Egypt's National Media Authority has said in a statement that it will broadcast a new weekly television and radio programme from the country's southern Halayeb and Shalateen region in the Red Sea Governarate with the aim of "enhancing the sense of belonging for Egyptians in this area." The authority, which is one of three bodies recently established to regulate media outlets in the country, said it will air Friday prayers on 29 December from Halayeb and Shalateen. The foundation stone of a new state-owned radio station's headquarters was set in the city of Halayeb in March 2014. Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah said in statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm news website that the new broadcast building is established on 40,000 square metres at a cost of EGP 10 million. Egypt's Radio and Television Union established the first radio broadcast station in Halayeb in 1995 under the name Voice of the South. On Thursday, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry again rejected Sudanese claims that the Halayeb and Shalateen area falls under Sudanese sovereignty and is being occupied by Egypt. The Egyptian statement came in response to a recent letter sent by the Sudanese foreign ministry to the United Nations to declare Khartoum's rejection of the April 2016 Egyptian-Saudi border demarcation agreement. Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Egypt plans to send a letter to the UN secretary-general to state its rejection of the Sudanese letter and the claims included therein, and to confirm that Halayeb and Shalateen are Egyptian lands inhabited by Egyptian citizens under Egyptian sovereignty. The Halayeb Triangle, located on the southern border with Sudan, has been a source of tension between the two countries since Sudan gained independence from joint British and Egyptian rule in 1956. Cairo exercises complete political and administrative control over the 20,580 square-kilometre region, which is inhabited by tribes that trace their roots to both Sudan and Egypt. The triangle comprises the cities of Halayeb, Abu Ramad and Shalateen.
