Egypt could face large-scale drought by the end of the century if it fails to make efficient use of water, according to the director of the environment and climate division at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The average temperature in Egypt could rise by between two and four degrees Celsius by the end of this century , says Elwyn Grainger with the United Nations-affiliated agency.

It's a change, according to IFAD reports, that could prompt annual rainfall on the Mediterranean coast to fall 20 per cent.

"Most of people have not realised the [potential] disaster yet, and governments needs to make rapid preparations to tackle it," Grainger told Ahram Online. "There are obvious reasons why the public are focusing on immediate issues such as politics, but discussions at this Rio conference have huge implications for Egypt."

Grainger was speaking on the sidelines of Rio+20, the latest United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held this week in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Water availability per capita in the Middle East and North Africa regon is predicted to halve by 2050, even without the effects of climate change, according to IFAD data. The Egyptian government should co-ordinate with the UN to reduce the scale of the problem, Grainger said.

Among the recommended moves are rationalising the amount of water used by industry as well as enacting tight legislation to guard against waste during agricultural irrigation.

While fresh water supplies dwindle, Grainger says a new threat may come from salt water intrusion to coastal areas as climate change could lead to rises in global sea levels that would threaten Egypt's Nile Delta region.

More than 100 heads of state and tens of thousands of participants from governments, the private sector and NGOs headed to Brazil during this month for the Rio+20 conference for sustainable development.

The event aims to break years of deadlock on pressing environmental issues and set up long-term paths towards an environmentally-sustainable future.
Egypt has already heard serious warnings of future water shortages.

In May, the country's National Institute of Planning said Egyptians will need nearly 50 per cent more Nile water by 2050 to cater for an estimated population of 150 million people.

Egypt is currently entitled to 55 bcm of the Nile's total annual flow of around 84 bmc under a treaty with the eight other countries which share the river basin

The spirit of vengeance that marks Egypt's contemporary political discourse is no doubt a reaction to years of political oppression. It is nevertheless a disturbing phenomenon

Like many others, I am alarmed by the spirit of vengeance that is spreading among Egyptians lately. I do not doubt that it is an expected reaction to long years of political oppression, economic corruption, and cultural decline over the past decades.

Many are wondering what happened to this people who were once known for their compassion and tolerance, but today harbour deep resentment, strong rage and at times unjustified violence. Has the disposition of Egyptians changed or has something happened to alter the character of the country and trigger dominant feelings of vengeance in the transitional phase?

I am not promoting spontaneous forgiveness or neglecting rights or spilled blood. I am merely stating that everything is open to discussion except the lives of the martyrs. Today, as I call on the sons of the same nation to urgently review current conditions and their options in the future, I am taking a long hard look at the fog surrounding our lives and the dark clouds that are blocking our vision and turbulence that has become a key feature in our society.

As I say this, I am mindful of examples that preceded us and peoples who went through the same experience and were able to overcome the obstacles and difficulties with resolve, patience, openness mindedness and a far-reaching vision. We should discuss the following:

First, overall national interests should never mean forgetting the future or overlooking issues, but primarily means that we should have broad mobilisation that allows us to move forward without forgetting the importance of glancing backwards now and then. We should never forgive a tyrant or cover-up a crime, but what is critical now is to raise the country’s supreme interests above all and rise above the wounds and look forward more than backward.

South Africa under the leadership of the iconic activist Nelson Mandela is a model that is worth studying and pondering after the apartheid regime was ousted in this large multi ethnic African state that is home to Africans, Europeans, Indians and other ethnicities. Surely the people of Egypt, who have a history of hegemony and merged civilisation, can take a path that allows this historic melting pot with a cohesive culture to follow a similar path as this extraordinary human experience.

I repeat, there is no price for spilled blood and martyrs are heroes who light up our history, but the court cases addressing the looting, plundering, and theft of funds require another form of conciliation  and a different outlook than what is prevalent right now. Justice is running its course but the procession must continue on its way without stopping. We must not forget that many sectors in the state of Egypt are temporarily paralysed and we must address this with courage, boldness and faith.

