Kenya's Lake Victoria is in deep trouble, and Israel is partnering with Germany to come to its rescue. How Israel and Germany came to be involved in an African ecological project is a story based on a history of goodwill.

Without effective policies, change in water usage behaviour and international cooperation, a catastrophic water scarcity will hit the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region within the next ten years, a senior regional diplomat said in the capital yesterday.

“Hope” is the first lesson the Arab street is learning through the Tunisian experience. For decades, the Arab peoples have been depressed, felt helpless and had to live with the injustices, the failures and repressions of their post-colonial states. For the first time, an Arab people, Tunisians, have won against one of their regimes. The event had an echo among all Arab peoples. Many of them felt this strengthened their trust in themselves and their hope in the future.

Move over Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. Lay witness to yet another Arabic 24/7 television news channel to enter the high-stakes game of international broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

The “Barcelona Process” promoted by Nicolas Sarkozy to restart regional cooperation was bold. But the project is now reduced to a long series of hollow, self-referential conferences. Europe’s policy regarding the southern rim of the Mediterranean is again in stalemate.