After the huge success it witnessed last year, the second Manial Palace Festival for classical music is to kick off on 28 October. In the heart of Cairo s glorious Mohammed Ali Palace, overlooking the Blue River, the public is invited to experience the second edition of the festival, where a large number of international classical music artists will gather in concert. The festival is organised by the Friends of the Manial Palace Museum Association (FMPM), under the umbrellas of both Ministries of Culture and Antiquities, and financed by the European Union. It is also sponsored by several foreign embassies in Egypt, including the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo, and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, as well as the French, Italian, and Austrian Cultural Centres.

A Massachusetts judge ruled on Monday that the state s four-month ban on the sale of all e-cigarettes and vaping products can remain in effect — but only for about a week. The ruling, made by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins, came after the Vapor Technology Association and vape store owners called for the ban to be lifted in a complaint against Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel. Wilkins wrote that "while the plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success, the balance of harms weigh in defendants favor in some respects, and an immediate injunction against the entire Order would contravene the public interest." Wilkins also ruled that, when it comes to nicotine-vaping products specifically, the order "is preliminarily enjoined" from implementation and enforcement after October 28. In the meantime, the state will have to make changes to the order regarding the sale of nicotine-containing vaping products. "The court therefore allows the defendants an opportunity to cure the defects," Wilkins ruled regarding the sale of nicotine-containing products. "Nothing in this Memorandum and Order shall affect the validity of the defendants Order as applied to products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and any other cannabinoid or to black market products." Craig Rourke, of Rourke Law Office in Massachusetts, which represented the plaintiffs, said that his clients are "very encouraged." He added that the ruling shows that the governor s ban on all vaping products "was unconstitutional" and once changes are made, it will likely be a "drastically different" law. In the meantime, the Baker administration stands by its decision-making behind implementing its ban. "The administration declared a public health emergency and ordered a four-month temporary ban for retail and online sales of all vape products to better understand what is making people sick," Baker s office said in an emailed statement on Monday. "With today s ruling, the ban remains in place," the statement said. "The administration maintains that the order was properly issued pursuant to the Commissioner s emergency powers and will work with the Attorney General s Office on next steps." Massachusetts was the first state to issue such a sweeping ban, which was implemented on September. The ban applies to all vaping products and devices, including tobacco and marijuana. The ban comes in wake of a multi-state outbreak of lung injuries associated with vaping, which is currently being investigated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Food and Drug Administration, state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners. As of last week, 1,479 lung injury cases associated with e-cigarette products had been identified in 49 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands, according to the CDC. The CDC also has identified 33 vaping-related deaths in 24 states, including one in Massachusetts. More deaths are under investigation, according to the CDC.

The Lebanese singer Elissa will sing a collection of romantic songs at a concert held at Misr University for Sciences and Technology (MUST) s on December 13 in the MUST Opera House in 6th of October city. The concert is one of the venue s several concerts of various genres scheduled for the winter season of 2019/2020. MUST said that its university administration has prepared a comprehensive artistic program to satisfy all tastes and ages, and will organize several concerts uniting a collection of singers in Egypt and the Arab world. Elissa recovered in 2018 from a battle with breast cancer, which she revealed in a music video released on August 2018 titled “Ila Kol Elli Bihebbouni” (For All Those Who Love Me). At the end of the video, Elissa said “I ve recovered. I ve beaten the illness, and I won. Early detection of breast cancer can save your life. Don t ignore it, face it. Do it not only for yourself, but for your loved ones.” Elissa s musical career began in 1992, when she won the silver medal in the Studio El Fan music competition, according to her Facebook official page. In 2002, she won the Murex d Or award for Best Female Artist. In 2010, she was awarded the Best Arab Female Artist at the Jordan Music Awards and the Best Female Artist in the Middle East at the Big Apple Music Awards. Among her most well-known albums are “Ayshalak”, “Bastanak”, “Ayami Beek” and “Asaad Wahdaand Saharna Ya Lail”.

