Guirgis released EGYPTIAN truck driver Victor Tawfiq Guirgis, who was held hostage in Iraq for more than two weeks along with Turkish driver Bulent Yanik, was released on 17 June. Guirgis and Yanik were both kidnapped around 1 June. According to Guirgis, the kidnappers did not mistreat them, and both drivers killed time by chatting and watching television. Both Guirgis and Yanik worked as drivers for a Kuwaiti catering company contracted to the coalition forces. Guirgis said his kidnappers rebuked the pair for "working for Americans". He said he told them he wouldn't do so anymore. A videotape broadcast by Al-Arabiya satellite channel at the start of the kidnapping ordeal featured the kidnappers accusing the drivers of collaborating with US occupation forces by transporting their weapons and supplies, and threatening to kill Guirgis and Yanik if their countries did not condemn the American-led occupation. Award winners DURING a Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) meeting on Monday, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced this year's winners of the state awards in literature, arts, and social sciences. The Mubarak Award for literature went to former Culture Minister Ahmed Heikal, while historian Yunan Labib Rizk won the Mubarak Award for social sciences and artist Adam Henein won the Mubarak Award for art. Each of the Mubarak Award winners received LE100,000. The State Distinction Awards (LE25,000 each) went to a number of prominent figures, including film directors Dawoud Abdel-Sayed and Ali Badrakhan for the arts, journalist Iqbal Baraka and Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid for literature, and Cairo University political science professor Hassan Nafaa, Ahmed Abdallah Zayed and Ahmed Magdi Hegazi for social sciences. The State Merit Awards (LE50,000 each) went to cartoonist Mustafa Hussein, director Inaam Mohamed Ali and Amr Geneidi for the arts, Abdel-Ghaffar Mekawi, Ibrahim Aslan and Mohamed El-Gawadi for literature, Ali Radwan, dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, Maamoun Salama and Mohamed Nour Farahat for social sciences. The State Incentive Awards (LE10,000) went to Ibtihal Ahmed El-Asli, Khalid Yehia Shukri, Amal El-Qenawi and Hani El-Geweili for the arts, Isabelle Kamal Khalil, Abdel-Aziz Abul-Atta, Samah El-Anwar, Abdu Mohamed El-Zera' and Khaled El-Serougi for literature, and Tarif Farah and Mahmoud Hussein for social sciences. Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Mufid Shehab, meanwhile, announced the winners of this year's state awards for sciences last Thursday. A total of LE1.175 million in prize money was awarded to 68 winners in different scientific fields. The most prestigious -- and at LE100,000, also the most rewarding -- of the prizes are the Mubarak awards. This year's Mubarak Award for sciences and advanced technology went to Cairo University science professor Attia Abdel-Salam Ashour, and Abdel-Razeq Ibrahim, former dean of Helwan University. Amongst the nine recipients of the LE50,000 state merit award for sciences were former Scientific Research Minister Venice Kamel Gouda, and Al-Azhar University professor of medicine Kooka Saadeddin. Amongst the five recipients of the LE25,000 Excellence Award for sciences were Alexandria University's Masoud Abdel-Rahman, and Cairo University's Mosaad Abdel-Hamid Helali. Forty-three others were awarded LE10,000 each as incentive prizes for sciences and advanced technology. Five others were awarded prizes by the National Bank of Egypt for their innovative scientific efforts. No illusions US UNDER SECRETARY of State William Burns arrived in Cairo yesterday for talks with senior Egyptian officials and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Burns' visit to Cairo is the first stop on a Middle East tour that will also take him to Israel and Jordan. While in Egypt, Burns will take part in the Quartet meeting, due to convene in Taba today at the ambassadorial level. "We hope that during our Quartet meeting we will be agreeing on steps to help reconstruct Palestinian economy," Burns said in Cairo yesterday. Following talks with Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Burns said that Egyptian efforts to broker an orderly Israeli pullout from Gaza was an attempt to take advantage of the "opportunity offered by the Israeli withdrawal plan". Buns also said that Washington, and the other three members of the Quartet -- Russia, the EU and the UN -- would look into a proposal made at the Arab summit for a joint meeting between the Quartet and an Arab ministerial committee in charge of the Arab Peace initiative. Burns offered no details about concrete US plans to support Egyptian efforts or to pursue the meeting proposed by the Arab League.Burns said that efforts would continue to promote a peace process, "but we have no illusions".
