bild

A cyclist passes by a field of gladiola plants, irrigated by water from the Nile, in the village of Al-Ahaly on the banks of the Nile some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital Cairo in Egypt Monday, Dec. 18, 2006. After three years of closed-door talks, nine nations are quietly edging toward a deal to jointly oversee the waters of the Nile - an agreement that has eluded lands along the great river since the dynastic days of Cheops and Tut. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)