The god of pop remembered The American World Master group presented Michael Jackson greatest hits in a high-energy show entitled Man' N The Mirror Forever Michael, performed for six consecutive days at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall and celebrating the rich and controversial musical life of the late pop star Michael Jackson. The group which comprises 23 artists including singers, dancers and musicians staged the show in several countries worldwide, but in the Egypt version they added a Pharaonic dance honouring the Egyptian revolution. Bassam El-Zoghby was ready with his camera. India will be organising the second India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 24-25 May. As an important regional player, particularly in the continent of Africa, Egypt has been invited -- to be represented by a number of officials. The Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Jitin Prasada paid a visit to Egypt a couple of days ago as the special envoy of the prime minister of India and met with the deputy prime minister and the temporary head of the Supreme Press Council Yehia El-Gamal in the presence of the Indian Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan. The world Director of Cervantes Institutes Carmen Caffarel signed an agreement with the Dean of the Continuous Education Centre at the American University in Cairo (AUC) Charles Norman, which places the Cervantes Institute in charge of teaching all the Spanish language courses in the centre. The agreement was signed at the institute branch in Dokki in the presence of Spanish Ambassador to Egypt Fidel Sendagorta. This is Caffarel 's second visit to Egypt since she took over this post in 2007; she paid a visit to the Cervantes Institute in Alexandria as well as Luxor to hold meetings with the aim of reinforcing the spread of Spanish in the area. To celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, last week El Sawy Culturewheel in Zamalek held a seminar introducing the media expert and Middle East BBC councellor Yasser Abdel-Aziz, along with the journalist and Press Syndicate Council member Gamal Fahmi. Moderated by El Sawy Culturewheel founder Mohamed El-Sawy, the seminar discussed several press freedom issues such as the imprisonment of journalists and problems of publishing under the former regime. The Al-Rehab Lions Club, presided over by Mahmoud El-Maghrabi, hosted a seminar discussing social and community awareness at the Grand Hyatt Nile Boat. The keynote speaker was former governor of district 352 Magdi Azab. Present were the head of Lions Clubs in Egypt Hossam Khodeir and club members Bahiya Hanafi, Mustafa Shawqi, Assad Hamdi and Nagwa Shoeib. The Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Huseyin Avni Botsali welcomed some 300 children at the garden of his residence in Giza to celebrate the Child Festival. A range of schools participated: the American City College, the Salaheddin Schools and different Turkish schools in Cairo. The celebration was attended by the spouse of the former Iraqi ambassador to Egypt along with a number of ambassadors and diplomats' wives, who spent a lovely day with the children and enjoyed folk dances and songs. photos: Ayman Barayez The Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association (ELFA), presided over by Maged El-Menshawi, held a significant evening at the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel to tackle the new strategies designed to activate governmental hospitals to support the dispossessed and offer them healthcare as well as discussing plans for restructuring the project of health insurance in Egypt. Minister of Health Ashraf Hatem was among the keynote speakers of the seminar who discussed current challenges to enforce these strategies. The Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohamed Tawfiq, the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziayada and the Vice-President of the ELFA Ghazi Nasser as well as a number of ELFA members were all present. The Cairo Opera House Cultural Salon at the Small Hall featured a poetic evening entitled "Egypt Reborn" in which Ahmed Taymour recited a range of poems about the revolution. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf surprised the attendees with his presence, while Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi, Director of the Cairo Opera House Abdel-Moneim Kamel, journalist Osama Heikal, media figure Hamdi El-Konayesi, actors Mohamed Wafiq, Sameh El-Seriti and Ahmed Maher were present as well. The Lebanese singer Assi Al-Hillani rocked the stage at the Soho Square Hotel in Sharm El-Sheikh to celebrate the return of tourism to the charming city. A large audience attended, enjoying a lovely night with Al-Hillani. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid The Catholic Centre, headed by Father Boutros Daniel, celebrated the 59th Egyptian Catholic Cinema Festival honouring several actors, in the presence of Culture Minister Emad Abu Ghazi. The festival honoured the retired icon Shadia, while comedians Samir Ghanem and Mahmoud El-Qalawi, retired actress Shahira, actress Mimi Gamal, actors Ashraf Zaki, Ahmed Helmi and Maged El-Kedwani, musician Hani Mehanna, media figure Mahmoud Sultan and actress-cum-producer Issaad Younis were also honoured. The ceremony was presented by actress Dina Abdallah and featured the powerful voice of singer Ali El-Haggar.
