Three more PKK terrorists surrendered to Turkish security forces, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

The terrorists, who joined the PKK between 2013 and 2019 and operated in Iraq and Syria, surrendered after persuasion efforts by Turkish police and the gendarmerie, the ministry said in a statement.

The number of terrorists who have laid down their arms through persuasion efforts in 2022 now stands at 81, it added.

In Türkiye, offenders linked to terror groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

The PKK terror group, battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces’ successful operations, has been in recent years losing members and failing to attract recruits, according to Turkish officials.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.lAA

The suspect, identified as Husamettin Tanrikulu with the codename "Delil", had received training at Greece’s Lavrion Camp and was preparing armed and bomb attacks in metropolitan cities on the instructions of the PKK/KCK terror group, the Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Sunday.

Soylu said on Twitter that the suspect was caught by the Istanbul and Diyarbakir police.

Turkish authorities accuse Greece of harbouring PKK and FETO terrorist organisations and giving space to conduct anti-Türkiye operations from their territories.

Terrorist presence in Greece

Türkiye's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, earlier in June, referred to the PKK and FETO presence in the refugee camp of Lavrion (Laurium) near Athens, which was revealed as a propaganda and training base for the terrorists in footage from a private Greek broadcaster.

While Ankara is in an intense battle with terrorism, it goes against the nature of the NATO alliance that Greece "provides a place for the PKK and FETO," said Akar.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official blasted Greek authorities earlier in August for building their governance structure on anti-Türkiye rhetoric.

"Athens is in a toxic, safe-haven state with the presence of terrorists from the DHKP-C, PKK and FETO. All of their locations are known," the official said, in response to a question on the refugee camp of Lavrion (Laurium) near the Greek capital.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Source: agencies

Thunderstorms and heavy rain have hit parts of northwest Georgia, sparking flash flooding in some areas. Local news reports on Sunday showed roads under water and homeowners struggling to keep water out.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in Chattooga and Floyd Counties, directing all state resources to help with “preparation, response and recovery activities.” 

The National Weather Service said rainfall of up to 2.54 cm per hour was causing creeks, streams, roadways and urban areas to experience unusually high levels of water. Up to 30.5 cm of rain was estimated to have fallen in the area, according to Kemp's executive order.

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order,” the service said.

The service declared a “flash flood emergency” for Trion, Summerville, Lyerly and James H Floyd State Park in Chattooga County. Holland in Chattooga County and Floyd County — just to the south — was also under a flash flood warning.

Summerville water contamination

At 3:10 pm, the service advised locals to avoid non-emergency travel as another round of emergency rainfall entered the area.

The city of Summerville advised residents who use the city's water utility services to boil water before drinking, cooking or preparing baby food due to flash flooding at the Raccoon Creek Filter plant.

“Water should be boiled for at least one minute after reaching a rolling boil. Citizens should continue to boil their water until they are notified by their drinking water utility that the water system has been restored to full operation, and that the microbiological quality of the water in the distribution system is safe for human consumption,” the city said on its website.

Southeast US flooding

It is too early to say when a water treatment plant in Mississippi's state capital of Jackson that failed last week leaving tens of thousands of people without clean tap water can be fixed, the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Sunday.

Days of major flooding disrupted the operation of a critical but ageing water treatment plant.

"I think it's still too early to tell," said Criswell, whose agency has been charged by President Joe Biden's administration with coordinating disaster relief efforts for Mississippi, when asked when the plant might be fully operational again.

Residents in Jackson have long struggled with a faulty water system that frequently requires them to boil their water before using it. 

They were already under a boil-water order before flooding from the Pearl River exacerbated long-standing problems at one of the city’s two water treatment plants this week, leaving many residents without any water at all.

Source: agencies

Officials have warned that more flooding was expected as Lake Manchar in southern Pakistan swelled from unprecedented monsoon rains that began in mid-June and have killed nearly 1,300 people. 

Fariduddin Mustafa, administrator for the Jamshoro district, said on Sunday that officials made a cut into the lake's embankment to allow excess water to escape and ultimately flow into the Indus. Still, the water continues to rise, he said. 

Parts of Dadu district have already been flooded, officials said.

″After we assessed water levels reached (a) dangerous level ... and there was fear that the embankment of the lake might be caved in at any time, the administration decided to make a cut on the Bagh-e-Yousuf side to avert any uncontro llable flow of water,” he said.

Meteorologists predicted more rain in the region in the coming days and authorities urged villagers in the Jamshoro and Dadu districts of Sindh province near the lake to evacuate. 

The rising waters reached dangerous levels and posed a threat to a protective dyke and embankment, they said. 

