By Madame Sosostris It takes two to tango For six days, the Cairo Opera Ballet Company directed by Erminia Kamel and the Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Hisham Gabr presented the two ballets Tango Rêve and Bolero at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. Bassam El-Zoghby was there with his camera. �ô Two Egypt-related events took place at the UN headquarters in New York City recently: the naming of Moataz Khalil as Egypt's ambassador to the United States and head of its permanent delegation in the United Nations. Until last week Khalil occupied the post of assistant foreign minister. He will succeed Ambassador Maged Abdel-Fattah, who was appointed deputy to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for African affairs: the second piece of news. Speaking on the phone, Abdel-Fattah told Al-Ahram writer Mahmoud Murad that his appointment is testimony to the success of Egyptian diplomacy. At the top of his agenda will be the conference of sustainable development scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 15-22 June. �ôï For the American University in Cairo (AUC)'s John D Gerhart Centre for Philanthropy and Human Rights annual public lecture, the Nobel laureate and former US president Jimmy Carter spoke to university students, faculty, civil society leaders and dignitaries, including Egypt's ministers of higher education and research, as well as the US and Canadian ambassadors. In the lecture, "Reflections on Democracy, Human Rights and Peace", at the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House, Carter had distilled his views on the Arab-Israeli peace stalemate and the crucial role of human rights as nations are transiting from dictatorships to democracy. After giving AUC speech, Carter responded to questions during a discussion on stage with three AUC student leaders, discussing the political incidents and the presidential elections in Egypt and the democratic process in the Middle East. The seminar featured graffiti of the Egyptian revolution. �ô� The 60th annual festival of the Catholic Centre for Cinema -- headed by Father Boutros Daniel -- opened in the presence of former minister of culture Emad Abu Ghazi and the Actors' Syndicate head Ashraf Abdel-Ghafour. They honoured an assembly of film figures including actors Hussein Fahmi, Yossra, Ezzat El-Alaili, Dalal Abdel-Aziz, Youssef Dawoud, Fardous Abdel-Hamid, Lebleba, Elham Shahin, director Tawfiq Saleh, film critics Rafiq El-Saban and Ahmed El-Hadari, script writer Wahid Hamed, make-up artist Mohamed Ashoub and cinema researcher Mona El-Bendari. Singer Nadia Mustafa performed a number of her classic numbers. Present were actresses Yasime Gellani and Dina Fouad, journalist Fatma Naout and radio figure Osama Mounir. �ô The star pianist Omar Khayrat, who only very rarely performs, gave a concert with his band at Porto Sokhna to celebrate the first days of summer. �ôï The Culture Resource issued a statement in solidarity with Algerian cultural activities against the repressive policies of the Algerian Ministry of Culture, emphasising how such a ministry should support the freedom of artistic expression and consult with cultural activists, artists and audience. This initiative comes in response to various repressive measures against citizens whose opinions, ideas or projects do not reflect official policy, notably the National Culture Policy Group in Algeria -- a direct affiliate of the Cultural Resource. �ô The Egyptian photographer Mohamed Dallal won first place for the second time in a row at the International Photography Contest founded by the National Geographic Magazine for 2010 and 2011. Dallal is one of the main founders of the View Finders Photography Club, based in Alexandria. A 22-year-old engineering student at Alexandria University, in 2010, Dallal won first place in the portrait section, while in 2011 he won first in the animal section.
