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About 34 million years ago, in the Eocene period of the Paleogene (the period from 66 to 23 million years ago), and in a tropical-like environment with forests and swamps in what is today the Qatrani Desert in Egypt’s Fayoum Depression, a genus of rodents that was not known before, used to live.
In a new study published in PeerJ, researcher Shorouk Al-Ashqar, a member of the “Sallam Lab” team specialised in vertebrate fossils at Mansoura University, studied two skulls and a large group of mandibles of fossils belong to the “Qatranimys Safroutus”.
“But it wasn’t easy; the samples were very small and very thin and adhered to the solid rocky clay, which made preparing the samples for study very difficult. We had to make accurate CT scans to be able to study them in a three-dimensional image,” said Hesham Sallam, the lead author of the study.
The newly discovered genus of rodents was called “Qatranimys Safroutus” which refers to the location of the discovery in the first word, whilst “safroutus” means too small in the Egyptian Arabic dialect.
The length of the molar of Qatranimys Safroutus was one millimetre, and its skull was about 1.5 centimetres long, and its weight did not exceed 45 grams.
Jebel Qatrani Formation is famous for its rich rodent assemblages from the Eocene–Oligocene deposits, which contributes to enhancing our understanding of the origin and paleobiogeography of what scientists call the “Hystricognathi” which are an infraorder of rodents, distinguished from other rodents by the bone structure of their skulls.
Al-Ashqar said that the samples used in the study showed clear differences in the morphological characteristics of the upper and lower teeth. And by comparing these samples with the discovered rodents from Afro-Arabia, it was clear that it belongs to a new genus that has never been discovered before.
“We did not only record a new genus and species, but we were able to record the first bones of the skull of a large group to which the discovery belongs, called the “Phiocricetomys”, she added.
Researchers from Mansoura University, the American University in Cairo, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, Duke University and the University of Salford participated in the study.
An awards ceremony hosted by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language honored the top three teams in the event
Event aims to enhance the dictionary with innovative applications and new ideas
Russian team Spiderweb Network has won first place in the second Arabic Hackathon, scooping a prize of SR150,000 ($39,994) for their innovative idea.
Their project proposed an automatic enrichment system for the “Riyadh Dictionary” using three knowledge sources — the Arabic language expert community, artificial intelligence, and dictionaries found on the web.
An awards ceremony hosted by the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language honored the top three teams in the event, which aims to enhance the dictionary with innovative applications and new ideas.
This global technical challenge is aimed at individuals and organizations with technical and linguistic skills from all over the world. Teams develop innovative technical solutions and digital platforms for automatic Arabic language processing to enhance its status among the world’s living languages.
Second place went to the Pioneers of Intelligence, a joint Algerian-French team who received SR100,000. Their project focused on using AI to provide terms and definitions from specialized fields in a fast and effective way, with the possibility of creating specialized lexicons such as the “Riyadh Medical Dictionary.”
The Saudi-Egyptian Arabic Examples team took third place and a prize of SR50,000 with their idea for an AI system that provides appropriate examples for the meaning of each word.
The second edition of the challenge saw a total of 546 participants, 57 percent of whom were female and 43 percent male, representing 30 countries in 142 competing teams.
Abdullah Al-Washmi, Secretary-General of the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, highlighted the establishment’s commitment to promoting the use of the Arabic language and launching supportive initiatives.
The closing ceremony was accompanied by activities such as an exhibition by the Arabic Intelligence Center, which was launched in April and specializes in automated Arabic language processing.
The center includes several initiatives, such as: the “Suwar” platform for digital dictionaries, “Falak” for digital corpora, and the Riyadh Dictionary for Contemporary Arabic Language.
Al-Washmi said the center represented a significant leap in the digital transformation of Arabic language services by developing technologies that aided its use, analysis, understanding, and production.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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The Russian team won first place in the Arabic Hackathon challenge, which concluded in Riyadh on Thursday (June 6). / Russian team Spiderweb Network has won first place in the second Arabic Hackathon, scooping a prize of SR150,000 for their innovative idea. (KSGAFAL)
Hear the stories of three Arab women engineers who are making an impact in STEM around the world.