The lake, located west of the Indus River, is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the largest in Asia.

Stop 'sleepwalking'

The development comes a day after Pakistan appealed again to the international community for aid to victims of the unprecedented flooding from monsoon rains that have left nearly 1,300 people dead and millions homeless around the country. 

Planes from multiple countries have been bringing supplies to the impoverished country across a humanitarian air bridge.

Multiple officials and experts have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and flooding on climate change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who last week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the deadly crisis.

He will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-hit areas and meet with officials.

In its latest report, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority put the death toll since mid-June – when monsoon rains started weeks earlier this year – at 1,290 as more fatalities were reported from flood affected areas of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces.

The authority said relief and rescue operations continued Sunday with troops and volunteers using helicopters and boats to get people stranded out of flooded areas to relief camps where they were being provided shelter, food and health care.

Scores of relief camps have been set up in government buildings servicing tens of thousands of people while thousands more have taken shelter on roadsides on higher ground.

Widespread destruction

According to initial government estimates, the devastation has caused $10 billion in damage but Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Saturday “the scale of devastation is massive and requires an immense humanitarian response for 33 million people.”

The renewed request for international aid came as Pakistan has received 30 planes load of relief goods from Turkey, China, UAE, France, Uzbekistan and other countries with more planes expected in the coming days.

Two members of Congress, Sheila Jackson and Tom Suzy, were expected to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit the flood-affected areas and meet officials.

Source: AP

The past few years have been especially daunting for Abul Mahasen Mohamed, a farmer from the Nile Delta province of Menoufiya.

High temperatures, water scarcity and rising salinity in the soil deprived him and fellow farmers of sizeable crop yields.

"Some people sustained huge losses," Mohamed told Middle East Eye. "Extreme heat burned some crops and devastated some farms."

This year, Mohamed is growing a new maize variety that holds out against extreme weather conditions. 

This variety needs a fraction of the amount of water needed by traditional crops for irrigation. 

He is joining the national march towards climate-smart crops, plants that can offer a defence against the impacts of climatic change.

In doing so, Egypt, one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, is seeking to mitigate the effects from rising temperatures on its food security and agriculture sector, which employs 21 percent of the national work force and contributes around 11.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product. 

Smart rice

Local agricultural research centres have recently unveiled crop varieties that can bear up against high temperatures. 

These varieties include a new rice type that can adapt to extreme weather conditions and high salinity in the soil.

The same variety only needs a small amount of water for irrigation, researchers say. 

"The development of the new rice variety is part of a larger plan for expanding the cultivation of climate-smart crops and legumes," Hamdi Muwafi, the head Egypt's National Project for the Development of Rice, told MEE. "We work hard to change the makeup of the crops so that they can cope with the changes global warming is causing."

In 2008, the government imposed a ban on rice exports to preserve stocks for the domestic market and save water. 

Egypt produced 4.5 million tonnes of rice in 2021/2022, down from 6 million tonnes in 2020/2021, according to the Grains Chamber at the Federation of Industries. In 2022, the cultivation of rice was allowed in nine provinces, five of which are located in the Nile Delta.

Most of the country's rice farms are located in the Nile Delta, which stands in the epicentre of the impact of climate change. 

The global warming-induced rise in the sea level here is expected to inundate large swathes of the delta, increasing salinity in its soil and displacing millions of people. 

However, together with other climate-resilient crops, the new rice variety promises to alleviate some of the effects of climate change and provide much needed food for Egypt's more than 100 million people. 

Around 300,000 acres of farmland have already been cultivated with the new variety, which makes up almost 30 percent of the country's rice-growing farmland, according to Muwafi.

Feeling the heat from climate change

Egypt has been caught off-guard by the sudden effects of climate change, which are manifesting themselves in unprecedented floods and torrential rains, especially in the country's northern coastal cities and its most southern cities. 

These effects explain growing national interest in adaptation policies over the past few years. 

Extreme weather conditions are destroying some crops and reducing yields from others. 

Thousands of mango and olive farmers sustained major losses last year because of high temperatures. 

This year, adaptation policies are saving the mango produce and contributing to abundant yields in the mango cultivation hub of Ismailia and other parts of Egypt. 

Nevertheless, Egypt still expects to be on the receiving end of global warming's painful blows. 

"Agriculture, marine life and human health will top the victims of climate change which has become a worrying issue, not only here, but also around the world," Elham Mahmud, professor of environmental studies at Suez Canal University, told MEE. "This will of course add burdens to the economy."

The rising sea level threatens to destroy almost 15 percent of the farmland in the northern and eastern parts of the Nile Delta, according to some local studies. 