Fatty tissue has been found in the lungs of overweight and obese people for the first time. Australian researchers analysed lung samples from 52 people and found the amount of fat increased in line with body mass index. They said their findings could explain why being overweight or obese increased asthma risk. Lung experts said it would be interesting to see if the effect could be reversed by weight loss. Increased risk In the study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, scientists looked at post-mortem samples of lung donated for research. Fifteen had had no reported asthma, 21 had asthma but died of other causes and 16 died of the condition. The scientists used dyes to carry out detailed analyses of almost 1,400 airways from the lung samples under the microscope. The researchers found adipose (fatty) tissue in the walls of airways, with more present in people with a higher body mass index, And they say the increase in fat appears to alter the normal structure of the airways and cause inflammation in the lungs - which could explain the increased risk of asthma in overweight or obese people. Direct pressure Dr Peter Noble, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia, in Perth who worked on the study, said: "Being overweight or obese has already been linked to having asthma or having worse asthma symptoms. "Researchers have suggested that the link might be explained by the direct pressure of excess weight on the lungs or by a general increase in inflammation created by excess weight." But, he said, their study suggested "another mechanism is also at play". "We ve found that excess fat accumulates in the airway walls, where it takes up space and seems to increase inflammation within the lungs," Dr Noble said. "We think this is causing a thickening of the airways that limits the flow of air in and out of the lungs and that could at least partly explain an increase in asthma symptoms." Major importance Prof Thierry Troosters, president of the European Respiratory Society, said: "This is an important finding on the relationship between body weight and respiratory disease because it shows how being overweight or obese might be making symptoms worse for people with asthma. "This goes beyond the simple observation that patients with obesity need to breathe more with activity and exercise. "The observation points at true airway changes that are associated with obesity." He said more research was needed to find out if this build-up of fatty tissue could be reversed through weight loss but asthma patients should be helped to achieve a healthy weight. Dr Elizabeth Sapey, chair of the science committee at the British Thoracic Society, said this was the first time body weight had been shown to impact the structure of the airways in the lungs. "Given the increasing incidence of obesity nationally and across the globe, the study could be of major importance in helping us understand why asthma remains a major health issue and identify new ways to improve asthma treatment," she said. "It is only a small study though, and we need to assess this in larger groups of patients and in other lung diseases," Dr Sapey added.

Egyptian fusion artist Nadya Shanab s album El-Mahrousa has been re-released as a Deluxe Edition. The new edition includes three previously unreleased tracks on digital platforms. The Deluxe Edition is available on Spotify, Anghami, Apple music, iTunes, Deezer, and Google Play. El-Mahrousa is Shanab s debut album, which included 10 tracks released back in 2010 through her own record label Hamzet Wasl Records. However, due to censorship restrictions, the album was not released in Egypt until 2012, when it was the number one best seller in Virgin Megastores for its debut month. The Deluxe Edition features "13 tracks that ebb and flow smoothly between sounds that Shanab grew up with on the banks of the River Nile and those she was exposed to around the river Mersey," reads the musician s press release. "El-Mahrousa is an expression reflecting Shanab s personal journey as an individual constantly juggling elements of East and West in almost all aspects of life, coming to terms with how both have intertwined and manifested in her identity. Language exchanges often happen within some songs while others use either English or Arabic lyrics throughout," the press release says. "The album covers topics from all corners of life – from politics, social issues and commentary – like Ticking Bomb and Ana Bint Masreya Soghayara (FGM Song) to love and heartbreak; Sa alny Habiby and Cairo s Minarets."

Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab expressed deep sorrow over the outbreak of wildfires in Lebanon in the past 48 hours, adding that she wanted to hold a big concert with revenues donated to those affected by the fires. “My heart is burning for our precious sister country Lebanon,” she wrote on Twitter. “In such situations, words are not enough. I am ready to hold a concert with all the revenues allocated to those affected by the fire.” “I appeal to the [Lebanese] Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to have the concert under his auspices,” she stated. Since Monday, there have been more than 100 huge fires in Lebanon. Lebanese officials said the fires started because of high temperatures and hot winds that helped set some trees and green areas on fire. Units of the army, security forces and civil defense are extinguishing the fires. Different universities and schools announced that studies have been suspended. Hariri said he had asked several countries to send additional planes to extinguish the fires. A famous TV host and singer, Sherine was also a judge on MBC s The Voice Ahla Sawt, and is considered to be one of Egypt s most distinctive modern singers.