Throughout April, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is honoring and recognizing the contributions of Arab women in engineering around the world. This effort aligns with Arab American Heritage Month, which is celebrated in April in the U.S.
Read on to meet three incredible Arab women who are living without limits, advancing SWE across the globe, inspiring others, and making a positive impact in their respective STEM fields.
Meet Dr. Ghada Salama
Welcome, Dr. Salama! Can You Share a Bit About Your Professional Background?
My professional journey for the past 20 years has been deeply rooted in academia, where I have dedicated my career to teaching and the pursuit of knowledge. Upon receiving my Ph.D., I embraced the academic path and am now an instructional professor.
What Inspired You to Choose Chemical Engineering as Your Career Path?
I wish I had an inspiring story to share with you, but my choice was a mix of personal passion and cultural influence. Growing up in a society where engineering and medicine were revered as prestigious fields to pursue, which required excelling in high school (which I did), I was under pressure to conform. So that is the story for the engineering part.
My love for chemistry made me choose chemical engineering. So, you can say I merged my passion for chemistry with the practicality of engineering.
You Have Won Numerous Awards in Your Academic Career, Including “Best Chemical Engineering Professor of the Year!” What Do You Enjoy the Most About Working in Academia?
The students, of course! There is something magical about that “aha” moment when you see that sparkle in their eyes. The dynamic environment of having new students every semester and the constant flow of fresh ideas and perspectives keeps me on my toes and fuels me.
As the Leader of the Texas A&M Qatar University SWE Affiliate, You Have Been Influential in Supporting Other Women in STEM! Can You Tell Us More About the Initiatives, Successes, or Accomplishments of This Affiliate?
As the advisor for our student SWE organization, our key initiative has been promoting engineering and fostering a strong sense of community and mentorship among the female engineering students here.
Throughout the years, the students have organized networking events and panel discussions featuring successful women in STEM fields, as well as men who are our strong allies from government and industry.
Another highlight is their involvement in outreach efforts to inspire the next generation of women in STEM. Six years ago, we established a student mentorship program at our university. With women forming almost 50% of our student engineering student body, we felt there was a need to start this initiative.
This peer mentoring program matches incoming female freshmen with upperclass female students to support their transition to university life. This is an accomplishment that SWE is proud of.
What Has Your Experience Been in Your Journey as a Woman in Engineering?
It has been quite the ride! Being a woman in a male-dominated field, especially in my region and culture, sometimes feels like being a unicorn in a field of horses — rare but magical.
Sure, there have been challenges along the way, but I have learned to embrace them as opportunities to defy stereotypes and prove that I can do these things and excel in them, too. With the support of my parents and colleagues, both male and female, it has been a good journey so far.
What Advice Do You Give to Women Who Are Thinking About Pursuing Engineering as a Career Path?
Believe in yourself! If engineering is what you want to do, then do it. Along the way, make sure you surround yourself with a support system — whether that is family, colleagues, or mentors.
Is There Anything Else You Would Like to Share With the SWE Community?
Let’s keep pushing boundaries, breaking stereotypes, and lifting each other up along the way. Together, we can build a future where every woman feels empowered to pursue her dreams.
Meet Dr. Marwa El Hefnawy
Welcome, Dr. El Hefnawy! Can You Share a Bit About Your Professional Background?
I am an electrical and communications engineering leader with expertise in 5G and AI. I received my bachelor’s degree in electrical and communications engineering, with highest honor, from the German University in Cairo. I completed my bachelor project at Stuttgart University in Germany, and then I pursued my master’s studies at Ulm University and received my Ph.D. degree from the Technical University of Munich.
I have 10+ years of work experience in the telecom industry, in areas such as systems engineering and architecture, research and development, strategy planning, project management, and wireless ecosystems.
I had worked at several giant tech companies, including Apple, Intel, NTT Docomo Euro Labs, and others, where my focus was on 5G topics and beyond.
I also joined academia for a short time as an assistant professor teaching engineering students how to transform ideas into innovation. Recently, I have been interested in consultancy where I am exposed to a variety of AI topics.
