Viva Luxor Around 400 young people from 32 Arab and African states flocked to Karnak Temple to watch the sunrise in the company of Luxor Governor General Tarek Saadeddin and Secretary-General of the Arab Union for Youth and Environment Mamdouh Rashwan. The visit was organised on the fringe of the Arab-African Youth Environmental Forum entitled “The Nile: A Means to Cooperation, not Struggle”, under the auspices of the Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al-Arabi. Rashwan pointed out that the Arab-African youth — accompanied by Saadeddin, former foreign minister Mohamed Al-Orabi and head of the Water Studies and the Arab Water Security Centre Shouhra Qouseaa — also participated in the Gamila Ya Baladi (My Country is Beautiful) campaign that included the cleaning and beautifying of the area surrounding the Luxor Temple. Rashwan added that this round of the forum was named the Nelson Mandela Round, inspired by the veteran African leader who advocated peace and reconciliation in an attempt to heal the rift. Al-Ahram Weekly's very own Environment Editor Mahmoud Bakr was granted a certificate of recognition and a memorial medal carrying the slogan of the forum as well as a photo of the late Mandela for his participation in the activities. Kazakhstan Ambassador to Egypt Berik Aryne and his wife gave a reception at the Zamalek Marriott Hotel to mark the 21st Kazakhstan National Day. Present were the former minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowment) Hamdi Zaqzouq, Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Al-Alami and his Tunisian counterpart Mahmoud Al-Khemeri, Algerian Ambassador Nazir Al-Arabawi, Armenian Ambassador Armen Melkonyan, South Korean Ambassador Yung-So Kim, Algerian Ambassador Nazir Al-Arabawi, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Shahine Abdullayev, Greek Ambassador Chris Lazaris and his Uzbekistani counterpart Oybek Usmanov Arifbekovich, Ukraine Ambassador Yevhen Kyrylenko, Russian Ambassador Serge V. Kirpichenko as well as Al-Ahram Deputy Editor-in-Chief Mohamed Sabrine. The Catholic Centre for Egyptian Cinema, headed by Gather Boutros Daniel, held a grand ceremony celebrating Christmas with the attendance of an array of celebrities and high-profile figures. Present were Minister of State for Scientific Research Nadia Zakhari, Councillor Tahani Al-Gebali, Headmistress of Saint Joseph's Language School for Girls in Zamalek Sister Samiha Ragheb, actors Magdi Sobhi, Hala Sedki, Manal Salama, Olfat Omar, Dolli Shahine, Youssef Fawzi, Leqaa Sewidan, writer Akram Al-Saadani, musician Omar Khorshid and his wife Yasmine Gilani. The Bahraini Ambassador to Egypt Sheikh Rashid Al-Khalifa gave a reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo celebrating the 42nd Bahraini National Day. Present were the head of the Constitutional Committee of Fifty Amr Moussa, Presidential adviser for strategic and political affairs Mustafa Hegazi, Minister of Sports Taher Abu Zeid, presidential spokesman Ahmed Al-Meslemani, former minister of higher education Moufid Shehab, Omani Ambassador Sheikh Khalifa bin Harithi, Jordanian Ambassador Bishr Al-Khasawena, Kuwaiti Ambassador Salem Ghassan and his Moroccan counterpart Mohamed Al-Elmi as well as actors Hani Ramzi, Tamer Hagras, Somaya Al-Khashab, Nashwa Mustafa, Abeer Sabri, Hala Sedki, Afaf Shoeib, Dolly Shahine and singer Medhat Saleh. The American University in Cairo (AUC) Press held the book launch of Zahi Hawass's recently released Discovering Tutankhamum: From Howard Carter to DNA at the Sofitel Gezira Hotel. Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, former minister of higher education and scientific research Hani Hilal, former foreign minister Mohamed Al-Orabi, journalist Mona Ragab, diplomat Abdel-Raouf Al-Reidi, businessman Mohamed Al-Amin, singer Samir Al-Iskandarani, Egyptologist Tarek Al-Ewadi, plastic artist Omar Fahmi, political thinker Mustafa Al-Feki, versatile artist Samir Sabri, Jordanian Ambassador Bishr Al-Khasawena, media figure Jasmine Taha Zaki, writer Aisha Abdel-Ghaffar and actor Sameh Al-Sereiti were all present. The Cairo International Film Festival (9-18 November 2014), presided over this year and for the first time by the renowned film critic Samir Farid, announced the beginning of preparations for the 2014 edition. Present were head of the media office Khaled