The 10-day festival Al-Fann Fil Sharei – or “Art in the Street” – opened in Luxor early this week. The six artists taking part in the festival will make paintings inspired by the Luxor landscape and show them at the end. They will also turn the walls of four villages into murals and conduct workshops to teach children the basics of painting. The festival is organsied by the Egyptian institute, Al-Fann Minalnass wa lilnass – “Art from and to the People” – in collaboration with the two German institutes of Goethe and Robert Bosch. Nagwa Abul-Naga: Delivering a valuable message Many who have been mourning Nagwa Abul-Naga, the renowned radio and television anchor, agreed that Egypt has lost a great figure who was always keen to deliver valuable information and teach a new generation of anchors. She died this week at the age of 70. Having started her career as a correspondent at Sawt Al-Arab Radio Station, Abul- Naga delivered her message through assuming various positions through her career. She was head of Youth and Sports Network and head of the Specialised Channels. She was born in Mansroura, and came to Cairo to study law. Meanwhile, she joined the High Institute for Theatrical Arts. She joined the Egyptian Radio before graduating. She is one of the most important anchors in Egyptian Radio and Television, whose voice is cherished by millions of Egyptians. She also anchored various programmes and conducted interviews with important figures in different fields. Her last contribution to Egyptian Radio was recording a few promotional advertisements for the newly established Maspero FM Radio Station in her popular voice in October last year. The Egyptian touch “You can hardly find any genuine professionalism in Egypt at present. A carpenter cannot find disciples who will inherit the profession... Young people prefer jobs that provide a quick and large return like driving tok-toks. They've abandoned trades like carpentry, plumbing and painting. We must return to the genuine Egyptian touch in our keenness to build the future...” Mohamed Fathi, Al-Akhbar Change in the equation? “Although some Israeli and American think tanks and decision-making bodies bet that there will be a change in the US-Egyptian-Israeli equation, most of their strategic visions are based on the belief that Egypt is a pivotal state in the Middle East and that its stability means the stability of the whole region.” Tarek Fahmi, Al-Shorouk Egyptian Essence: Nine cooperation agreements “President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi signed with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko nine cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding in various fields including the military.” Aswat Masreya facebook “Great joy. Congratulations to everyone. Our land is back. Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian.” Mohamed Mohamed “Egypt refused to abandon a few kilometres in Al-Arish to establish Greater Gaza on them because it is our land. It did not abandon Halayeb and Shalatin although they are regarded by Sudan as part of its territory. There is a difference between ownership, sovereignty and administration. Tiran and Sanafir are Saudi land under Egyptian sovereignty and administration.” Mahmoud Gamal Twitter Salah Elhossiny @SalahElhossiny Lawyers, MPs say Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian. Mai Shams El-Din @maishams Parliamentarian @HaithamElhariri publishes photos of fellow parliamentarians putting badges saying “Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian”. Ghananewsline @Ghananewsline1 Egypt: Egyptians turn to herbal remedies as currency drop hits medicine costs. Daily News Egypt @DailyNewsEgypt Pharmacists Syndicate postpones partial #strike after call from presidency. #Egypt #medicine. The medicines crisis: Living on separate islands “It is clear that the parties involved in the critical medicines crisis, making such a severe impact on citizens, are acting unilaterally. The government, the pharmaceutical syndicate and the drug companies are acting as if they were living on separate islands. The syndicate declared a strike on 25 January and I don't know why it chose that day. Meanwhile, the drug companies are after a fair pricing system after the floatation of the pound and the price hike. But the citizen remains the victim.” Elham Abul-Fath, Al-Akhbar “The rise in the prices of medicine presents a heavier burden for Egyptians. But is raising the prices the solution or do we need to take other measures to improve the drug industry that Egypt established before the July Revolution and developed in the 1950s and 60s? We used to produce 80 per cent of our medicine needs. However, foreign companies were later allowed into the market and that led to a deliberate destruction of the Egyptian companies. So, should we keep the situation as it is or start a national project to re-ignite the national medicine industry and other industries?” Adel Al-Sanhouri, Al-Youm Al-Sabei