Some people might say that our situation is different, and that in South Africa it was a cultural issue with a long history and that once society rejected its racist ways, it was ready to embrace the spirit of the age and move towards the future on a different path. We cannot remain hostage to the past and slaves to sorrow, but instead should all walk forward with forgiveness and contentment behind whomever wins the vote, and also those who were elected to parliament. They must all be able to bring us back together and accommodate the facts on the ground because time is passing, our country is bleeding, resources are declining and crises are erupting on a daily basis.

Second, the cacophony of debate and base dialogue we hear and the exchanged accusations and insults and invasive criticism should make us view these developments with objectivity that rises above the pain in order to achieve our aspirations and dreams. This is not easy, and we all realise how difficult it is to overcome the past and our lives then, but in the end we need courage, forgiveness, a spirit of conciliation, and an ability to free ourselves from the grip of the dreadful past.

Third, the Freedom and Justice Party, followed by the Salafist parties, are responsible to some degree for mobilising the people and their forces on a pre-determined path of reform, in which all political forces and experienced nationals should participate without exemption or exception. Enough lament about how the previous regime squandered Egypt’s most valuable human resources, and restricted their mobility which
deprived distinguished experts from playing an effective role on the national front and political stage.
Therefore, the new majority should not make the same mistakes as the old majority, or else we would be reproducing the past, at least in appearance.

Four, tearing down the wall of fear does not mean the disintegration of values or tradition or laws or disrespecting seniors and experience. Linking generations is the mechanism for progress towards the future and a safety valve. Anyone who believes that reform should begin with a specific generation or specific current is delusional; everyone is a partner in making the future and mapping out the new way of life for a people who have suffered for a long time. The time has come to join the age while well-equipped and with a modern rationale based on a broad vision and scrupulous administration.

Five, we must be aware of the dangers lurking around every corner which require us to be very cautious and vigilant, especially on the military and economic fronts. The Hebrew state is monitoring everything that goes on in the corridors of power in Egypt, and closely observes developments in the largest Arab state, as well as historically and geographically pioneer state in the region.

Israel’s Foreign Minister was not delusional when he said that “the Egyptian revolution poses a greater threat to Israel than Iran does.” Some statements by Egyptian presidential candidates rattled the recently formed coalition government in Israel so much, that many ultra-fanatics there view them as justification to  prepare for new military action that might target some areas in North Sinai.

Surely it is better for us focus our energies on what is happening around us on the domestic, regional and international fronts, instead of focusing on selective rhetoric that blocks our view and weakens our resolve. Egypt is a wealthy country with its heritage and people, and we must choose a much better path than the one we are taking. Revenge is easy but conciliation requires national courage; destruction is negative but serious construction is the nation’s path towards a promising future.

'Saviours'

Egypt manager Bob Bradley does not intend to call up Mohamed Zidan again after he left the team’s training camp ahead of a crucial Nations Cup qualifier, goalkeeping coach Zaki Abdel-Fattah said on Friday.
Zidan, who turned down an offer from German Bundesliga side Mainz to extend his contract for one year, opted to skip the 30 June qualifier away to Central Africa to discuss a deal with an unnamed Chinese club.

Seven-time African champions Egypt will have to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit when they face Central Africa if they are to avoid missing out on the Nations Cup for the second consecutive time.

“Mr. Bradley rejected Zidan’s request to leave the training camp and fly to China, but the player still insisted to leave. There are lines that should not be crossed and Egypt’s interests are more important than anything else,” Abdel-Fattah told Ahram Online.

“The coach has on several occasions allowed Zidan to miss Egypt’s training camps to concentrate on his club career, and that helped him score five goals in five consecutive games with Mainz. Egypt is more important than any player who cares only about his interests.”