I am a global ambassador for SWE, a member of the WE Local Europe Advisory Board, and also a mentor at the Technical University of Munich for master’s and Ph.D. students.
What Inspired You to Choose Electrical and Communications Engineering as Your Career Path?
It started when I was in school. I loved mathematics and its various applications. Later on, I always had interesting questions in my mind — How do electrical signals flow in the air or in the wires? How are they being sent and received? What is behind the telephone?
Then, after mobile phones and wireless technology were highly evolved, I became even more interested in digging deeper into this technology. I didn’t want only to study this field, but to become an expert and have great achievements that upcoming generations will benefit from.
What Do You Enjoy the Most About Working in the Telecom Industry?
I really enjoy seeing a new product in the wireless domain come to life and seeing people start using it. Nowadays, it is not only about connecting people with a higher quality of connectivity, but also making people’s lives better and easier.
You cannot imagine how many components have been developed in these products from start to end and the tremendous amount of effort from the many engineers it takes to make this happen.
It is a challenging field, and whenever there is a new generation coming such as 5G or 6G, the challenges even get bigger. An engineer working in this industry is never bored, as you are solving something new all the time.
You Are a Longtime Global Ambassador for SWE, and You’re Also on the We Local Europe Advisory Board! Can You Share Why SWE’s Mission and Initiatives Are So Important to You?
Women in the engineering field face many challenges — whether they are juniors, seniors, in higher leadership roles, technical, non-technical, and so on. SWE’s mission is to empower women in this field and support them with the tools to help face these challenges.
In every SWE initiative, I learn something new which is added to my skill set. I believe that we live and we learn; at the same time, I can see that someone else in SWE’s community is learning something new from me. It is like a circle of help and support which never ends. Everyone in SWE’s big community finds inspiration and motivation whenever it is needed.
What Has Your Experience Been in Your Journey as a Woman in Engineering?
My journey has been full of ups and downs. It has never been a steady state. Whenever there is a down time, I don’t take it negatively. I take it as either a learning phase or a phase of strengthening myself for what is coming next.
Challenges happen all the time for women leaders in the engineering field — it is really a matter of how to face them. If I had one piece of advice to give, I would say it is great to have a good mentor supporting you in your career path.
What Advice Do You Give to Women Who Are Thinking About Pursuing Engineering as a Career Path?
Don’t be afraid of engineering! It can be a hard field, but if you like logical and innovative thinking and have good problem-solving skills, then you will enjoy your path. It is not life-ruining, and it will never be — it is just a matter of how to create a work-life balance that suits you.
It is always good to ask yourself, “What do you want to achieve, and what is your goal?” Your answer will guide you and boost your energy to proceed.
Is There Anything Else You Would Like to Share With the SWE Community?
As a woman, I don’t feel that I am alone in the engineering field as long as I am part of SWE. Also, I would like to thank the many SWE leaders who I have collaborated with on several events, initiatives, and SWE activities over the past years. Networking at SWE is a great opportunity to get to know talented and inspiring women leaders in engineering.
Meet Sara Ibrahim
Welcome, Sara! Can You Share a Bit About Your Professional Background?
I am a Middle Eastern IT professional with a passion for technology. I was born and raised in Egypt and am a mother of two amazing kids.
I achieved a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a main specialization in mathematics and computer algorithms in 2006. Shortly after, I accomplished my master’s degree in computer algorithms. Besides my college studies, I was enrolled in a one-year scholarship for system administration and integration.
I started my IT professional career in 2008 as a software developer, and shortly after that, I started working on system administration and application support. In 2014, I moved to Czechia to enlighten my career with international experience. Currently, I help clients design, architect, and migrate their IT systems.
What Has Your Experience Been in Your Journey as a Woman in Engineering?
My journey as a woman in IT has been both challenging and rewarding. The challenging side was the fact that I exerted double the efforts to achieve my current state — from early childhood onwards — as learning materials were not affordable in my society. Then, during college, engineering open seats were limited for girls.
On the other hand, the rewarding part happened when I accomplished a mid-senior career milestone in IT and passed the interview to the architect team. I became the first woman IT infrastructure architect in IBM Client Innovation Centre Czech Republic in 2018.
