababa, renewed external mediation raises concerns about power imbalances and the erosion of AU legitimacy. Egypt, meanwhile, has historically favored internationalization, viewing it as a way to amplify diplomatic leverage. Sudan’s position remains fluid, shaped by ongoing internal political instability.Observers warn that without tight coordination with African institutions, renewed U.S. involvement could shift the focus back to procedural disputes rather than advancing technical and cooperative solutions.Monitoring and Predictable Releases: A Legal Grey ZoneThe letter’s call for a “strong United States role in monitoring” GERD operations and ensuring “predictable water releases during droughts” has raised legal red flags. Monitoring implies enforcement authority, yet no existing treaty grants such powers to any external actor.Critics argue that predictability guarantees could amount to indirect constraints on Ethiopia’s sovereign control over a dam that was fully financed and constructed domestically. In the absence of a binding, mutually negotiated agreement, such language risks creating political expectations that exceed international legal obligations.Energy Cooperation Without ConditionsSuggestions that Ethiopia could supply electricity to Egypt and Sudan have been widely welcomed as confidence-building. However, experts stress that electricity trade is governed by commercial contracts, not international water law.Linking power exports to water concessions, they caution, would set a problematic precedent. Energy cooperation may foster trust, but it remains voluntary and cannot be converted into legal or political compulsion.Security Concerns and the Risk of MilitarizationThe letter’s reference to avoiding “major military conflict” underscores U.S. concern about escalation, but it also normalizes the idea that force remains a conceivable option. For Ethiopia, this reinforces long-standing fears that internationalization could securitize what it views as a purely developmental project.A Signal, Not a SettlementLegally, the letter appears to validate elements of Ethiopia’s argument for equitable Nile use. Diplomatically, it leans toward Egypt by reopening the door to external mediation. Institutionally, it risks sidelining African-led frameworks. Politically, it raises expectations without offering enforceable commitments.Policy analysts argue that Ethiopia’s next steps should include anchoring any mediation firmly within the African Union, reaffirming sovereignty over GERD operations under international law, clearly separating water governance from energy cooperation, and insisting that mediation does not evolve into arbitration by pressure.The letter may not carry legal force. But in the geopolitics of the Nile, signals often shape outcomes long before the law does.