Abdel-Fattah also said Bradley might call up Ahly’s Emad Meteb as a replacement following Egypt’s game against Central Africa.

Zidan has been one of Egypt’s key players since making his international debut in a Nations Cup qualifier in 2007.

He played a pivotal role in helping the Pharaohs win the biennial tournament in 2008 and 2010 and was also part of the team’s squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, where he scored a famous goal against five-time world champions Brazil.

Sources close to both the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Muslim Brotherhood confirmed the two sides were heavily engaged in high-level talks that could produce "a political deal", which is likely to include announcing the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi Egypt's president elect.
According to a source close to the negotiations, the SCAF wants Mursi to desist from proclaiming himself president-elect, which he came close to doing at a press conference earlier on Friday. They also want him to pull the bulk of his supporters out of Tahrir and to agree to work within the parameters set out by SCAF in its annex constitutional declaration. The annex, enacted by the SCAF earlier in the week, gives the military a share in the prerogatives of the Egyptian president, as well as the legislative powers of the dissolved parliament.

For their part, Mursi and the Brotherhood insist that parliament not be dissolved, and that reelections would be held only for the one third of seats elected in accordance with the individual candidacy system. MPs elected in accordance with the party list proportional representation system, who account for the remaining two thirds of the assembly, would retain in their seats.

The Muslim Brotherhood would also like SCAF to delete from the constitutional annex such language as seems to directly undermine the powers of the president, including his right to appoint the minister of defence.

"A deal is possible; SCAF could settle to limit parliamentary re-elections of the one third of the seats elected in accordance with the individual candidacy system, in return for Mursi and the Brotherhood agreeing that the annex constitutional declaration be kept intact – at least for the moment, said a source who spoke to both sides to the ongoing negotiations.

This and other sources following the SCAF-Brotherhood talks agree that nothing is done until it is done, and admit that there is not a done deal as yet.

If a deal is reached, Brotherhood sources say, then Mohamed Mursi would be "legitimately announced as the elected president "tomorrow, or after tomorrow".

"But if no deal is reached, and if the SCAF insists on taking everything and giving nothing, then we would not be surprised if they announce Shafiq as president," said a leading Brotherhood figure.

Earlier in the day, government sources had told Ahram Online that Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, is coming ahead of Mursi with close to one per cent 50.7 per cent of the vote. For its part, Ahram Online was careful to note that it could not ascertain whether this information expressed true intent, or was yet another salvo in the ongoing arm-twisting campaign against the Brotherhood.

Ahram Online's own informal count of the vote, based on the minutes of the general counting committees and the pronouncements of their presiding judges, had shown the Brotherhood's Mursi as a clear winner, ahead of military candidate Ahmed Shafiq by close to a million votes

Escalating violence in Syria is hampering UN efforts to expand aid operations and help more than 1 million people caught up in 15 months of turmoil, a UN official said.

 The bipartisan Congressional committee currently investigating the secret dealings between the Obama administration and Big Pharma prior to the passage of the massive health care overhaul is set to release pertinent new details as to what these dealings entailed. In a recent memorandum, the committee unveils the names of some of the key figures involved with these secret negotiations, and promises to release even more shocking details in the coming weeks.

Addressed specifically to the Republican members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the memo explains a little bit more about how the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a powerful lobbying group that represents the drug and biotechnology industries, colluded with the federal government to make the terms of Obamacare as favorable to drug companies as possible. Both the federal government and PhRMA secretly agreed to abide by certain undisclosed commitments to one another as part of the passage of the bill, the details of which largely remain hidden from public view.

"In the coming weeks the Committee intends to show what the White House agreed to do as part of its deal with the pharmaceutical industry and how the full details of this agreement were kept from both the public and the House of Representatives," wrote members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in their memo.

"The investigation has determined that the White House, primarily through Office of Health Reform Director Nancy Ann DeParle and (Jim) Messina, with involvement from Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, was actively engaged in these negotiations while the role of Congress was limited."