What Do You Enjoy the Most About Working in the Cloud and Infrastructure Space?
One of the most enjoyable aspects of being an IT architect, particularly as a woman, is breaking stereotypes and paving the way for more diversity in this industry. It’s empowering to showcase my skills, background, and expertise in a field that has traditionally been male-dominated.
As a woman in IT architecture, I bring a unique perspective and creativity for our clients, which can lead to innovative problem-solving and solutions. I receive plenty of positive feedback from my stakeholders and counterparts for the work I am delivering, as well as my communication skills.
What Advice Do You Give to Women Who Are Thinking About Pursuing Engineering as a Career Path?
Know your strength and believe in your abilities. For me, I was passionate about learning mathematics, and it opened plenty of doors towards my dream career.
Second, being a fast learner with passion always helped me, and I see that as very essential to succeed in a STEM career. For example, I taught myself Python during college in Egypt (in 2003 when the internet was very basic), simply out of a passion to learn how to code.
Finally, find mentors and supportive communities who will make you feel like you are not alone and who will give you tips and tricks to tackle your obstacles.
Is There Anything Else You Would Like to Share With the SWE community?
I appreciate SWE as a community that helps women in STEM pursue their careers by providing all means of online education. Thank you to SWE for bringing together a community of women role models for early career, mid-career, and late-career professionals!
Born in Sohag, Egypt, Mathematician Mahmoud Abdel-Aty was awarded the world’s best mathematician by China for his contribution to quantum algorithms and quantum optics!
The scientist told Sky News Arabia “My name was nominated by a number of scholars from more than one country, and the committee filtered all the applicants and selected the best among them,”
The Chinese award Qin-Jiu-Shao is considered to be one of the most important awards in mathematics in the world will be awarded to winners in November.
The Egyptian scientist, who occupies the position of Chairman of the National Committee for Mathematics, confirmed that through him he was able to explain a large number of problems that had no explanation in the past, especially with the great and amazing progress in the manufacture of computers, especially quantum computers.
He also mentioned how happy he gets whenever he’s awarded saying, “It’s the most beautiful in his life,”
Adding “It gives us confidence that what we are doing is of real value.
The Award represents the great appreciation of our country, and the international awards represent a global appreciation for the name of Egypt and its great scientists.”
The ‘Limbo’ star will be acting alongside Pierce Brosnan as they follow the story of famed boxer Prince Naseem.
Egyptian actor Amir El Masry is set to star in a biopic of legendary British Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed, titled ‘Giant’. The movie will tell the story of Hamed’s humble beginnings in the English city of Sheffield, and his meteoric rise to becoming a world champion. Throughout his career, he is coached by former steel worker Brendan Ingle, who is played by Irish actor and ‘James Bond’ star Pierce Brosnan.
Also known as Prince Naseem or ‘Naz’, Hamed also became an icon of showmanship, with his inimitable southpaw boxing style and quick feet, his high rate of knock-out victories, and his elaborate ring entries, arriving on a ‘flying carpet’ suspended from the ceiling and often somersaulting over the ropes.
The casting of El Masry to play Hamed marks his first starring role in a major film production, though he has already landed several major parts in acclaimed series such as ‘The Night Manager’, BAFTA-nominated ‘The State’, and the fifth season of ‘The Crown’, in which he played a young Mohamed Al Fayed. He is also known for his award-winning role in ‘Limbo’, as well as his appearances in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ and Egyptian series ‘El-Brinseesa Beesa’.
After undergoing a meticulous five-year restoration, the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo has re-exhibited its most treasured artefact – the oldest complete Coptic Psalter ever discovered.
“This is the first time we possess a complete book of Psalms dating to late fourth century AD, making it the oldest complete Psalms book unearthed to date. We’ve never encountered such an early book in Egypt, and I’ve found no evidence of an earlier genuine book anywhere else,” said the late director of the Coptic Museum and Coptic studies expert Gawdat Gabra when he first saw the book days after its discovery in 1984.
The Book of Psalms (Psalter) by David is one of the most valuable artefacts in the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, having been discovered in a tomb going back to the early Christian period.
