11 - 17 January 2001
Issue No.516
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 11 - 17 January 2001 Issue No.516 |
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Pack of Cards
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* Al-Ahram's new baby and 14th publication, Loghat Al-Asr (Language of the Age), is selling like hotcakes. The IT monthly magazine hit the newsstands with its first issue last Thursday and when Al-Ahram Weekly went to print, Al-Ahram had been obliged to issue a second and third run to meet unexpected popular demand. This success is a first in Al-Ahram's history, but also for any Arabic IT magazine in the country. All this glory, dears, is due to the high expertise of technical consultant, deputy chairman and general manager of Al-Ahram organisation Ali Ghoneim, and to the dedication of its young editor, Gamal Ghitas. Much of the credit goes of course to the chairman of the organisation and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, Ibrahim Nafie, who has proven once more that he understands the "language of the age"
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* Nazih Girgis, chairman and founder of the US-Mid-East Music and Fine Arts Council, has taken a step in the direction of raising children's awareness of environmentally friendly behaviour by writing the text of Carnival of Animals, a new book about music and the environment, inspired by a famous ballet bearing the same name. The book is a summary of 14 musical works by French composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saens. It focuses on the importance of keeping the environment clean and tidy. The message is adapted to issues of the environment in Egypt, and is illustrated by Salma Kamal and Violette Osiris, who did the computer graphics. Nadia Makram Ebeid, minister of state for environmental affairs, wrote the introduction. To make sure that the message is well disseminated, the book will be distributed in schools for free.
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* Darlings, hardly a week passes without Yehia Khalil's Jazz Troupe presenting a new performance. Today and tomorrow, Khalil's band will present a concert at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall, encompassing selected pieces of music by worldwide jazz musicians in addition to Khalil's most sought-after compositions, blending Eastern and Western melodies. For this concert, the American flautist Sam Green will join the recital, which will also introduce the Indian jazz singer Georgia Lanbers. And there is more news for Khalil's fans: he is currently working on his new album, titled Iqa' Al-Rouh (Soulbeat), which will comprise a selection of his biggest hits. Khalil's artistic endeavours are not confined to opera concerts, but also extend to Egyptian TV and Radio, which air his much-debate programme Alam Al-Jazz (The World of Jazz).
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* Among the festivities that marked Eid Al-Fitr was the Sixth Annual Orbit Arab Song Festival, held under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak at the Cairo International Conference Centre. Of course, dears, as is often the case, a number of top Arab singers, among them Latifa, Nawal Al-Zoghby, Mohamed Abdu and Hakim, stayed at Le Méridien Heliopolis for the duration.
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* I hope you had time to pop into the lobby of the Cairo Sheraton some time last week to see for yourselves all the Christmas decorations that gave the place such a festive air. Of course, the lights and garlands looked even brighter when the Christmas choir began performing its special Christmas progamme and the guests joined in for an evening of music and song.
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* If you are inclined to believe that other motorists are your main worry when you are trying to keep to your side of the road, think again. True, one of Ramadan's cherished traditions involves driving at top speed the wrong way down a one-way street just after the Iftar cannon has announced the end of the day's fast, but never before now had the practice been emulated by donkey-cart drivers. Apparently such bad habits are not only contagious, but are applicable on non-fasting days as well, as our photographer Sherif Sonbol has been able to prove.
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