Ethiopian Nile dam plans spur Egypt warning

Egypt's president on Monday hardened his stance against Ethiopia and its construction of a Nile dam, warning that "all options are open" in dealing with the project that threatens to leave Egypt with a dangerous water shortage.
Speaking in a live televised speech before hundreds of supporters, Mohammed Morsi said Egypt is not calling for war, but it is willing to confront any threats to its water security.
"If it loses one drop, our blood is the alternative," he said to a raucous crowd of largely Islamist supporters that erupted into a standing ovation.
Ethiopia's $4.2 billion hydroelectric dam, which would be Africa's largest, challenges a colonial-era agreement that had given Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of rights to Nile water. Experts estimate that Egypt could lose as much as 20 percent of its Nile water in the three to five years needed for Ethiopia to fill a massive reservoir.