Al-Sirgani, head of the Egyptian journalism Doaa Sultan, head of Arab journalism Magdi Al-Tayeb, head of the foreign journalism Shaimaa Selim, head of radio and television journalism Ashraf Sadek, Editor-in-Chief of the daily bulletin film critic Khaled Mahmoud and editor-in-chief of the festival's catalogue, Al-Ahram Weekly's own film critic and Assistant Editor-in-Chief Hani Mustafa. The ART Satellite Channels held their annual festival distributing the festival's award by media figures Safaa Abul-Seoud and Soheir Gouda. Actress Riham Abdel-Ghafour received an award for her role in the Ramadan TV series Al-Da'iya (The Preacher), Aiten Amer for her role in Ramadan TV series Al-Zawga Al-Thania (The Second Wife), Kenda Aloush for her role in Niran Sadika (Friendly Fires), Tarek Lotfi and Ahmed Zaher for their roles in Hekayet Hayah (The Tale of Hayah), Nedal Al-Shafei for his role in the TV series Al-Shakk (The Doubt) and Youssra for her role in Nekdeb Law Oulna Mabenhbesh (We Lie if We Said We Don't Love). Actress Mona Zaki received an award for excellence in drama for her role in the Ramadan TV series Asia and Rania Youssef for her role in Niran Sadika and in Moga Harra (Heat Wave). Singer Hani Shakir was awarded for his lifetime's career while other singing awards went to the Emirati Hussein Al-Jasmi and the Egyptian actress-singer Donia Samir Ghanem. The Egyptian Tourism Activation Authority signed a protocol with the leading company of Arab music, Rotana, to organise a number of concerts all over Egypt's tourist destinations in Egypt that will take place in Hurghada, Sharm Al-Sheikh, Marsa Alam, Luxor, Aswan and the North Coast. The closing ceremony of the Arab Radio and Television Festival took place at the Mövenpick Hotel on 6 October, honouring a number of Egyptian TV and cinema stars. Actresses Youssra, Elham Shahine, Nelly Karim, Sabrine and Hala Sedki were honoured, while actress Ghada Abdel-Razek and Nelly Karim received best actress awards. The best actor award went to Bassem Samra, and TV presenter Poussy Shalabi received the best TV presenter and best programme awards. A celebration entitled “Yemen and Egypt through History” was launched at Al-Hanager Art Centre organised by the Culture Development Fund (CDF), headed by Mohamed Abu Seada, and the Foreign Cultural Relations Sector at the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Embassy of Yemen and the Yemeni Cultural Centre in Cairo. It was attended by the Yemeni Culture Minister Abdallah Oubal Manzouq, Abu Seada, Ambassador of Yemen to Cairo Mohamed Al-Hesmi and Director of the Yemeni Cultural Centre Aisha Al-Oulqi. The celebration kicked off with the opening of an art exhibition by Yemeni artist Eshtiak Qaeid featuring a number of oil and aquarelle paintings depicting the customs and traditions of Yemen and Egypt; this, in addition to an exquisite handicrafts exhibition featuring works made of brass, ceramic and stained glass produced by the Ceramic and Traditional Handicrafts Centre in Al-Fustat. “The Future of Energy in Egypt” was the title of a ministerial panel discussion opened by German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock. Speakers at the discussion were Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Laila Iskandar, Minister of Electricity and Energy Ahmed Imam, Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou and Tamer Abu-Bakr, the petroleum expert, who represented the private and public sector, as well as the chairman of the energy committee at the industrial union, Nesmahar Sayed reports. All agreed on the importance of moving towards renewable and sustainable energy and the importance of green tourism in the near future. The discussion ended with a conclusion emphasising that a transparent policy should be adopted by the governments towards energy issues. The American Cancer Society (ACS), in collaboration with the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), have selected Dr Mohamed Shaalan, professor of surgical oncology and director of the Prevention and Early Detection Unit at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, to author “Cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean” in The Cancer Atlas. This edition of The Cancer Atlas will be launched at the Union for International Cancer Control World Cancer Congress in Melbourne, Australia in 2014.