It is the oldest Coptic Psalter ever translated from the Septuagint text. After almost four years of restoration, the museum has re-exhibited the Psalter in a special hall in the museum.
The book comprises 498 parchment sheets, encased within wooden bindings laced with leather. Rendered in a dialect of Coptic — a defunct language utilizing Old Greek characters augmented by seven hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt’s twilight era — the Psalms are meticulously inscribed by hand.
According to Gihan Atef, director of the museum, the manuscript harbours numerous Greek terms alongside some Coptic lexemes hitherto unrecorded. It is penned predominantly in brown ink derived from iron, though sporadic patches exhibit black carbon ink, ostensibly applied in efforts to rectify damage. Evident signs of wear manifest where fingers once turned the delicate parchment leaves.
Upon its discovery, the book’s pages were fused together, save for the final quintet, two of which remain blank. Affixed to the book via leather cords dangles a diminutive ankh — a symbol from ancient Egypt, seamlessly integrated into Christian iconography — crafted from bone. Hamdi Abdel-Moneim, head of the restoration section at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) said that a team of restorers from both the MIA and the Coptic Museum embarked on a long journey to restore the Psalter.
He pointed out that the manuscript suffered from various forms of damage, including the detachment of its pages due to sewing deterioration. Most of its pages were plead and dried, chemical decomposition was found, along with the loss of parts from the edges and traces of liquids. There was also degradation, deterioration, and erosion of the inks, as well as dryness of the leather cover and cords.
The restoration works included the complete dismantling of the manuscript and addressing all aspects of damage. UV and infrared digital imaging were conducted, along with photographic documentation. Throughout the restoration process, Abdel-Moneim continued, all pages were numbered before disassembly, and specialists in codicology and Coptic texts were consulted.
The Coptic Museum is comprised of two wings joined by a narrow hallway. Inside, approximately 16,000 collectibles are showcased, arranged by type across 12 distinct departments.
The departments encompass a wide range of subjects such as Stones and Plasterboard, Development of Coptic Writing and Manuscripts, Textiles, Ivory and Iconography, Wood, Metals, Pottery, and Glass. Visitors can also marvel at mesmerizing Coptic art and manuscripts of the Holy Bible, some dating back thousands of years.
Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab became the first Arab artist to be awarded at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.
Sherine, 43, claimed the title of Billboard Arabia, a partnership between Billboard and SRMG, a Saudi-integrated media group.
She became one of seven winners of the Global Force Awards at Billboard Women in Music, part of the Billboard Awards held at the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles on 7 March.
Global Force also included Annalisa (Billboard Italy), Maria Becerra (Billboard Argentina), Sarah Geronimo (Billboard Philippines), Nini Nutsubidze (Billboard Georgia), Tia Ray (Billboard China), and Luísa Sonza (Billboard Brasil).
Sherine was awarded for her Kalam Eineh at No. 1 and El-Watar El-Hassas at No. 2 which topped Billboard Arabia’s global flagship charts.
In her acceptance speech, Sherine expressed her appreciation for Billboard, saying “I am very proud you enjoyed my work, and of course, I am thrilled and proud that there is a music award specially for women. I hope that my work will always reach the entire world.”
Billboard Arabia was launched in June 2023 to shed light on Arab artists, while pledging “to be the premiere global destination for artists with Arab roots.”
According to Billboard Arabia, the platform follows the well-established parameters set by Billboard over eight decades, drawing data from leading digital streaming platforms like Spotify, Anghami, YouTube, and Apple Music, reflecting Arab music preferences globally.
In its inaugural year, Billboard Arabia included ElGrandeToto, Marwan Pablo, Amr Diab, and Ahmed Saad in its top five Arab artists.
Masters of relaxation: The record-breaking freedivers of Egypt.
When the countdown began, Khaled Elgammal took one final, deep breath before descending without any breathing equipment into the ocean. One minute and 29 seconds later, still holding his breath, the Egyptian athlete had free-fallen to 102 metres (335 feet) – a national record.