Millions of people are expected to be affected by floods and torrential rains, stoking the problem of displacement, especially in the Nile Delta and the coastal cities. 

Rising temperatures will also be a challenge for the nation's farmers who will have to find crop and legume varieties resilient to global warming. 

Global warming is also expected to exacerbate Egypt's water poverty, worsening the conditions of the agricultural sector. 

The loss to Egyptian GDP from climate change is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars every year. 

Government efforts 

The development of climate-resilient crops and legumes is part of Egypt's adaptation measures in and out of the agricultural sector. 

The Egyptian government is launching projects to protect the coasts, expand the construction of seawater desalination plants and widen the scope of protected farming to cushion the effects of extreme weather conditions on agricultural produce - and to save water. 

Egyptian authorities are also lining tens of thousands of kilometres of irrigation canals to reduce water leakage and ensure that irrigation water reaches the farthest farmland in the Egyptian countryside. 

This comes at a time when Egypt is trying to make the utmost use of available water resources, including by treating sewage water and using it in forestation projects that aim at reining in desertification. 

"Climate change has become a major issue in our country, with almost everybody feeling the heat from it," Mohamed al-Gabalawi, a member of the Committee on Energy and the Environment in the Egyptian parliament, told MEE. "Egypt implements a large number of adaptation projects that will play a role in shielding it against the effects of global warming in the future."

Meanwhile, Egypt is preparing to host the United Nations Climate Change conference, known as COP27, in November. 

The government wants to seize the opportunity provided by the conference, which will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, to press for implementing the pledges made by advanced countries in previous COPs, including at COP26 in Glasgow last year. 

Environment Minister Yasmeen Fouad said last week the Egyptian presidency of the conference would also stress important issues such as food security and the need for protecting water resources, nature and biodiversity.

Apart from using the conference to showcase some of the measures it has taken in recent years to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Egypt also wants to lobby for the climate finance needs of developing countries, especially in Africa. 

A ray of hope for farmers

Meanwhile, the government is coming under fire for harming the environment, including the cutting of trees in some areas and the destruction of some historical parks.

News of an Emirati real estate developer destroying parts of the Egyptian northern coast to construct a marina for one of its tourist-residential projects in the area shocked many Egyptians, with some people calling on the government to prevent investors from increasing the erosion of the coast. 

Nonetheless, some of the adaptation efforts are getting results.

The new rice variety developed by local research centres promises to provide defence against extreme temperatures, water scarcity, and high soil salinity. 

It also offers high yields, compared with traditional varieties, Muwafi said. 

He added the same variety saved up to 40 percent of the water needed by traditional rice varieties for irrigation.

Mohamed, the farmer from Menoufiya, has seen a marked increase in greenhouses in his home village of Quwaysna - where his farm is also located.  

The farmers, he said, use the greenhouses to provide appropriate weather conditions for the plants and avoid extreme heat. 

"Farmers do everything possible to prevent climate change from destroying their livelihoods," Mohamed said. "Climate-resilient crops offer hope and an opportunity for the farmers to compensate some of the losses they sustained in the past years."

The past few years have been especially daunting for Abul Mahasen Mohamed, a farmer from the Nile Delta province of Menoufiya.

High temperatures, water scarcity and rising salinity in the soil deprived him and fellow farmers of sizeable crop yields.

"Some people sustained huge losses," Mohamed told Middle East Eye. "Extreme heat burned some crops and devastated some farms."

This year, Mohamed is growing a new maize variety that holds out against extreme weather conditions. 

This variety needs a fraction of the amount of water needed by traditional crops for irrigation. 

He is joining the national march towards climate-smart crops, plants that can offer a defence against the impacts of climatic change.

In doing so, Egypt, one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, is seeking to mitigate the effects from rising temperatures on its food security and agriculture sector, which employs 21 percent of the national work force and contributes around 11.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product. 

Smart rice

Local agricultural research centres have recently unveiled crop varieties that can bear up against high temperatures. 

These varieties include a new rice type that can adapt to extreme weather conditions and high salinity in the soil.

The same variety only needs a small amount of water for irrigation, researchers say. 

"The development of the new rice variety is part of a larger plan for expanding the cultivation of climate-smart crops and legumes," Hamdi Muwafi, the head Egypt's National Project for the Development of Rice, told MEE. "We work hard to change the makeup of the crops so that they can cope with the changes global warming is causing."

In 2008, the government imposed a ban on rice exports to preserve stocks for the domestic market and save water. 

Egypt produced 4.5 million tonnes of rice in 2021/2022, down from 6 million tonnes in 2020/2021, according to the Grains Chamber at the Federation of Industries. In 2022, the cultivation of rice was allowed in nine provinces, five of which are located in the Nile Delta.

