Along the Nile It is at these moments that the Nile appears at its most beautiful. A little before sundown, the river cutting through Cairo reflects the capital's landmarks -- like the Nile Towers -- on its calm, smoothly flowing surface. Photographer Sherif Sonbol couldn't resist its beauty. The 10-year-old Mahmoud Wael is the Egyptian boy, who was said to have an IQ higher than Ahmed Zuweil 's by 10 points. He received a free scholarship from Microsoft to obtain ICDL. He is now on scholarship from AUC to get Cisco certificate for network design. Zuweil, Barack Obama's science envoy, expressed an interest in meeting with Wael for a photo-op -- arranged for by the US Embassy last week -- during his current visit to Egypt. Zuweil was proud to see an Egyptian example like Wael. During the meeting, Zuweil asked that this God-gifted child be supported in an environment that will allow his talent to grow, but he warned the parents and the media against pressuring him. He asked that the boy be left to live his normal childhood and let his talent grow naturally. Last Sunday, once again artist and Culture Minister Farouk Hosni awed his fans with his new exhibition inaugurated at the Zamalek Art Gallery amidst a galaxy of senior state officials and celebrities. Among them were Al-Ahram Chairman of the Board Abdel-Moneim Said and his wife Amal Toqan, former foreign minister Ahmed Maher, actress Lebleba, ART presenter Poussy Shalabi, Nubian pop star Mohamed Mounir and novelist Gamal El-Ghitani. In an attempt to develop Egypt's cultural scene, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development organised a gala ceremony on Saturday at the Cairo Opera House to announce the winners of the Sawiris Cultural Award 2009 during its fifth round. The ceremony was attended by actors Hisham Abdel-Hamid, Mohamed Sobhi, Yossra, filmmaker Khaled Youssef and novelist Gamal El-Ghitani as well as top intellects, artists, writers, literati and ambassadors. Tycoon businessmen Samih and Naguib Sawiris were also present. The literary prize saw 161 works, including 70 novels and 91 collections of short stories, vying for the title. In the film script category, 150 contestants competed for the award. A new prize was added to this year's event -- Best Play Script. In this group, 138 scripts were presented, the prize ranging between LE30,000 and LE100,000. In the professional writers category, writer Montasser El-Qafass won the award for his Masaalet Waqt (It is a Matter of Time). Hanaa Attiya, with Onf Al-Dhel (The Shadow's Aggression), won a prize in the short stories group, while Essam Helmi, with his Niran Sadiqa (Friendly Fire), won the Best Cinema Script award. Ahmed Nabil won the award of Best Play Script. photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid The premiere of the new controversial blockbuster Bel Alwan Al-Tabieya (In Natural Colours) took place in Nile City Cinema. The film raises a number of problematic religious issues and stars a bevy of budding actors, including Yossra El-Louzi, Farah, Mona Hala, Karim Qassem and Ramzi Lenar. Produced by Kamel Abu Ali, the film is the second hit by gifted filmmaker Osama Fawzi, after his last much debatable film Bahib Al-Sima (I Love Cinema). A prestigious celebration marking the centennial anniversary of the Egyptian Association for Political Economy (EAPE) was held at the Sofitel Gezira Hotel. During the celebration, People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour honoured a galaxy of high-profile personalities; on top of the honourees were Al-Ahram Chairman of the Board Abdel-Moneim Said, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Ismail Serageldin, former minister of health Ibrahim Badran, former minister of economy Mustafa El-Said and Judge Khaled El-Qadi. photos: Ayman Barayez A thrilling book signing ceremony was hosted by Saint Cyrille Church in Heliopolis for the newly released book, Hegret Al-Shawam Ila Masr (The Migration of the Levantines to Egypt), written by Lebanese author Massoud Daher. The ceremony was crowned by the presence of head of the Foreign Relations Committee Mustafa El-Feki, Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada, chairman of Al-Shorouq Publishing House Ibrahim El-Muallim, Patriarch Gergerious, Father Rafiq Gerish, media figures Abdel-Azim Hammad and Maha Abdel-Fattah, head of the Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association Negad Shaarawi as well as members of the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo. Indian Minister of State for Personnel Prithviraj Chavan paid an official visit to Egypt last week upon an invitation by Minister of State for Administrative Development Ahmed Darwish. Chavan was accompanied by a delegation of senior Indian government officials. Chavan 's visit aims at sustaining and widening the scope of bilateral relations between Egypt and India, while Chavan and Darwish discussed various topics for activating more mutual cooperation in the fields of public service delivery, capacity building, and e-governance. During his visit in Egypt, Chavan met with Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Hilal as well as Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali. For the fifth consecutive year, Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel hosted a remarkable celebration honouring award winners in cinema, theatre, poetry, novel writing, photography and animation. The celebration included a poignant speech delivered by veteran scriptwriter Wahid Hamid on behalf of the honourees. Among the winners were head of the National Centre for Translation Gaber Asfour, plastic artist Mohamed Taha Hussein, novelist Bahaa Taher, scriptwriter Hamid, compiler of the controversial historical novel, Azazeel, Youssef Zeidan, stage director Khaled Galal, winners of the State Awards of Recognition, Ahmed Darwish and Hani Mutawei, head of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki, Rashiqa El-Reidi, who was chosen as one of five ladies around the world superior in science, and artist Ayman Lotfi, winner of the Shanghai Biennale in photography. Congratulations! Mona Samir obtained her master's degree in science management of international trade logistics with excellence from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT). Samir 's thesis is entitled, The Economic and Environmental Aspects of Logistics of the Exports of Medicinal Plants and Aromatic Oils. The study focuses on the positive effects of supply chain management of the export of medicinal plants and aromatic oils by increasing the rate of growth of Egyptian exports of this product. Samir received her master's degree under the supervision of dean of the Institute of Logistics and AASTMT professor, Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, and professor of economics at the Faculty of Agriculture in Al-Azhar University, Ezzeddin Abdel-Qader. The Syrian Catholic Charity Society held recently its annual Charity Ball at the Semiramis InterContinental Cairo Hotel. The evening was attended by many distinguished guests and Cairene celebrities, amongst them renowned actor Hussein Fahmi and his wife, actress-cum-singer Leqaa Swedan, who was welcomed upon arrival by Charge d'Affaires de l'Ordre Souverain of Malta in Egypt Roger Chakkal and Semiramis InterContinental General Manager Jurgen Baumhoff. Highlights of the event included a recital by tenor Sobhi Bedeir who swept the crowds off their feet. IThe UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced the appointment of Tunisian film star Hend Sabri as an "Ambassador Against Hunger" last Tuesday in a press conference held at the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo. Sabri will assume her new role by raising awareness on nutrition and hunger issues. In 2009, the compounding effects of the economic crisis that followed the 2008 food price hikes pushed the number of hungry people to unprecedented levels, with more than one billion around the world going hungry every day. Sabri has been supporting the WFP since February 2009, and travelled to Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories, visiting WFP beneficiaries to see first hand the impact that food assistance has on the lives of the most vulnerable. She will be joining forces with Egyptian film actor, Mahmoud Yassin, the WFP's ambassador against hunger since 2004.
