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Only in Egypt! Radwa Khorshid Middle East Times December 15, 2006
CAIRO -- A regularly updated collection of weird and wondrous news items from Egypt.
Man accused of reading his neighbor's mind
A DOCTOR has accused her neighbor of being able to read her mind, and tried to file a complaint at Basateen police station. She claimed her neighbor owns a small electronic machine resembling a cellular phone, which he uses to find out exactly what is going through her head. The police officer told her that he could not process her complaint or offer any other assistance because, according to Egyptian law, no grievances can be dealt with that fall outside specific official classifications. Akhbar Al Hawades
Giza's garbage an unexpected goldmine
A MAN with a bachelor's degree in zoology from Cairo University is now working as a garbage collector. Sharaf Emam Salama recently won a government bid to collect the trash in Giza's affluent districts.
Salama had worked as a scientist for a couple of years earning a very low salary. To supplement his income, he got 20 of his friends together and started collecting the garbage in his neighborhood for EŁ300 each per month. Sorting through the trash, the group often finds numerous useful items that can be recycled and reused as raw materials in a range of industries. These include the electrical, plastic, and glass industries.
Sharaf prefers working the affluent districts as they have what he calls "five-star" garbage that it is always full of valuable materials. Al Ahram
Football takes precedence over exams
JUST BEFORE they were due to go into their exams, the students at Cairo University's Faculty of Communication asked their university lecturer to postpone the exams for a couple of hours. The professor was stunned when he found out the reason for the requested delay: the students wanted to watch the Egyptian Al Ahly football team play New Zealand's Auckland City team in the opening match of the Clubs World Cup. Watching the match on a huge screen set up for the occasion, the mainly female audience was very supportive. Al Ahly won. The jubilant students returned to their classroom ready to conquer the world - or at least their exams. Al Ahram
Anonymous charlatan is bewitching
A MAN recently received a message from a charlatan saying that his gang had kidnapped the man's wife. The anonymous caller said she was one of those rare people who could help them make contact with the spirits. Gamal, 34, immediately went to the police to file a complaint, accusing the gang of bewitching his wife. The police officer's remark that he could not guarantee the safe return of Gamal's wife was the last straw for the poor man. Akhbar Al Hawadeth
Sex gum excites university girls
AN E-MAIL circulating among Zagazig University girls warns of a new chewing gum called Sex Gum. The e-mail message contains details of two girls, both studying agriculture at the same university, who had tried the gum and experienced a high degree of sexual desire. The gum had also been a topic of discussion on Sharkawy Zakazek University's forum. The discussion covered the shape of the chewing gum and its origins as many of the girls had noticed that the gum was covered with a different gum's cover in order to go undetected. Al Ahram
Uncovered manholes cause a stink UNCOVERED SEWAGE manholes are posing a threat to citizens' health and lives in Alexandria and Sohag. Residents are submitting an increasing number of petitions to the water facility governmental body. A child slipped into an uncovered manhole in Alexandria, as did Bekhet Abdel Malak, a 70-year-old man in Sohag. Both victims' relatives asked the governmental body for compensation for the loss of their loved ones. They were shocked at the response they received. Not only was there no apology, the water body also claimed the fault lay with the ministry of interior affairs, as they are responsible for dealing with the theft of the manhole covers. Al Masryon - Masarawy
Medical student's gender ambiguous AFTER A long battle with the Egyptian courts, Sally Mohammed Abdullah has finally proved her womanhood. The story began when Saaed (now Sally) was in his last semester of medicine at Al Azhar University for men. Saaed was unexpectedly notified that he would no longer be able to study at the university due to the ambiguity of his gender. On checking with his doctor, he discovered he needed a male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. After successful surgery, Saaed became a woman. The university's disciplinary board has also decided to allow Sally to complete her studies at the medicine faculty. Dar Al Haya - Akhbar Al Hawades
Chef cooks up trouble at mosque PEOPLE AT the Emam Hussein mosque were shocked during Friday prayers. Mohammed Ahmed Eid, 25, working as a chef in a large restaurant, took creative measures to help cure his sick mother. Unfortunately, his behavior was only successful in putting him in jail.
While the faithful were listening intently to the sermon, he ran hysterically through the crowd and took the microphone from the Imam by force. As policemen entered the mosque to calm the situation, it became clear that the man was planning to criticize the public health insurance body. Eid's psychiatrist later revealed that he was suffering from depression caused by governmental hospitals' carelessness in treating patients, including his mother. Masrawy.com - Al Ahram
-------------------- Learn from the past. Live in the present. Hope for the future. Posts: 1474 | From: in my own paradise | Registered: Sep 2006
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