But for it to count, he had to reach the surface again. He turned at the bottom of the line and began his ascent – focusing on deep relaxation and the feelings of the surrounding water. In all, he had held his breath for two minutes and 50 seconds.
Elgammal is Egypt’s deepest freediver, and his remarkable achievement set a new national record at the Sharm el-Sheikh competition in October 2023.
“When I came to the surface, it was bliss. It felt amazing,” Elgammal recalls.
Freedivers like Elgammal rely solely on the ability to hold their breath while diving underwater. Through training, these divers master relaxation to slow down their heart rate, allowing them to stay beneath the surface without breathing equipment for minutes at a time. Very deep dives like the one he did recently usually require divers to hold their breath for around three minutes at a time.
The practice of freediving can be traced back to traditional fishing in communities like Asia’s Bajau people, where coastal groups have used freediving to hunt underwater for 200 years. As a sport, freediving is now undergoing record growth, attracting people looking to connect with the ocean and better understand their body’s abilities.
As for Elgammal, he says he was captivated by the unique sensations of diving with a single breath.
“I always say that scuba diving is everything in slow motion; you’re moving slow, breathing slow, and the sound of the bubbles is hypnotising, so everything is in slow motion. Freediving is like you’ve paused… and are the only thing moving down there. So you give yourself the chance to sink within.”
The sport is now growing in popularity around the world. According to AIDA International rankings, 2,889 freedivers registered to compete in competitions in 2023, more than twice the number a decade earlier.
The freediving organisation told Al Jazeera that around 20,000 people have become certified freedivers in recent years. Scuba Schools International (SSI) has similarly seen a steady 10 percent annual rise in the number of people earning their first freediving certification.
Many of these certifications are awarded in Dahab, a bohemian enclave on Egypt’s Red Sea coastline which has become home to numerous freediving schools and elite instructors. Dahab featured a shoreline of palm trees and traditional Bedouin homes just a few decades ago. While still considered a small town today, it boasts a thriving beachfront of Egyptian and international restaurants and attracts a growing crowd from Cairo, Europe and Asia. A handful of luxury hotels have emerged but Dahab still maintains an authentic charm – with herds of goats freely roaming the streets.
It’s also one of the world’s best-known freediving hotspots due to its year-round water conditions and proximity to Egypt’s Blue Hole. Just 20 minutes away by car, the Blue Hole is a famous reef-lined sinkhole accessible from the shore.
Here, divers can descend to around 90 metres (295 feet) – almost the height of the Statue of Liberty.
A heightened state of self-awareness
But what has contributed to the rise of freediving?
The sport is linked to several mental and therapeutic benefits. A 2013 study by academics at Atilim University in Turkey, found that freedivers tend to exhibit lower stress and anxiety levels than non-freedivers.
Carlos Diezel, the manager of Dahab Freedivers, a school that trains divers, explained that much of this is down to “breathwork”.
“The fact that we have to pay attention to our breath, our mind and relaxation when we go down teaches us awareness,” he says. “I believe that part of the problem, statistically speaking, for mental health issues is related to the lifestyle in modern society, that’s leading people to forget or block any kind of self-awareness.”
This heightened state of self-awareness is something that dedicated freedivers like Elgammal strive for. “I’m always aware now of what I’m feeling, what I’m sensing,” he says. “Freediving helped me to connect with myself.”
Freediving’s connection with nature and immersion in water may also contribute to its mental health benefits. Diezel says the most common reasons people sign up for freediving courses are a fascination with the ocean and learning more about themselves.
“They grasp this connection with themselves when you hold your breath and go deep,” he said, adding that students consider it “a ‘deep’ experience – sorry for the pun”.
Social media equally plays a role in bringing freediving to the forefront. Many freediving pictures allude to a sense of freedom, featuring divers among marine life and colourful reefs. The hashtag #freediving has amassed more than 3.5 million mentions on Instagram so far. “It’s getting a lot of attention as it’s quite photographic. Some videos are just mesmerising,” Diezel adds.
Diving safely
Within the existing freediving community, the sport’s surge in popularity brings added responsibility. Considered an “extreme sport”, freediving can be risky if safety protocols aren’t followed, or divers push themselves beyond their physical limits. They can experience oxygen deficiency symptoms like hypoxia and blackouts, as well as pressure-related risks like a ruptured eardrum, an example of a barotrauma.