Most of the country's rice farms are located in the Nile Delta, which stands in the epicentre of the impact of climate change. 

The global warming-induced rise in the sea level here is expected to inundate large swathes of the delta, increasing salinity in its soil and displacing millions of people. 

However, together with other climate-resilient crops, the new rice variety promises to alleviate some of the effects of climate change and provide much needed food for Egypt's more than 100 million people. 

Around 300,000 acres of farmland have already been cultivated with the new variety, which makes up almost 30 percent of the country's rice-growing farmland, according to Muwafi.

Feeling the heat from climate change

Egypt has been caught off-guard by the sudden effects of climate change, which are manifesting themselves in unprecedented floods and torrential rains, especially in the country's northern coastal cities and its most southern cities. 

These effects explain growing national interest in adaptation policies over the past few years. 

Extreme weather conditions are destroying some crops and reducing yields from others. 

Thousands of mango and olive farmers sustained major losses last year because of high temperatures. 

This year, adaptation policies are saving the mango produce and contributing to abundant yields in the mango cultivation hub of Ismailia and other parts of Egypt. 

Nevertheless, Egypt still expects to be on the receiving end of global warming's painful blows. 

"Agriculture, marine life and human health will top the victims of climate change which has become a worrying issue, not only here, but also around the world," Elham Mahmud, professor of environmental studies at Suez Canal University, told MEE. "This will of course add burdens to the economy."

The rising sea level threatens to destroy almost 15 percent of the farmland in the northern and eastern parts of the Nile Delta, according to some local studies. 

Millions of people are expected to be affected by floods and torrential rains, stoking the problem of displacement, especially in the Nile Delta and the coastal cities. 

Rising temperatures will also be a challenge for the nation's farmers who will have to find crop and legume varieties resilient to global warming. 

Global warming is also expected to exacerbate Egypt's water poverty, worsening the conditions of the agricultural sector. 

The loss to Egyptian GDP from climate change is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars every year. 

Government efforts 

The development of climate-resilient crops and legumes is part of Egypt's adaptation measures in and out of the agricultural sector. 

The Egyptian government is launching projects to protect the coasts, expand the construction of seawater desalination plants and widen the scope of protected farming to cushion the effects of extreme weather conditions on agricultural produce - and to save water. 

Egyptian authorities are also lining tens of thousands of kilometres of irrigation canals to reduce water leakage and ensure that irrigation water reaches the farthest farmland in the Egyptian countryside. 

This comes at a time when Egypt is trying to make the utmost use of available water resources, including by treating sewage water and using it in forestation projects that aim at reining in desertification. 

"Climate change has become a major issue in our country, with almost everybody feeling the heat from it," Mohamed al-Gabalawi, a member of the Committee on Energy and the Environment in the Egyptian parliament, told MEE. "Egypt implements a large number of adaptation projects that will play a role in shielding it against the effects of global warming in the future."

Meanwhile, Egypt is preparing to host the United Nations Climate Change conference, known as COP27, in November. 

The government wants to seize the opportunity provided by the conference, which will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, to press for implementing the pledges made by advanced countries in previous COPs, including at COP26 in Glasgow last year. 

Environment Minister Yasmeen Fouad said last week the Egyptian presidency of the conference would also stress important issues such as food security and the need for protecting water resources, nature and biodiversity.

Apart from using the conference to showcase some of the measures it has taken in recent years to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Egypt also wants to lobby for the climate finance needs of developing countries, especially in Africa. 

A ray of hope for farmers

Meanwhile, the government is coming under fire for harming the environment, including the cutting of trees in some areas and the destruction of some historical parks.

News of an Emirati real estate developer destroying parts of the Egyptian northern coast to construct a marina for one of its tourist-residential projects in the area shocked many Egyptians, with some people calling on the government to prevent investors from increasing the erosion of the coast. 

Nonetheless, some of the adaptation efforts are getting results.

The new rice variety developed by local research centres promises to provide defence against extreme temperatures, water scarcity, and high soil salinity. 

It also offers high yields, compared with traditional varieties, Muwafi said. 

He added the same variety saved up to 40 percent of the water needed by traditional rice varieties for irrigation.

Mohamed, the farmer from Menoufiya, has seen a marked increase in greenhouses in his home village of Quwaysna - where his farm is also located.  

The farmers, he said, use the greenhouses to provide appropriate weather conditions for the plants and avoid extreme heat. 

"Farmers do everything possible to prevent climate change from destroying their livelihoods," Mohamed said. "Climate-resilient crops offer hope and an opportunity for the farmers to compensate some of the losses they sustained in the past years."/MEE