Aida returns True love never dies. Even today the epic love story of Ethiopian Princess Aida and Egyptian warrior Radames is cherished the world over. Because of this, although it has been performed repeatedly at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall, Italian Giuseppe Verdi's Aida had the same sensational effect on its audience when the four-act melodramatic opera was presented this time round. For five consecutive days, the Cairo Opera Company, along with the Cairo Opera Orchestra, took spectators back to the Pharaonic era, when the events of the opera originally took place. Ready at the performance with his camera was Sherif Sonbol. ) photos: Ayman Barayez Another private newspaper sees the light. On Monday, intellectuals and writers of high calibre gathered to celebrate the launch of the daily Al-Shorouq. The paper is scheduled to hit the stands on 1 February. Among the prominent figures who attended the celebration, held at Farhati Hall of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, were Al-Shorouq Chairman of the Board Ibrahim El-Muallim, Chief of the Editorial Board Salama Ahmed Salama and Editor-in-Chief Abdel-Azim Hammad. Also present were Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Education Yosri El-Gamal, Minister of Industry and Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Hisham Al-Nazer and his German counterpart Bernd Erbel, Secretary-General of the Press Syndicate Makram Mohamed Ahmed, Al-Ahram Weekly 's Chief Editor Assem El-Kersh, deputy head of the National Council for Human Rights Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, AUC Press Director Mark Linz and writer Sanaa El-Beissi as well as filmmaker Khaled Youssef. The opening of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni 's art exhibition at the Zamalek Art Gallery was crowned by the attendance of a bevy of high-profile figures: gorgeous actress Laila Elwi and her husband businessman Mansour El-Gammal, actors Ezzat El-Alayli and Ahmed El-Saqqa, actresses Poussi, Lebleba, Nadia El-Guindi, Somaya El-Khashab, businessman Naguib Sawiris, Al-Ahram back page editor Mona Ragab, Al-Ahram theatre critic Amal Bakir, Libyan Culture Minister Noureddin Al-Daw, head of the Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin as well as veteran theatre actress Samiha Ayoub. The exhibition showcases 30 abstract paintings in different sizes. (see Listings p.5) Under the auspices of Alexandria Governor Adel Labib and head of the General Organisation of Culture Palaces (GOCP) Ahmed Megahed, the East and Middle Delta region, presided over by Eglal Hashem, organised a seminar hosting writer and Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Osama Saraya who spoke on "The economic crisis and its repercussions on Egypt and the Arab countries," at Sidi Gaber Culture Palace, Alexandria. The Academy of Espanyol and Barcelona Clubs have laid down a comprehensive schedule to train young Egyptian talented players who have won in the NextHero championship, which presents a big chance for young heroes to visit the largest academies in the world via training in the two Spanish clubs. Winners in the competition, organised by one of the largest mobile companies and supervised by the Egyptian Football Association will receive training courses in each of the major clubs for 10 days, during which they will be instructed in the latest training techniques. The names of the 10 young talented football players selected by the NextHero Campaign were announced at a ceremony, where they were handed a cheque of $225,000. The company also provided $100,000 for supporting players who will be trained at one of the most leading and prestigious football academies in Europe. To celebrate the opening of the 41st Cairo International Book Fair running through 5 February, a seminar was organised by Sheikh Zayed Book Prize in Cairo titled, "Children's Literature: Forming the Future". The conference was attended by Emirati Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Al-Zoabi as well as a galaxy of Egyptian and Arab literati, media figures writers. Prior to the seminar, a press conference was held by Secretary-General of the Awards Committee Rashed El-Eremi, to inform attendees about the goals of the prizes and how to become a winner. A lavish dinner was held on the occasion of the visit of the Palestinian Minister of Culture Tahani Abu Dekkah to the Cairo International Book Fair during its 41st round. The dinner was hosted by the Egyptian-Lebanese Publishing House (ELPH), presided over by Mohamed Rashad, at the Blue Nile boat. A plethora of novelists and poets attended the lavish celebration including poets Khairi Mansour and Ahmed El-Shahawi as well as writers Nabil Darwish, Saad El-Mouteri, Nourhan Rashad, Osama Meselhi and Ahmed Rashad. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid Pop singer Hamada Hilal featured in a stunning concert at the Cairo Stadium with the attendance of more than 10,000 of his fans. The audience enjoyed the melodies and sang along with Hilal as he chanted songs from his new album. The Royal Cairo Rotary Club (RCRC) presided over by Mayan Raslan hosted a lavish seminar at the Omar Al-Khayam Nile Boat. The seminar's keynote speaker was Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, who talked about the international financial crisis. The seminar was attended by Chairman of Telecom Egypt Aqil Bashir, head of the Right to Life Association Nani Saleh, former President of the Egyptian- American Commerce Group Taher Helmi as well as a galaxy of the RCRC members. More news on the 41st Cairo International Book Fair. The American University in Cairo Press, directed by Mark Linz, is participating at the fair taking place at Nasr City Fair Grounds with the AUC Press Naguib Mahfouz Pavilion. It offers a special AUC Press exhibit, textbooks at reduced prices, new general interest books as well as bargains at up to 60 per cent, until 3 February, from 10am to 7pm. Last Saturday, the AUC press celebrated modern Arabic literature, while next Saturday it will celebrate general interest publications. At the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall, a lavish ceremony was organised by the Sawiris Foundation Awards for Egyptian Literature, Novel, Short Story and Script-Writing for the year 2008 to announce the winners of its fourth round. The awards of the novel branch were given respectively to Mohamed El-Besani from the old generation and was put at LE100,000 and Hedra Gerguis from the young generation, who received LE40,000 for her novel Mawaqeet Al-Taari (Times of Nakedness). Sherif Mohamed Abdel-Meguid received the award for best short story Khedmet Ma Baad Al-Bei' (After Sale Service) estimated at LE40,000. The award for best script, valued at LE100,000, went to Hassan Abdel-Rahman El-Noni for the script of Al-Gotha Raqam 13 (Corpse No.13) and the same prize was also awarded to young script writer Gihan Suleiman for her work Al-Noras (The Seagull), who in turn was given LE80,000. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif inaugurated the pavilion of the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs at the 41st Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF), where the green colour was overwhelming to reflect the concept of the clean and non-pollutant environment. For this year, the original design of the pavilion has attracted CIBF goers and visitors. According to the Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George, the pavilion offers a variety of the ministry's publications that provide an environmental description for all governorates as well as the plans of the environmental projects undertaken by the ministry in cooperation with other concerned authorities.