Trump Letter Rekindles Nile Tensions, Quietly Redrawing the Legal Lines on GERD

የፎቶ ባለሙያ አይደለሁም። ካሜራዬን በእጄ አንጠልጥዬ ስለምዞር "አለማየሁ ፎቶ" ይሉኛል ።&nbsp;&nbsp;በናይት ክለቦች የሳምንቱ መጨረሻ ዓርብ፣ ቅዳሜና እሁድ አበሾች ከሚገኙበት አልጠፋም።&nbsp;አየሩ ቀዝቅዟል። በጠባቡ ናይት ክለብ የተገኘው ሰው ገና መድረሱን ለማወጅ ይመሥል ጃኬቱን ለመስቀል ይተራመሣል። ቀኑ የፈረንጆች&nbsp;ገና ዋዜማ&nbsp;ነው ።&nbsp;&nbsp;ማሂ የምወደውን ቀይ ከፋይ ቀሚስ እንደለበሰች በቀሚሷ ላይ የውስጥ ሱሪዎን በሁለቱም እጆቿ ከፍ እያደረገች ስታልፍ ያ ሁሉ ለሰማይ ለምድር የከበደ ትልልቅ ሰው ምራቁን ሲውጥና አይኑን ጭኗ ላይ ሲያንከባልል በአይኔ አይቻለሁ እና ፈራሁ። ሆን ብላ ሳይሆን ሳታስብ በተዘበራረቀ ነገር ውስጥ እንዳለች ሳይታወቅ አንዳንድ ነገሮች አፈትልከው ይወጡባታል። ያም ሆኖ ድንበሯን ጠባቂ ነች። አጭር ቀሚስ ያምርባታል። ጭኗን እግዜር ተጠቦባታል። ከጭኗ እስከ ጉልበቷ ያለው ውበት ያስመንናል። እኔ ደግሞ እወዳታለሁ ብዬ በምሳሳላት ልክ ለማንም ተናግሬ አላውቅም።ውስጧ የውበት አማልክት ሰፍረውባታል። ንቁ ነች። የሰው ነገር ግድ ይላታል። በዚያ ላይ ተለማማጭ። በዚያ ላይ ቅን። እኔን ግን ታሳዝነኛለች። ካለቦታዋ የዋለች ይመሥለኛል።ከቀሚሷ ስር የሚደንሰው ብቸኝነቷን እና ኩሏ ላይ የተንጠለጠለ ብሶቷን ሳይ ወንድነቴ ይከዳኛል። አጠገቧ በመገኘቴ ከሁሉም የተከላከልኳት ይመሥለኛል። ይህንን ደግሞ ለማንም ማሳየት አትፈልግም። ከውበቷ ባሻገር እኔንም አስሮ ያስቀረኝ ይሄው ይመሥለኛል።በሄደችበት&nbsp;እከተላታለሁ ።&nbsp;እሷም "አሌክስ እንዳትቀር " ትለኛለች ስንሰነባበት በሁለት እጆቿ እቅፍ ታደርገኛለች። ጨምድጄ ለተወሰነ ደቂቃ ደረቴ ውስጥ እሸጉጣታለሁ። ደግሞ ትናፍቀኛለች።&nbsp;በምንገናኝበት ቦታ&nbsp;የታዘበችውን እያንዳንዱን ነገር እየቆጠረች "ቅር እንዳይልህ ነገ ሌላ ቀን ነው እንዳትቀር ዋ!" ትለኛለች ደጋግማ።&nbsp; በተለይ&nbsp;ያንን&nbsp;የናይት ክለቡን ባለቤት ማየት ሲያስጠላኝ ትረዳኛለች። በእኔና በእሷ መሀከል ሊገባ ያምረዋል።&nbsp;አንዳንዴ መፈጠርን የሚያስጠላ ባህሪውን ያወጣዋል። ከአርባ ሀምሳ አመት በላይ መኖሩን ይነግረኛል። ደግሞ ደጋግሞ ይተርክልኛል ። ለኔ ግን ከንቱ ነው። በክለቡ ውስጥ እሷን ተቆጣጣሪ አድርጎ ከቀጠራት ሶስት አመት አልፏል ብላኛለች። ሲያሻው እሷን ያማልኛል፣ሲያሻው የቀኑ እንግዳው ያደርገኛል። ተደጋጋሚ ቀኖች ልገልፀው እና ላስታውሰው የማልፈልገውን ነገር አድርጎኝ ያውቃል። ግን ማሂ አለች። ማንን ወዶ ማንን እንደሚጠላ አይታወቅም።ብቻ እሷ እንዳይከፋኝ በዛ በሚያባብል አይኗ ትዳብሰኛለች። እኔና ማሂ የተዋወቅነው ቤተክርስቲያን ደጃፍ ነው።&nbsp;ጉዳዬ አላለቀም ስላት "እግዛብሔር ያውቃል እኔም እንዳንተው ጠባቂ&nbsp;ነኝ""አለችኝ። ዝርዝር ነገር አላወራንም። ከምትሰራበት እንድመጣ ጋበዘችኝ ሄድኩ ተገናኘን።