DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 12, 2025--
Sotrad Water Srl from Belgium has been named the second runner-up in the Innovative Projects Award (Large Projects category) during the fourth cycle of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award for its Pump&Drink® Hydro1000 initiative, a solar-powered water treatment and distribution solution designed to serve rural communities in Africa and beyond.
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Held under the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and supervised by the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia UAE), the award celebrates innovative technologies that address global water scarcity using renewable energy. It offers a total prize pool of USD 1 million and supports scalable, sustainable impact.
Sotrad Water’s Pump&Drink® system is a self-contained, solar-powered solution that pumps, treats, stores and distributes water from boreholes. The system is already operational in 22 countries, with over 500 units installed, including 150 in the Ivory Coast during a successful pilot phase in 2020. A full-scale rollout is now under way through 2025.
Each station includes a submersible pump powered by a solar array of eight modules, as well as advanced filtration (50-130 microns) and proportional chlorination for disinfection. Treated water is stored in elevated 8,000-litre tanks, then distributed via gravity-fed taps to serve surrounding communities. The systems do not require a full-time technician and feature remote monitoring capabilities using SMS-based data transmission for real-time performance tracking.
The technology has earned the “Efficient Solution” label from the Solar Impulse Foundation for its sustainable impact. Each station can produce between 10 and 30 cubic metres of clean water per day, depending on local water quality and needs. The EUR 49 million rollout includes 1,150 stations and is supported by regional water committees to ensure ongoing maintenance and local community engagement.
“Solving the global water crisis requires collaboration. We cannot work in solitude or design solutions limited to one location. We must address all water uses, including agriculture, drinking water, wastewater and even cooling in data centres, together. This award acknowledges 15 years of hard work and supports our vision to expand technology transfer. It brings global innovations under one roof, which is a true reflection of Dubai’s spirit. It inspires hope for a future free from water scarcity,” said Raoul Antoine, General Manager of Sotrad Water.
Source:AETOSWire
Belgium’s Sotrad Water honoured with global award in Dubai for solar-powered drinking water innovation (Photo: AETOSWire)
Belgium’s Sotrad Water honoured with global award in Dubai for solar-powered drinking water innovation (Photo: AETOSWire)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