From 1991 to 2017, the rate of reported suicide attempts by African-American teens rose, especially the rate among black boys, according to a study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics. The rate for black youths grew even as the rate of suicide attempts by teens in other racial and ethnic groups fell. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens from all demographics, according to the study. Only accidents kill more young people. In 2017, 2,200 teens age 15 to 19 died by suicide. Researchers looked at survey data from 198,540 high school students from 1991 to 2017 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Among high school students of all demographics, 1 in 5 said they were thinking about suicide and 1 in 10 said they had made a plan to carry it out. That s despite the "increased attention given to the creation of campaigns to reduce youth suicide in the United States over the last decade," the study found. The authors found an increased risk in reported suicide attempts among African-American teens between 1991 and 2017, and boys saw an increase in injuries related to those attempts. That might mean that black teens were using more lethal means when attempting suicide, the study said. This study is in line with earlier research that has shown African-American boys, especially younger boys between the ages of 5 and 11, have experienced an increase in the rate of suicide deaths. In black children ages 5 to 12, the suicide rate was found to be two times higher compared with white children. While suicide is an increasing problem for African-Americans, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan native boys and girls had the highest rate of suicide. In 2017, it was 26.22 per 100,000 teens, and 12.21 per 100,000, respectively. Among girls, there was a statistically significant decrease in suicide attempts from 1991 to 2017. There was not a similar decline among boys. There was also a decline in attempts overall among teens who identified as white, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander. The study did not determine what was behind these trends. Other research has found that stressors such as bullying, family abuse and mental health problems such as depression put teens at higher risk of attempting suicide and dying by suicide, as does confusion over sexual orientation or gender identity. "Over time and particularly with black boys, we have seen this troubling trend in a couple other studies. The fact that we are seeing this, especially with younger ages, is concerning," said Amy Green, director of research for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization. Green is not affiliated with the study. "Because so much of this is newer, there isn t a lot of data about why, but some of the factors are stressors like discrimination and the experience people have with discrimination and microaggressions." Green added that there is also a lack of access to mental health services for youth of color. "Discrimination [and] racism is a problem and it s compounded by this lack of access to care," she said. Suicide is still relatively rare and hard to predict, according to the American Psychological Association, but it says there are some warning signs: If someone is talking about suicide; if they have experienced a recent loss, like the death of a friend or a divorce; if the person seems different; if you notice a change in their usual personality or behavior; or if they tell you they aren t sleeping a lot or have a change in eating habits. Low self esteem, lack of hope for the future, or if they talk a lot about their fear of losing control -- these can all be warning signs. Green adds that asking people if they are thinking about suicide does not prompt them to act. "People checking in and asking if someone is OK, or even asking directly about suicide can help. And it s important to help connect them to resources," Green said. How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also can provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.

The entrance ticket to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) for nationals will be LE30, while the inclusive ticket for the entire complex will be LE60, Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani said on Sunday. The museum will be an integrated cultural complex full of amenities, theaters, cinemas, restaurants and entertainment sites, meant to attract visitors for a full day rather than a few hours, the minister added. He also said that through the museum, Egypt offers a gift to humanity in the fields of civilization and archaeology. Anani stated that a visit to the GEM will be a real opportunity to introduce the visitor, whether Egyptian or foreign, to Egyptian civilization and to offer visitors some educational seminars on ancient Egypt. Anani s remarks came on Sunday after the Culture, Media and Antiquities Committee of the House of Representatives approved the Prime Minister s decree for a draft law proposing to reorganize the GEM institutional structure. The Minister stressed that the draft law allows the participation of foreign experts in the administration. He explained that there is already a Japanese grant for the presence of Japanese experts in the field of marketing, services and other fields, but not the field of antiquities. The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry said that the opening of the GEM will be the largest celebration ever organized by Egypt. A major international company specialized in organizing such grand celebrations will be contracted for this purpose in accordance with the schedule. Egypt s Prime Minister said that the opening of the GEM reflects positively on the civilization and history of ancient Egypt, and is a great opportunity for marketing Egypt and promoting tourism. The GEM s construction is 88 percent complete and the museum is set to open by 2020, before the previously-announced official date in 2022. Construction of the museum first began in 2006 but slowed down due to the outbreak of the January 25th revolution. Breaking new ground in its exhibited artifacts, the museum aims to impress with King Tutankhamun displays that have never been shown before since Tut s tomb s unearthing in 1922. Egypt s Tourism Minister Rania Al-Mashat said in May that King Tut s tomb will be displayed via hologram technology during the opening of the GEM. Constructed on approximately 500,000 square meters, the mega museum is located nearby the Giza Pyramids. The GEM is expected to be one of the largest museums in the entire world dedicated to the heritage of a single civilization. After several years of monument examinations, restoration and transportation, the GEM is expected to house around 100,000 artifacts from various periods of Egypt s rich, long history.

