Islam Al-Shehabi: An athlete's slip up Islam Al-Shehabi, the 34-year-old Egyptian judoka who lost the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last week, was criticised all over the world for refusing to shake hands with his Israeli opponent Or Sasson. After Sasson won on the judo mat, he extended his hand to Shehabi. But to the surprise and booing of the crowd, the latter refused to shake hands and left the mat even without a bow. The referee called Al-Shehabi back to the mat and obliged him to bow; he gave a quick nod and was loudly booed as he exited. Judo, a Japanese martial art that dates back to the 16th century, begins and ends with a bow, with which the opponents recognise and show respect for each other. Born in Cairo in August 1982, Al-Shehabi competed in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. A nine-time African champion, he was the world bronze medalist in 2010 in Tokyo. “Last week the Friday prayers saw angry feelings against the pre-written, unified sermon imposed by the Ministry of Religious Endowments. It gave people the feeling that the ministry is trying to mix religion with politics or use religion to achieve political ends. Normal Egyptians have no problem with a sermon that reminds them of proper religious teachings. However, they are against transferring a mosque minbar to a tool to impose the orders of the ministry. Thus, I assume it would be wise for the ministry to cancel the unified sermon and apply itself to more pressing matters.” Mahmoud Khalil, Al-Watan Rabaa lies “I raise few questions at the anniversary of disbanding the Rabaa protests, namely: Wasn't the process shown live on air? Weren't the protests armed? Who started the shooting, the police or the protesters? Weren't the first victims to fall before the eyes and ears of TV viewers everywhere from the police? Didn't the police offer safe passage for protesters to leave before moving in? Didn't the fact-finding reports prepared by Judge Fouad Abdel-Moneim Riad state that the police used force gradually afterissuing several warnings to the protesters to leave the place?” Karim Abdel-Salam, Al-Youm Al-Sabei The fourth dimension “Zuweil did not stop after the femtosecond camera invention that granted him his first Nobel Prize. He started his research on 4-D electron microscopy that added ‘time' as a 4th to the three known dimensions. It was expected that that invention would have qualified Zuweil for a second Nobel, had he lived longer. However, the truth is that Zuweil is dead, but his inventions will last and be used in numerous ways for the good of humanity.” Salah Montasser, Al-Ahram Facebook “Various colleagues and journalists have been calling me regarding floods in Sudan and whether it is a heavenly compensation for the impact of the Renaissance Dam. The question reflects reliance on God while we ignore the fact that God will not help us unless we work and help ourselves. The truth is that the government is weak and people are negatively relying on God to solve our problems while corruption is dominant, conscience is absent and caring for the country has become a mere slogan.” Mohamed Nasr Allam Twitter Amr Khalifa @Cairo67Unedited Sisi Speech was no more than attempt to win final approval. After IMF deal, Sisi says will not hesitate on tough reforms. Gregg Carlstrom @glcarlstrom The IMF approves a $12 billion loan for Egypt, a “last resort” for Cairo after Gulf aid dried up. Blanco @MundoViews I have faith in the Egypt economy. Will take time but this is a good loan by the IMF through the EFF. Marlyn @7thousandyears Egypt's central bank chief says ‘trust us, Egy pound will be ok following IMF loan.' Bloomberg economists say otherwise. Matt Bradley @MattMcBradley Morsi was widely criticized for his modest proposed #IMF deal. Sisi's deal is more than three times as large. #Egypt Ahmed M. @ahmedm_ #Egypt #economy IMF bad news 50% default probability on10-yr bond government budget deficit, 10% of GDP, CPI inflation 12.3%. A suitable podium “The president's speech during the opening of a petrochemical complex in Alexandria carried various messages. The first message that he underlined is that Egypt will not resolve its present problems without cooperation between the government and the people. However, the most important message is that no reform programme can succeed without a decisive and serious confrontation with corruption.” Al Ahram
“The president's tour in the petrochemical complex is the most important in my view as the president's speech during the visit moved the stagnant waters regarding issues like the IMF loan and inflation. However, what is more important is his choice of podium: a 100 per cent Egyptian, non-military factory that employs 10,000 workers and invests some two billion dollars. Besides, that factory will take Egypt into new industrial fields. In order to encourage industry in the coming phase, we want to see more presidential visits to private-sector factories and branches of international factories in Egypt.” Mohamed Al-Sayed Saleh, Al-Masry Al-Youm Egyptian Essence: 55% of married women may hit their husbands “A recent study issued by the Family Court stated that 55 per cent of university-educated wives do not hesitate to hit their husbands in response to maltreatment. Regarding the tools used in violence among university graduate married couples, the study revealed that 50 per cent of them use their hands, 30 per cent use home tools and 20 per cent use sharp tools. It added that divorce among this group takes place most often from the age of 25 to 49.” Al-Youm Al-Sabei
