The IMF poses a bigger threat to the Egyptian government than radical Islamists, David Rosenberg writes in Haaretz. The austerity measures conditioned on the fund’s USD 12 bn loan might have spurred economic growth and made a dent in the government’s budget deficit, but this has yet to trickle down to the broader population and has instead led to record poverty levels.

Jennifer Lopez and her outfits vs. BDS and Samir Sabry: Jennifer Lopez’s concert in New Alamein last Friday saw “few attendees” after BDS Egypt campaigned against the global pop star for her performance in Tel Aviv earlier this month, reports the Jerusalem Post. And those who did attend were apparently unhappy with some of her outfits at the concert, which propelled overzealous Egyptian lawyer Samir Sabry to file a lawsuit against the singer for performing “semi-naked,” and is suing several women ministers who attended the concert, Al Bawaba reports. Sabry was one of the lawyers to file obscenity charges against actress Rania Youssef for appearing in a revealing dress last year.

Other headlines making the rounds during the break:

• University graduates in Egypt are increasingly turning their vehicles into mobile coffee vans, seizing the chance to set up small, profitable businesses in the face of high unemployment, Xinhua reports.
• New ancient Egypt special documentary airs on NatGeo: A series of films documenting ancient Egypt titled Egypt Specials premiered on National Geographic Abu Dhabi on Thursday, according to Digital Studio Middle East.