አንዳንዴ ካሜራዬን እንደያዝኩ ጭልጥ ያለ ሀዘን ውስጥ እገባለሁ። የሀዘኔ መነሻ በሰው ሀገር መገኘቴ ፣ የጉዳዬ መጓተት ይሁን እሷን ድንገት መውደዴ እንጃ! ሁሉ ነገር አሳስቦኛል።&nbsp;&nbsp;በዚያ ላይ የማየው የሰዎች የክፋት ጥግ ይረብሸኛል። ሳንተዋወቅ እንራኮታለን። ሳንግባባ በወሬ እንለያያለን።መራኮታችን ደግሞ ሰንዝር አላራመደንም። ላንጨርሰው ያላለቀ ነገር መቀባበል ያምረናል። እራሳችንን መሾም እና እኔ ነኝ ተገቢ ማለት እናበዛለን&nbsp;እላለሁ ለራሴ ብቻዬን ስሆን፤ ከሀገር ወጥተን መቅረታችን አየተዋወቅን አለመረዳዳታችንን ሳውቅ ደግሞ ሀዘን ውስጥ እወድቃለሁ። ግን ብቻዬን ነኝ።ብቸኝነቴ ይፈታተነኛል። እሷ ብቻ የምትረዳኝ ይመሥለኛል። ሀዘኔን አዳምጣ "አሌክስ እራት እኔ ጋ አለ"ትለኛለች። በእረፍት ሰአቷ ራት አብረን እንበላለን እንጂ ስለሷም ሆነ ስለኔ አናወራም ። እራት አብረን መብላታችን ዋጋው ትልቅ ነው። ብቻ "ለምን ሌላ ቦታ ስራ አትቀይሪም?" አላታለሁ። "ቤቱን እወደዋለሁ ግርግር የለውም" ትለኛለች። "መሥራትሽ ላልቀረ ተጠቀሚ ብዬ ምክንያት ልደረድርላት ስጀምር አታስጨርሰኝም። እጅዋን አፌ ላይ ትከድነዋለች።ይገባኛል ባለቤቱ እንዳይሰማ ነው።እኔ ግን በጣም እበሳጫለሁ።&nbsp; ባለቤቱንም ያለ ገደብ እጠላዋለሁ። ያቅፋታል። ዛሬ እጁን ወገቧ ላይ ዳብሶ ሲያስቀምጥ አይቻለሁ። እሱም አይቶኛል።"አሌክስ&nbsp;አንሳን" አለች&nbsp;ከተሠበሠቡት ጓደኛማቾች መሀል ገብታ። ፎቶ መነሳት ትውደድ ወይ ግርግር መፍጠሪያዋ አልያ እኔን ስራ ለማሰራት እንጃ! ብቻ ግን ተሰብስቦ መነሳት ትወዳለች።&nbsp;አሱ ወደጡቷ ቀርቦ እግሩን ወደ ጭኗ አስጠግቶ ፎቶውን ተነሳ ። ይህንን እንደሌላው ጊዜ ማሳየት አልፈለኩም። ፎቶአቸውን ስሰጣቸው አስርም አምስትም ዶላር ይሰጡኛል።&nbsp;"ና አሌክስ ሰልፊ እንነሳለን አብረን ሁላችን" አለች አጠገቧ ስደርስ&nbsp;ሀዘን በጠበሰው አይኗ እባበለችኝ። ከዚህ በፊት ሰልፊ እንነሳ ብላኝ አታውቅም።&nbsp;የጨነቃት ትመሥላለች።&nbsp;ሳላስበው እኔእና እሷ ብቻ እንዳለን ቆጥሬ አቅፌያት እየተሽከረከርኩ በዘዴ ከጉሩፑ እንደመራቅ እያልኩኝ ደጋግሜ አነሳሁ። ወገቤ ላይ ያረፈው እጇ እንደሞቀኝ ሁሉ ትከሻዋን ያቀፈው እጄም አልቦታል። ካሜራው ውስጥ ያለው መልኳ አሳዘነኝ ማዲያት አውጥታለች እና ዞር ብዬ አይኗን ስፈልገው ከንፈሯ በድንጋጤ ይንቀጠቀጣል። አላስቻለኝም በሁሉም ፊት&nbsp;ሳምኳት።&nbsp;ካደረኩት በኋላ ግን የምገባበት ጠፋኝ። ብዙ ነገር እንዳበላሸሁባት የተረዳሁት ሁሉም አይናቸውን ሲያፈጡብኝ ነው። ደንግጫለሁ። ግን ደግሞ ከዚያ ሁሉ አፍጣጭ እና ደፋር ፊት በማድረጌም ደስታ ተሰምቶኛል።&nbsp;እሷ ግን የተሠማትን ወዲያው አልገለፀችም። ከቆይታ በኋላ ሚስጥር እንደምትነግረኝ&nbsp;በሚርገበገብ ድምፅ ወደጆሮዬ ተጠግታ"&nbsp;አሌክስዬ ! ማምለጫዬ ስልህ? ለምን አደረከው? ሁለት ልጆች እናትና ባለትዳር ነኝ ኦኮ" ስትለኝ ለማሰቢያ ጊዜ ሳይኖረኝ ድንጋጤ ውስጥ ወደኩ። እጇን ከወገቤ ላይ አንስቼ ወደሰውነቷ እየመለስኩ እንባዋን ሳልጠርግላት ሰውነቴን ማዘዝ እያቃተኝ በሩን ከፍቼ ወጣሁ።

