“Urgent meeting held today to discuss the consequences of the Russian wheat exportation ban,” reads the headline on the front page of state-run Al-Ahram newspaper. Ali el-Meselhi, Minister of Social Solidarity, said subsidized bread will not be affected by the sudden hike in global wheat prices due to the drought in Russia. A ban will be implemented on 15 August until the end of December. El-Meselhi also said that there will be no increase in the price of subsidized commodities, asserting that Egypt does not depend only on Russia for its imported wheat. Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Minister of Trade and Industry, will hold an important meeting today with the head of General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) to discuss the Russian decision as well as legal measures to be taken against Russia. Osama Saraya, editor in chief of Al-Ahram, also addresses the wheat shortage in his editorial. According to Saraya, the crisis renews the message to the Egyptian government of the necessity of increasing the local production. He urges the government to stop importation and consider the Egyptian production instead. Privately-owned Al-Shorouq reports the news from a different perspective, saying Egypt will lose LE5 billion due to the cancellation of Russian wheat exportation contracts. GASC announced 240,000 tons of wheat were exported from France at prices ranging from $US279.69 to $US283.69 per ton, marking a $100 per ton increase from the Russian wheat. Wheat will be shipped in September. State-run newspaper Al-Gomhouriya leads with statements from Hassan Youness, Minister of Electricity, who assures the safety of the high dam electricity generation stations and that of the Aswan reservoir and other major networks that transmit electricity from the south to north of the Nile valley. The minister's statements came after storms hit Aswan and other southern governorates the day before yesterday. Privately-owned Al-Dostour announces an opposition party coalition meeting, which includes Wafd, Tagamu, Nasserite, and the Democratic Front parties, to be held today. The meeting is entitled “election integrity guarantees.” Representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood, the National Association for Change, and the 6th of April movement, as well as representatives from professional syndicates, are supposed to attend. Mohamed Nasr Eddin Allam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, told Al-Dostour that President Mubarak gave instructions to all authorities in question of the necessity of holding dialogues with Nile Basin countries concerning the framework agreement of the Nile water. In related news, Rose el-Youseff reports that the US State Department disapproves the Entebbe framework agreement, supporting the Nile basin Initiative signed by the nine Nile Basin countries as a method of encouraging economic growth. Al-Gomhorriya reports that Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border 68 days ago, according to presidential instructions, and it remains open. Also, the Gaza-bound aid convoy “Miles of Smiles 2” arrived in Arish yesterday. Aid is to be unloaded and shipped to Gaza through ٌRafah land port. Three state-run as well as many privately-owned newspapers report the temporary suspension of daylight saving starting Wednesday, marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run Rose el-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned Al-Shorouq: Daily, privately owned Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party Youm7: Weekly, privately owned Sawt el-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
