CAIRO  — Egypt’s president on Tuesday appointed a young, independent U.S.-educated Cabinet minister as the new premier, assigned to turn the nation’s economy and internal security around after 17 months of instability and protests.
Kandil is the minister of water resources and irrigation in the outgoing military-appointed government.

by Agence Presse (from yahoo)

The designation of Hesham Kandil comes nearly a month after President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was sworn in as Egypt’s first freely elected civilian president. The time it took just to select a prime minister reflects the difficulties Morsi has had in putting together an administration.

“Patience is required,” Kandil said in a short televised address after his appointment was announced. Delivering what he said was a shared message from him and the president, Kandil called for unity and expressed confidence that the Egyptian people would overcome serious challenges.

The military, which took power after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak last year, still holds the final say over much of Egypt’s governing, leaving it unclear what the new prime minister’s powers will be.

Still in doubt is whether Kandil and Morsi will be able to name the heads of key ministries overseeing foreign relations, state budgets and security forces, where there is deep resistance to the Brotherhood president. Already the military has said that it, not the civilian government, appoints the defense minister.

Kandil, an engineer in his 40s, will have to consult with the president before naming Cabinet ministers.

Morsi had promised to pick someone from outside the Brotherhood to lead a unity government that would include other political factions. Kandil does not have any affiliation with Islamist groups or political parties, state TV said.

Kandil is believed to be religious on a personal level, wearing a light beard and interspersing his past comments to the news media with religious references.

Emad Gad of the liberal Social Democratic Party said many of the people suggested for prime minister did not want the job because they felt the post would be just a vehicle to execute Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood’s program, known as “the Renaissance project,” aimed at overhauling the government and economy.

Gad said he believes the Brotherhood’s executive council had considerable say in Kandil’s selection.

“They brought in someone who is not from the Brotherhood, but whose ideology is similar,” he said.

Morsi’s spokesman, Yasser Ali, said the “the appointment of a patriotic, independent figure was studied and discussed” in order to find someone capable of managing the current situation.

The spokesman for the ultraconservative Islamic Al-Nour Party said Kandil’s selection came as a surprise, but he is an acceptable choice.

“He has many issues to deal with, starting with lawlessness,” Yousseri Hamad said. Al-Nour indicated it would consider joining the new government if asked.

Kandil is the minister of water resources and irrigation in the outgoing military-appointed government. He earned his masters and doctorate degrees at the University of North Carolina and worked at the African Development Bank, focusing on Nile Basin countries. He was part of an observer mission for Egypt in talks with Sudan on Nile River water issues.

He was brought into the government after Mubarak’s fall, serving under Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, a Mubarak-era prime minister reappointed to the post by the military in late 2011.

Differences between the Brotherhood, which held the most seats in parliament before the legislature was dissolved last month, and the outgoing Cabinet has so far cost Egypt a vital inflow of financial assistance.

Because of the turmoil in the country, which dried up tourism and foreign investments, Egypt’s foreign currency reserves dropped by more than one-half since the popular uprising. Cairo asked the International Monetary Fund for a $3.2 billion aid package. The IMF insists on political consensus in Cairo before approving the loan.

The Brotherhood has been at odds with the Cabinet’s spending and repaying scheme for the loan, and that has stalled its approval.

Since Morsi’s win, the Brotherhood has also been squeezed by the military’s grip on authority. Just before he took office, the military dissolved parliament, which was led by the Brotherhood and other Islamists, and the generals took over legislative powers as well as other points of authority.

Although Morsi’s spokesman on Tuesday reiterated the president’s support for a unity government that brings in a vast array of political forces, some in the opposition want no part in it.

Gad said his Social Democratic Party, which won just a handful of seats in parliament, will not join the new government because its failures and successes should be the Brotherhood’s alone to shoulder.

“They have their own Renaissance project that they want to execute. We are not convinced of their program, so we will not take part in it,” Gad said.

The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman took place on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African American teenager who was unarmed. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old multi-racial Hispanic American, was the designated neighborhood watch coordinator for The Retreat at Twin Lakes, the gated community where the shooting took place.

By Jason Sickles (Yahoo!) et al.

While in his vehicle on a private errand, Zimmerman saw Martin walking inside the community, where Martin and his father were visiting his father’s fiancée. Zimmerman called the Sanford Police Department to report Martin’s behavior as “just walking around, looking about,” which he described as suspicious. Martin was not armed and according to police there was no evidence he was committing a crime.  Shortly afterwards, Zimmerman left his vehicle and there was a fight, which ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin once in the chest at close range.

