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Politics/headline news
Mission after mission
Several delegations from Egyptian think tanks have been visiting the US in the past few weeks in an attempt to lobby Washington on issues that concern Egypt. A group from Egypt's Economic Forum (EEF), led by businessman Shafik Gabr, just returned from Washington, while another, from Egypt's Council on Foreign Relations, is heading there this week, led by former ambassador Mohamed Shaker.
The EEF's Gabr said recently that because Washington has a short attention span, these types of visits need to be even more frequent, and need to be directed at different places in the States.
In Gabr's opinion, there are six centers of decision making in the US: the White House, the Administration, Congress, think tanks, the media, and business associations. All of these need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner if Egypt's viewpoint on important issues is to be taken seriously.
This year's EEF mission had been planned since July, but the events of September 11 made the Forum's members question whether or not to go. Would anybody talk to us, or even want to, Gabr and others in the forum wondered. They delayed the trip a few weeks, but eventually made it, and over five days in Washington ended up conducting a total of 62 meetings.
One of those was with US Vice President Dick Cheney, who described the trip as "extremely appreciated and timely," according to Gabr. Much of the group's efforts focused on promoting initiatives in three main areas -- education, Free Trade Zones, and IT.
For more cairolive.com coverage on US-Egyptian relations, click here.
(October 31, 2001)
Radio
Sabrine back as Um Kulthoum
Actress Sabrine is coming back out of retirement to
reprise the role that drove her to retire in the first
place. The young actress appeared to reach the
pinnacle of her stardom when she played the grand dame
of Egyptian music Um Kulthoum in a TV soap opera of
the same name a few years ago. The immense popularity
of both the performance and the role, and the pressure
of having to top it, eventually forced Sabrine to call
it quits. Now, reports Akhbar Al-Youm, Sabrine will be
the voice of Um Kulthoum in a radio serial to be
broadcast this Ramadan dramatizing the life of
Egyptian industrialist Talaat Harb. The show also
stars Youssa and Leila Elwy as Safia Zaghloul and Hoda
Shaarawy.
(October 31, 2001)
New developments
Charity paperwork a necessity
A tiny item on the front page of Al-Wafd indicates
that in order to host a ma'idat al-rahman (mercy
table) Ramadan iftar tent in Giza this year, the
potential donor must obtain approval from the Traffic
Department, as well as several local government
agencies. The "tables" are usually set out in the
street, providing a full iftar meal to anyone passing
by, every day during the Ramadan holy month.
(October 31, 2001)
Movies
Mowatin wa Mokhbir wa Harami in Damascus
The much-anticipated new Daoud Abdel-Sayed ouevre,
Mowatin wa Mokhbir wa Harami (A Citizen, an Informer
and a Thief), will be premiering at next week's
Damascus Film Festival, reports Akhbar Al-Youm. Many
are wondering why Abdel-Sayed chose shaabi sensation
Shaaban Abdel-Rehim -- who plays the harami -- to star
in the film. Perhaps a clue can be found in the way
Abdel-Sayed tells the paper that he makes his films
for public rather than critical consumption. Although
critically acclaimed, Abdel-Sayed insists he's not a
"festival" director. One of the things that convinced
him to take his latest effort to the Damascus festival
was the fact that his last film, Ard Al-Khowf (Land
of Fear), an intricate psychological cop thriller, is also
part of the festival program. Abdel-Sayed says he
considers that better than merely going up on stage to
be honored.
(October 31, 2001)
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Monday Oct. 1
Sunday Oct. 7
Wednesday Oct. 17
Friday Oct. 19
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Thursday Oct. 25
Sunday Oct. 28
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