Contrary to portrayals such as Netflix’s The Deepest Breath, divers losing consciousness – known as blackouts – are relatively uncommon, particularly in recreational diving at shallower depths.
Freedivers are also trained to rescue a fellow diver safely as part of their earliest training, learning to monitor each dive, spot signs of distress and how to react. Under the buddy system, which helps to ensure freedivers remain safe, divers never dive alone.
Tamsyn Signe is a professional freediver who champions safety whenever she enters the water. She has worked as a safety freediver in multiple competitions, and it’s her role to ensure the competing divers make it to the surface safely. Last year, she saved a diver’s life 30 metres (98 feet) underwater in a rare example of a deep rescue.
“As he got in front of me, the lights went out,” Signe recalls, describing the moment the ascending freediver just stopped moving after losing consciousness. At 30 metres below the surface, Signe was also holding her breath. However, she wasn’t thinking about the carbon dioxide building in her body – she had a job to do.
“Everything really slowed down,” she says. “I knew I was his best shot at being ok.” As she’s trained to do, Signe closed his airways with her hands and started finning (swimming up with flippers) with him toward the surface – a tricky job with the added weight of another diver. The competitor regained consciousness after reaching the surface, partly thanks to Signe’s quick thinking and supportive team. He would later reach out and thank her for saving his life.
Signe says the rescue changed her life too, making her more observant and prepared for unexpected risks, but it’s part of the job. Most freedivers believe that practising safety in freediving, such as never diving alone and being trained for rescue, is crucial to the sport’s survival.
But this is not just a tick-box exercise; safety also forges close bonds within the community. “When you go through an experience with people where you could potentially die, there’s some sort of connection that happens that is way deeper and intimate than normal. And those friendships do last a lifetime,” Signe adds.
Responsibilities beyond the breath-hold
Alongside valuing safety, Zahraa El-Husseiny, a freediving instructor and Egyptian national record holder, believes that protecting our oceans is also an important responsibility which comes with freediving. Many freedivers collect plastic they find floating in the water; others, like Diezel, stopped eating seafood after learning about the human impact of overfishing.
As Earth’s oceans face increasing pressures from pollution and global warming, those who rely on the sea will play a vital role in future conservation. First drawn to freediving because she was fascinated with marine life, El-Husseiny tries to teach others about respecting the ocean through her sport.
“We are very connected to the ocean, and we owe it to this to protect it. We know how essential it is to move freely underwater, so… we need to protect it,” she says.
For many, freediving offers a path for self-discovery and a deeper connection to the natural world. As a sport, it’s poised for continued growth in the future.
Freediving isn’t reserved for a select few either, and freediving communities are expanding in many coastal locations. “Everyone can learn how to hold their breath,” El-Husseiny adds.
“Everyone can learn how to enjoy the ocean and the peacefulness of diving. I would like people to know that this is something they can do, learn and progress in”, she says.
Passing on the love of this sport is something many freedivers take seriously. When Elgammal isn’t training for record-breaking dives, he’s working as an instructor and coach. He similarly urges those interested in the sport to “be curious”.
“Relax, enjoy, trust. Think about what you like and try to visualise that feeling.”
Rahman was one of the first women to be paid to play football in Europe – and set a host of records!
Deena Rahman owns five Guinness World Records
She was one of the players who got contracts when Fulham became professional in 2000
Rahman represented Bahrain in 40 matches, and scored 23 goals
In 2000, almost a decade before the English Football Association awarded the first central contracts to women, Fulham Ladies, at the insistence of club chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed, turned fully professional. It was a watershed moment in the history of women’s football. One of the 16 players paid to play professional football, a first in Europe, was Deena Rahman.
Deena Rahman’s career has since become one of football’s enduring legacies. She has played for the England women’s age group teams, then Bahrain national team. A midfielder during her playing days, the 39-year-old now works to promote gender equality in football while also creating a host of world records. The former Fulham midfielder currently holds five Guinness World Records!
