Italy's former minister of relations with parliament Gian Guedo Folloni, who visited Egypt this week with a delegation, hailed the artistic role that the Cairo Opera House plays. His statement came during a visit to the Opera House, in which the chairperson Ines Abdel-Dayem arranged a tour for the delegation. The visit aims to improve bilateral relations and improve the cultural, artistic, scientific, athletic and tourist relations between the two countries. “President Al-Sisi's visit to Kenya is another chapter in a bright history that binds the two states. Our story with Kenya, as I read it in Mohamed Fayek's book, Nasser and the African Revolution, is one of dozens on Egypt in Africa. Egypt communicated and supported the national movement and its leader Jomo Kenyatta… The Kenyan Mau Mau uprising against the British occupation started three months after the July Revolution.” Said Al-Shahhat, Al-Youm Al-Sabei Osman Ali Osman: More than a conductor It was business as usual. The girls of Al-Nour wal Amal Orchestra were adjusting their musical instruments for their performance at a reputable hotel last week and waiting for their conductor Ali Osman. To their shock, Osman died on his way to the stage to lead the girls, a job he had been doing for 26 years. Osman was a professor at the Cairo Conservatoire, but he spent long hours training the visually impaired and blind girls of this orchestra, creating a sense of harmony and accompanying them on more than 18 tours around the world. In the last few years his health deteriorated; he had to have his foot amputated last year. However, this did not stop him. “I do not consider myself a conductor in the exact sense of the word, I am a coach. As soon as the performance starts, I stand behind the curtains listening to my girls playing from memory. Each girl is conducting herself,” he said in a previous interview. cafés Do we need to close all cafés? “Some people object to opening cafés in principle. But instead of clearly stating their viewpoint, they mention reasons like the noise, blocking the traffic… They claim that these reasons are enough to close down cafés although deep down they believe that cafés are the cause of moral decline. Although I agree that these reasons are strong enough, it is important to note that they are comparable to mistakes committed in hospitals or schools. No one calls for closing down hospitals and schools.” Ahmed Abdel-Tawwab, Al-Ahram Heikal Still among us “The eternal value of [Mohamed Hassanein] Heikal, who died last year on 17 February, is in the fact that he filled the world with discussions and controversy without assuming an ‘official' or even ‘non-official' post. He left his position as chairman of the board of Al-Ahram in 1974 and stayed away from any executive position in any press institution until his death in 2016. Nevertheless, he was the centre of political, media and intellectual controversy in Egypt and the Arab world.” Amr Al-Shobki, Al-Masry Al-Youm Abdallah, Al-Masry Al-Youm “Why are you in a rush? Be patient, the price may go up again.” The best proof “The latest reshuffle replaced nine ministers and five governors. As usual, we do not know why the old ministers left and why the new ones were selected. However, there must be criteria for selection that the rulers have. We shall soon find out whether they are good criteria.” Abdel-Azim Al-Basel, Al-Ahram “Everyone wishes the new ministers and governors success. They hope they will be up to the responsibilities on their shoulders… Their mission is not easy but it is not impossible in spite of all difficulties like the deterioration in the infrastructure and the bad condition of utilities and services everywhere in the country.” Mohamed Barakat, Al-Akhbar “Nadia Abdou's appointment as the first female governor is good news because it reflects the state's willingness to empower youth and promote women to higher positions. However, what makes her selection more meaningful and valuable is her professional career that is full of achievements either during her 10-year job at the Drinking Water Company in Alexandria or when she assumed her position as deputy of the previous governor of Beheira governorate. In that position, she managed to take decisive measures to face the recent floods that hit the governorate, increase drinking water plants, face the spread of virus C and reclaim more than 700 feddans of state lands. That is why she was dubbed ‘the iron woman'.” Karim Abdel-Salam, Al-Youm Al-Sabei Facebook “Public education in the US, the centre of capitalism, is free. It is worth mentioning that public education, pre-university, is the most common in the US; that is a message for those who are considering cancelling public education in Egypt. You should reconsider your stand and search for effective tools to improve education.” Aly Farahat “Before talking about the American, German or Japanese systems of education, we should look for a system that suits Egyptians. We should prepare the officials to accept the idea of change. Change is not only reform within the Ministry of Education. It will involve other ministries. The most important thing is that it should have a positive effect on the citizen.” Tarek Kamal Moustafa Twitter The Big Pharaoh @TheBigPharaoh Many MB on social media are mourning the death of the blind sheikh. Thin line between MB and terrorism, designation is still counterproductive. Michael Hanna @mwhanna1 Always instructive to see what the MB really believes. Designation would be counterproductive but this is who these guys are. Mahmoud Salem @Sandmonkey Fun fact: Almost every major Jihady thinker got truly radicalised in Egyptian prisons: Sayed Qutb, Zawaheri, Omar Abdelrahman, etc.. Maait Egyptian Essence: 10 million tons of wheat “Mohamed Maait, deputy finance minister, said the state will pay some LE120 billion in pensions for nine million persons in the present fiscal year. This amount includes LE90 billion as expenses of the annual increase in the pensions.” Al-Shorouk