When police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman told them that Martin had attacked him and that he had shot Martin in self-defense. Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and from two vertical lacerations on the back of his head. EMTs treated Zimmerman at the scene, after which he was taken to the Sanford Police Department. Zimmerman was detained and questioned for approximately five hours.A statement was videotaped, and he was then released without being charged. Police said that they had not found evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense.

There’s a widespread informal energy market in Africa. Electricity sockets can be difficult to find and people walk (sometimes far distances) to charge their cellphones with diesel generators. San Francisco-based company Fenix International developed the ReadySet Solar Kit three years ago to help solve Africans’ energy problems — and now they’re trying to bring it to the U.S. by using a campaign. ( This story originally published on Mashable )

“The Fenix ReadySet is an intelligent battery system that can be charged from solar, electric grid, and even a bicycle generator to charge mobile phones, tablets, WiFi hotspots and other devices,” the company says.

It’s a valuable technology for rural areas of Africa, but CEO Mike Lin sees a need for it in the U.S., too.

As Lin told Mashable, there are many Americans who cannot access solar power because of where they live. Apartment renters typically can’t install solar panels on the roofs of their buildings, and neither can college students if they live in dorms.

But users of the ReadySet can hang the panel out the window and collect a charge.

Lin says the ReadySet was designed for the developing world, but there are many uses for it in the developed world. Power your iPhone, iPad or Android devices — or any number of other household items that run on electricity. The video shows the ReadySet powering a fan, a small latern and a speaker. With its two USB ports and two car lighter ports, the ReadySet is also a smart purchase for avid campers.

Each kit comes with:

• A ReadySet battery
• 15 Watt Solar Panel with rugged aluminum frame
• Power Adapter for grid charging
• 3 Watt LED light with socket, cable and switch
• USB Universal battery charger for charging any 3.7-volt Lithium battery
• Instruction Manual

The ReadySet can power approximately 10 phones on a full charge, or more than 12 hours of continuous video playback on your iPad. It can fully charge from the included 15 W solar panel in six to eight hours of sun.

If you need more power, you can add a second or third panel just by plugging it in (the ReadySet’s software handles all the settings and configuration). If you’re lacking sunshine, you can charge the ReadySet from a normal wall outlet using the included 23W grid charger.

Lin and COO Brian Warshawsky were formerly Apple employees. They set out to create not only a sustainable business, but a sustainable product.

The team raised more than $40,000 in the first 48 hours of its campaign, surpassing its $20,000 goal. Currently, the project has brought in more than $66,000 of funding with 21 days to go.

Kickstarter campaigns often offer a price break for early adopters. Right now the ReadySet is listed at $225, but Lin says it will likely retail for $300. Compared to other portable chargers such as the ($69-$79), which is not solar, and the ($16) which is a DIY kit harnessing solar power, the ReadySet is a bit pricey.

Logitech also offer a number of gadgets to power your Apple devices , which retail for $80 and up — although they won’t power fans and lights.

Recently, Lin and his team returned from a trip to East Africa where they forged a partnership with MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, to sell the kits for $150 through the provider. Lin said the entrepreneurs who buy these chargers from MTN make the money back in about two months, and the provider will earn about 10 to 14% more revenue from having customers who use their phones more often because those devices are charged.

The average American earns . In Uganda, where the company often deals, the was $511.90, according to the United Nations.

There, the price of ReadySet is $150 — about 30% of the average yearly income per individual.

The team debated whether or not to charge for the ReadySet Solar Kits in Africa, but feared it wouldn’t be a sustainable business model if they didn’t. If they offer a free product now, customers will always expect that, he said. Here’s how he put it: If you got a free car, you wouldn’t treat it as well as a car you purchased.

Lin says the sales from the U.S. will support Fenix so they can do more in Africa. “We saw a great opportunity having worked with Apple, and we wanted to take our skills and apply it to something that would have a greater benefit to the world,” Lin said.

In Africa, in many area. The basic cellphone provides necessary communication in rural areas, in particular. A pregnant woman might need to call a doctor; a business owner might need to find out the price of his goods in the neighboring village.

designs renewable energy products for entrepreneurs in Africa. The company’s goal is to create products that deliver energy to the 1.5 billion people in the world who lack access to electricity.