A private email sent by Jim Messina, for instance, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations to the White House, to a PhRMA lobbyist back on January 15, 2010, exposed the fact that the White House had made a secret "deal" with this group. In Messina's own words, PhRMA had apparently done something that "wasn't part of our deal," which had upset the White House at the time.

Obama directly involved in PhRMA negotiations, despite having told public Senate was involved

While many people are aware of the fact that dealings were, in fact, made between the drug industry and the government over the terms of Obamacare, it is widely assumed that the U.S. Senate forged a final agreement -- this is, of course, what Obama had claimed at the time. But these new revelations expose the fact that key White House figures were actively involved in placating the demands of Big Pharma, albeit behind the scenes, while crafting the bill.

Former OHR Director Nancy Ann DeParle admitted in another uncovered email that the White House had deliberately excluded the House of Representatives in the negotiation process. And many members of Congress, as we now know, admittedly did not even know what was in the final 2,700-page bill because they did not get a chance to read it before it was quickly rushed through and passed (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74601.html).

Sources for this article include:

http://energycommerce.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=9526

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com

The average yield on 182-day Egyptian treasury bills rose at an auction on Thursday to its highest in more than a decade, while the yield on 364-day bills touched an eight-year high, the Ministry of Finance said.

The government has turned to the domestic market to finance its widening budget deficit since the popular uprising that unseated Egypt's president last year, stretching the lending ability of local banks.

The average yield on 182-day T-bills rose to 15.492 per cent from 15.359 per cent at an auction last week, and LE2 billion ($330.4 million) worth were sold.

The average yield on 364-day bills increased to 15.965 per cent from 15.915 per cent at an auction on 7 June. This matched the previous high of 15.965 per cent on that maturity in February.

The bank sold 1.946 billion pounds worth of the 364-day bills on Thursday instead of the 3 billion pounds it had sought.

The central bank sells the bills on behalf of the finance ministry.

Why do we need to sleep?

What makes us laugh?

Why do we have superstitions?
This week author Matthew Johnstone argues we should have a set time every day to worry about out problems.

“My idea to change the world and improve the world that we live in is to create a place and a time to worry. And this could be a dedicated time at 10 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon we could have it in our afternoons, have it in our parks, have it in our public places.

One of the ideas it could be instituted by is all the screens on our phones, on our computers on our TVs would go blank and a little sign could come up and say ‘It is time to worry’. And then for about five minutes we can just purge ourselves of all our worrying thoughts that are hanging over us like bad smells, and we can really well on that worry. And then at the end of that five minutes there’d be a little chime and we can go back to our day-to-day basis.

The thoughts about this really is to run towards our fears and embrace them rather than running away from them all the time.”

You can listen to Matthew discuss his idea with Indian psychiatrist Vikram Patel and psychotherapist Gwen Adshead more detail on the BBC World Service programme The Forum, where you can also download more 60-second ideas.

If you have a 60-second idea or would like to comment on this story, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

Thousand of protesters fill Tahrir Square against interference in Egypt's transition to democracy

Egypt's Presidential Election Commission has delayed, until a date to be announced, the release of the results of Egypt's presidential election, state-run Nile TV reported Wednesday.

An announcement of the results had been expected on Thursday. Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak, and Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, were the two candidates in last weekend's presidential runoff.

"The committee has not completed the verification of a total of 400 electoral violation reports submitted by the two presidential candidates," said Tarek Shibl, a senior member of electoral committee. "Most probably the announcement of the election results will be delayed a day or two but nothing is final yet."

Shafik and Mosri each proclaimed himself winner in the race to succeed Hosni Mubarak 16 months after a popular uprising ended Mubarak's three-decade rule.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered Tuesday night in Cairo's Tahrir Square – the birthplace of the anti-Mubarak ferment – to show their support for their preferred candidate. Each side in the election has accused the other of voting irregularities and called for an investigation.