Born to an Egyptian father, Deena Rahman rose through Fulham’s youth ranks, then joined the Arsenal Academy. But she returned to Fulham, and became a member of the team which completed a treble of Premier League National Division, FA Cup and League Cup in 2003. The club became semi-professional soon enough, after three years.
At 15, Rahman made her England U-18 debut. She also represented the country of her birth in two UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championships. However, she retired as a Bahraini player, having scored 23 goals in 40 matches after making her debut in 2011. She is regarded as one of the greatest to have played for the Reds, the nickname for the team from the small Western Asian kingdom.
In her journey – from Fulham to Manama with a brief stoppage in Cairo – Deena Rahman has witnessed a whole gamut of human experience. As a prodigious talent in England, she was a regular at the all-conquering Fulham. But injury and the disbandment of the Cottagers in 2006 forced her to move to Egypt, where she played for Wadi Degla for a brief spell. Another injury sidelined her, and she was back in England.
Then Bahrain came calling, thanks to her association with Arsenal. In 2010, Rahman arrived in the Gulf to work as a coach at Arsenal Soccer School at Soccer City in Janabiya. After five years there, she and her husband Paul Shipwright established their own academy, Tekkers Academy.
Meanwhile, Rahman was also busy creating her own legacy. In 2017, she, along with 32 women from 20 countries, set the Guinness World Record for the highest game of football ever played. And the setting was 18,760 feet above sea level, atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania – the highest mountain in Africa.
The following year, Deena Rahman played her part in setting another Guinness World Record, this time for a game of football at the lowest point in the world, the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley, at 1,412 ft below sea level.
In 2019, Rahman clocked two more Guinness World Records by taking part in a match featuring 822 players during the biggest five-a-side game at Olympic Lyonnaise Training Academy in Meyzieu, Lyon. Then in an exhibition match on the sidelines of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, she got her fourth Guinness World Record as a part of the match with the most nationalities – 114 participants, representing 53 nationalities. In 2020, Rahman secured her fifth record by hammering 7,876 penalties in 24 hours at the Kick Off Academy in Saar.
A total of 79 scientists from Cairo University are among a list of 160,000 scientists whose practical opinions are cited in various specializations with a (2 percent).
President of Cairo University Dr. Mohamed Othman Elkhosht received a report on Stanford University’s announcement of a list of scientists whose practical opinions are cited in various specializations with a (2 percent), featuring about 160,000 scientists from 149 countries, based on the Scopus database, in 22 scientific specializations, and 176 sub-specialization for distinguished researchers.
Dr. Elkhosht announced that the Stanford list included a large number of Cairo University scientists, with a total of 79 scientists on the two lists, whether the total from 2011 to 2022, or the latest version 2023, as this year’s list included scientists from 11 colleges (an increase of 8% over the previous year).
Number of scholars featured from Cairo University in the report’s 2022 edition was 73 scholars, representing 9 of the university’s faculties, and compared to the number of 74 and 55 scholars during the previous years (2021 and 2020, respectively), Cairo University thus leads all Egyptian universities and research centers in all years from 2020 until now.
Dr. ElKhosht explained that the annual Stanford University report is an objective, external indicator of the progress of scientific research at Cairo University.
It is also a quantitative indicator for the university to identify the number of distinguished faculty members in research and a reflection of the university’s methodology, plan, applied practices, and the support that the university provides to its employees from the various colleges and institutes affiliated with it.
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Saeed, Vice President of the University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, pointed out that the report reflects the strengthening of the confidence of the international scientific and research community in our scientists in all fields and specializations, and that the results of the classification this year included two lists, the first of which is specific to the list of the total practical years 2011 – 2022 (with a total of 417 scientists), While the second included the list of last year, 2022, with a total of 817 scientists, adding that this year’s list (2023 edition) contained 926 Egyptian scientists, while last year’s list (2022 edition) included 680 Egyptian scientists from various universities and research centers, compared to 605 and 396 during the years 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Stanford University used the Scopus database of the international publisher Elsevier to extract various indicators in this list, including global scientific publishing, the number of citations, the H index, and co-authorship, all the way to the composite citation index.
