Sharm El-Sheikh's local council set up a temporary memorial in Neama Bay for the victims of terrorism worldwide. The phrase ‘Against Terrorism' was written in Arabic, English and Russian. Mohamed Shaker: Mission accomplished Mohamed Shaker, the Minster of Electricity and Renewable Energy, declared last week that Al-Dabaa nuclear station is to be built to the highest technological and safety standards following three agreements with Russia in the fields of the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. Shaker orchestrated the negotiations regarding the technical and financial aspects of Al-Dabaa project with five countries, including China, the US, Russia, France and South Korea, finally realising a dream Egypt has sought for decades: having a nuclear station to produce electricity. The project has the potential to provide up to 50 per cent of Egypt's electric energy capacity. Although Egypt wanted to build its own nuclear project at the end of the 1950s under former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, the implementation of Al-Dabaa nuclear project has seen serious delays. Shaker assumed his position when Egypt was suffering from repeated and regular power cuts. An increase in fuel supply from the Gulf after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi has since allowed the ministry to control these shortages. But this was not the only challenge facing the electricity sector under Shaker. Other challenges included the unprecedented increase in consumption rates because of population growth, limited sources of fuel and fuel price hikes, in addition to the difficulty of managing the necessary funds and the lack of funding for new projects in streamlining and improving energy efficiency. In order to face these challenges, the electricity sector under Shaker has a number of goals: maximising the use of resources, encouraging the use of renewable energy, promoting electric interconnectivity and improving the efficiency of energy production and its use by adopting environmental protection policies and managing future planning to meet the rising demand. These are ambitious goals that will take years to achieve. However, the nuclear station may contribute to resolving most of the problems facing the electricity sector. Mohamed Shaker was appointed in March 2014 by Ibrahim Mehleb. He kept his position in Sherif Ismail's government. He was previously chairman of the Shaker Group for Consultancy and Engineering. “We will have a parliament after a few days. We hope that it will be different from the parliaments that emerged under the corrupt Mubarak or the fascist Morsi. But the question is: what has changed in the people to make us hope for genuine change? This is the people that allowed Mubarak to rule for 30 years, and when it revolted against his regime brought Morsi and his fascist group to power. My worst fear is that the people has not learnt the lesson especially that the next parliament will not be as strong as its predecessors as it does not include anyone who has worked in the political field. My fear is that the member whose main job is legislation will do the job of a member of the local councils.” Abdel-Fattah Abdel-Moneim, Al-Youm Al-Sabei Me or havoc! “Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh calls for early presidential elections! It is his right by the way. But it seems strange coming from him because he chose to resign from political work at the time when he knew Egypt was in need of support. Besides he presents the citizen with a choice between early elections or havoc. This is the same phrase that Mubarak used to use, which Abul-Fotouh used to mock!” Ibn Al-Dawla, Al-Youm Al-Sabei
“What Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh said is not an opinion or a political or legislative decision or even a suggestion from a head of a political party, but a clear contradiction to the constitution that was approved by 20 million Egyptians. Without a doubt, it is the right of Abul-Fotouh to object to some articles of the constitution, but this should be done before rather than after the referendum.” Diaa Rashwan, Al-Masry Al-Youm The absent vision “It is strange that you find that ‘terrorism' has a clear vision – regardless of the fact that it is an inhumane one – while the states that are suffering from terrorism lack a clear vision. The Islamic State, for instance, has a clear vision that can be summarised in one word: caliphate. They believe the world is in a state of ignorance and materialism and that they are the only group that can save it by establishing the caliphate. Meanwhile, the states that are exposed to terrorism like Egypt, Russia and France lack a comprehensive vision to face it. They are simply ‘combatting terrorism'.” Mahmoud Khalil, Al-Watan We could have done both “The catastrophe of the Russian plane reflects the size of deterioration in our performance. We looked at the accident from the angle of its impact on tourism and failed to show any sympathy or support for the victims. That tarnished our picture before the world. Not that we were supposed to support the victims and forget the tourism crisis, but we could have done both. We ask for the world's support in combatting terrorism; meanwhile, we forget that we have a duty towards that world, especially the states that we consider friends.” Amr Al-Shobaki, Al-Masry Al-Youm Egyptian Essence: 12,000 feddans for Al-Dabaa project “The Al-Dabaa nuclear station will be built on 12,000 feddans. A total of LE360 million is to be paid to the residents of the area in compensation for taking over their lands. LE120,000 have already been paid in the first phase.” Al-Ahram Facebook “However, the present crisis [between Egypt and Sudan] is not a crisis of torture or detention as officials in Khartoum claim. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The crisis is linked to the ideological thinking of the Islamist regime in Sudan and its relation with the international MB group and other regional players. They aim to weaken Egypt through imposing regional and international isolation on Cairo and hitting its economy via speculations in the foreign currency to devalue the Egyptian pound.” Hani Raslan
“I cannot understand why Russia signed the nuclear station agreement when it is still angry about the plane accident, promising to take punitive measures against the airports and tourism in Egypt! A statement by a Russian expert solves that riddle: that matter has geopolitical importance, it is no mere economic and developmental project.” Tarek El Dsoki Twitter Egypt Speaks @Egypt_Speaks Egypt is stepping forward to achieve democracy in parliamentary election according to the road map set by Al-Sisi.
Angela Boskovitch @aboskovitch Absent voters & political platforms, #Egypt's last round of parliamentary elections confirms a patronage system.
Marc Lynch @abuaardvark Egypt's Parliamentary election, organized in multiple rounds over many weeks, is still going on.
Sean Thompson @FreneticPony
France had suspected most involved in the Paris attack for months to years, did nothing about it.
