♣ The Ambassador of India to Egypt Navdeep Suri and his wife Mani gave a dinner reception for Egyptian scholars and scientists who had received the CV Raman International Fellowship and scholarships under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Africa Scholarship Scheme. Minister of Scientific Research Nadia Zakhari was the principal guest of the evening, and present were many prominent scholars. In his welcome address, Suri stressed the good will generated by scientific exchange programmes, especially how Egyptian and Indian scholars managed to establish partnerships on short visits. He emphasised the role of collaboration in science and technology as a critical aspect of Indian-Egyptian relations, evidenced by the number of agreements signed during President Mohamed Morsi's visit to India in March 2013. Zakhari, for her part, thanked India for supporting Egypt through various scholarships, and expressed the hope that such cooperation will grow stronger to the benefit of both countries. ♥ The Embassy of Pakistan in Cairo held a fateha khawani (or condolence service) at the Shuhda-e-Pakistan Graveyard in memory of the victims of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) inaugural flight 705 to Cairo, which crashed on 20 May 1965 with 125 passengers on board, including the crew, out of whom only six survived. The victims were mainly journalists, tour operators and officials of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). They were buried in a graveyard in old Cairo near Al-Imam Al-Shafei Mosque. In a solemn ceremony arranged by the Embassy of Pakistan, floral wreaths were laid at the memorial of Shuhda-e-Pakistan on behalf of the Government of Pakistan, the PIA, the Pakistan International School Cairo (PISC) and the Pakistani community in Egypt. Addressing a large number of community members and diplomats, Ambassador of Pakistan Manzoor ul-Haq said that, though they buried thousands of miles away from their homeland, Pakistan's martyrs are not forgotten by their people. “We will always remember them and pray for them,” the envoy said.
♠ Celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Islamic studies department at Leiden University in Holland, the Cultural Development Fund, presided over by Mohamed Abu-Seada, in collaboration with the Dutch Embassy in Cairo and the Foreign Cultural Relations sector at the Ministry of Culture, today inaugurates an exhibition at the Al-Ghouri Caravansary in Al-Azhar showcasing a rare collection of Islamic manuscripts and drawings from books — part of the private collection of Leiden University. Established in 1613, the Arabic Language department of the university is the oldest in Europe, and at present its library includes some 4,000 Arabic and 2,000 Persian and Ottoman manuscripts. The most precious manuscripts be on display are on Sharia (law of Islam), tafseer (interpretation), hadith (sayings of the prophet), mathematics, astrology, literature, medicine and philosophy. The inauguration of the exhibition will be accompanied by a concert of Sufi singing and spiritual music by the Samaa troupe, founded and directed by artist Intesar Abdel-Fattah. (see Listings p.22)
¨ The Nile City cinema saw the premiere of Al-Harami wal-Abeit (The Thief and the Dork) with the attendance of the cast of the film actors Khaled Al-Sawi, Khaled Saleh and Rouby. The film was written by Ahmed Abdallah and produced by Ahmed Al-Sobki.
♣ A book launch took place at Diwan Bookstore in Zamalek to celebrate the release of the diaries of the former head of the Population and Development Commission in the United Nations Aziza Hussein. In her diaries, Hussein traces her long history as an activist in a number of NGOs in the field of family planning. Present were Al-Ahram Managing Editor Gamal Zaida, Al-Ahram writer Aisha Abdel-Ghaffar, writer Ragaa Youssef Idris and society ladies Azza Fahmi, Taghrid Al-Sherif and Wafaa Al-Nashashbi.
♥ The Inner Wheel Maadi Club held a lunch banquet followed by a fashion show by designer Nabila Al-Hakim showcasing the latest fall line of 2013-2014, as well as a charity bazaar, at the Sofitel Maadi Hotel. Revenues are earmarked for the benefit of the Mabara Maadi Hospital and for furnishing three rooms in an old people's home in 6 October city.
♠ The inauguration of the first Employability and Career Development Centre (ECDC) at the Suez Canal University will take place on 4 June at the ECDC in the Education Development Building, on the SCU Ismailia Campus. Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the American University in Cairo (AUC), ECDC established the first centre in Assiut University in March and will establish another one at Ain Shams University. The Suez Canal University is the second in Egypt to have the ECDC. Delegations from USAID, AUC and the Suez Canal University will attend the launch. The USAID delegation includes Lisa Franchett, education director; Mary Ishak, agreement officer's representative of the ECDC programme; Christine Giallongo, public outreach specialist. The AUC delegation includes AUC President Lisa Anderson, Provost Amr Shaarawi, and Vice President for Student Affairs Ashraf Al-Fiqi. ECDC itself will be represented by Maha Guindi, executive director; Dalia Awad, associate director-career advising and Nadine Fawzi, ECDC project manager. ¨ Lebanese singer Nicole Saba and Egyptian singer Mohamed Hamaki rocked the stage at the Al-Ahram Canadian University in a thrilling concert with a large audience. President of Al-Ahram Canadian University Ismail Farouk granted Saba and Hamaki the university's honorary shield.