ዓርብ፣ቅዳሜና እሁድ - /ሶስና አሸናፊ/

By GMD &amp; SARToronto, October 25, 2025 — Invited by the mother of one of the film’s central figures — a dear friend and a remarkably kind person — we never expected to witness such a profound act of generosity. Thank you, Grace, for inviting us. Thanks for the Liver is more than a documentary; it’s a testament to friendship, courage, and selfless love that illuminated the night at the Elizabeth Bader Theatre.The film, directed by University of Toronto alum Fraser Allan Best, premiered earlier this month at Toronto’s Hot Docs Cinema. It chronicles Best’s extraordinary journey from life-threatening illness to recovery, made possible through a life-saving liver donation from his friend and fellow U of T graduate, Robbie Grant.Born with glycogen storage disease type 1b, a rare genetic condition that affects fewer than 100 people in Canada, Best’s liver could no longer sustain him. By 2017, his health was deteriorating rapidly, and his dream career in journalism seemed to be slipping away. Then came an act of true friendship that would change — and save — his life.Grant, who studied political science and philosophy alongside Best at U of T, didn’t hesitate when he learned what his friend was facing. “Fraser had a significant risk of death if he didn’t get the organ,” Grant recalls. “For me, the risk was small. It was clearly the right thing to do.”In August 2020, surgeons removed part of Grant’s liver and transplanted it into Best. The operation was a success — and so began a new chapter for both men.Through more than 300 hours of candid footage, Thanks for the Liver captures the fear, humour, and deep humanity of Best’s journey. His partner, Kathryn Pierce, helped document some of the film’s most intimate moments, including his fragile but hopeful steps through hospital corridors after surgery.“I’m not only in excellent health,” Best reflects in the film, “but I’ve also achieved a quality of life that I never had before the transplant.”The screening, attended by family, friends, and supporters — including Grant’s mother, whose presence added a deeply personal note to the evening — ended in heartfelt applause and tears of admiration.Thanks for the Liver isn’t just a documentary. It’s a love letter to friendship — and a powerful reminder that sometimes, the greatest gift one human being can give another is the chance to live.

Thanks for the Liver: A U of T Friendship That Saved a Life

Reports circulating this week suggest former U.S. president Donald Trump is “preparing to sue” comedian Trevor Noah over jokes delivered during his hosting of the Grammy Awards, according to CBS coverage cited online. If true, the dispute is not about policy, classified leaks, or incitement—but satire.That distinction matters. Comedy has long occupied a protected space in democratic life, a place where public figures are mocked precisely because they wield power. Trevor Noah’s monologue, by all accounts, followed that tradition. He joked. He skewered. He did what comedians have always done on live stages watched by millions.What’s striking is the response. A political leader threatening legal action over a joke reframes satire as an offense demanding punishment. The issue stops being about bruised egos and starts edging toward control—where criticism is chilled not by rebuttal, but by the weight of the courts.Historically, democracies rely on humor as a pressure valve. Laughter signals that dissent still has room to breathe. When leaders can’t—or won’t—laugh at themselves, the temptation to silence the laughter often follows. Trump has reportedly said he’s “preparing to sue.” Noah has not backed down. Whether any lawsuit materializes is almost beside the point. The larger question is why jokes are being treated as threats at all—and what it says about a political culture where satire feels more dangerous than policy failures.

Punchlines on Trial: When Power Threatens the Joke

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