Speaking after a two-day meeting of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, Kate O Brien, the WHO s department director, said the world “is facing an alarming upsurge in measles cases in all regions”. “The impact of these outbreaks is really devastating,” she said, “causing not only widespread loss of life, but also preventable disability that is affecting family livelihoods and national economies, and straining healthcare systems.” Latest WHO global data show that reported cases of measles - which is one of the world s most contagious diseases - rose by 300 percent globally in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2018. This follows consecutive increases over the past two years. There is no specific antiviral treatment for measles, but it can be prevented with two doses of vaccine. The vast majority of cases of infection are in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people. Outbreaks of the disease are causing tens of thousands of infections and thousands of deaths the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, the Philippines, Sudan, Thailand and Ukraine, among other countries, the WHO said. The SAGE experts said such outbreaks were clear indications of critical gaps in vaccination coverage and urged authorities to do more to raise rates of immunization. Alejandro Cravioto, the group s chair, told reporters on a teleconference from the WHO s Geneva headquarters that this was “an alarming situation”. He said latest global figures show about 86% coverage with a first measles vaccine dose and less than 70% for a second dose, “which is one of the root causes of the problem”. “The strategy needs to be reinforced,” he said. “There is no reason why we cannot try to reach every child to enable them to be fully immunized and protected against this disease.”

The story of ancient Egypt s sunken cities of Heracleion and Canopus will be told at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum over the coming six months, as a collection of 293 artefacts that were once submerged beneath the Mediterranean are put on show. The two bustling ancient Egyptian cities were known throughout the ancient world as centres of power, wealth, trade, and artistry three centuries before the establishment of Alexandria.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided on Tuesday to award half of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 to the Canadian physicist James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology. The other half of the prize went equally to two Swiss physicists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their role in the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star outside our solar system. Works of the three physicists have contributed to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth s place in the cosmos.

The aches, the sneezing, the sore throat, the exhaustion -- flu season is here and you want to be prepared. Typically, the "season" starts in October, but there has already been flu-related deaths reported. Physicians say it s not too early to get a flu shot and they are available at many pharmacies and doctor s offices around the country. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible.Doctors say you definitely want to one before Thanksgiving, when you are likely to see more people, travel and be exposed to more germs. It typically takes about two weeks to build up your immunity once you get the shot. Last year s flu season For the 2018-2019 US flu season, which started October 1, 2018, and ended May 4, preliminary numbers from the CDC estimate there were nearly 42.9 million cases of flu, up to 647,000 hospitalizations and up to 61,200 flu deaths. It wasn t a typical flu season, experts said. The severity was moderate, the CDC reported, but it was record-breaker as the longest flu season in a decade. "Last year was funny in a way," said Dr. William Schaffner, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases medical director and professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "We had an unprecedented event with one virus dominating the season early on, then it abated, then another strain came along, making this a double-barrel season that we hadn t seen before and also making it rather prolonged." Predicting the flu this year For this year, the "crystal ball is very cloudy," about how bad it will be, but flu season is "not good for anyone," Schaffner said -- especially for the very young, pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic conditions. All are vulnerable to the worst effects of the flu. "One sure thing about influenza is, where and how it will spread or what kind of season we will have, it is unpredictable," said Dr. Daniel B. Jernigan, the director of the influenza division at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, a division of the CDC. "The more we know, the more we know you can t figure it out very well." Jernigan said the CDC has increased the number of viruses it tests for and it works with scientists from all around the world to track them. Using sophisticated artificial intelligence and modeling they can characterize where the virus is going and what kind of virus it will be to some extent. But it s not easy, since the virus changes every year as it moves through the population. The virus also can change within a season as it moves from country to country. Looking at how bad a flu season was in Australia, which has winter when the United States has its summer, is not necessarily predictive of what the flu season will be like in the US, Jernigan said. "This virus continues to be elusive," Jernigan said."While we don t have a clear idea, we do know flu is going to be here and the best way to prevent it is to get a vaccine." "We get on our soapbox and remind people that everyone older than 6 months needs to be vaccinated every year," said Schaffner. It s not a perfect vaccine because there are a number of flu strains that circulate, but it does provide some protection. If you happen to get sick, the vaccine cuts down on how long your symptoms last and it should protect you from the major complications that come with the flu, such as pneumonia. "What the vaccine does is shift the equation in our favor," said Schaffner. This year, nasal spray is an option for some patients, including children who may not like getting a shot. In some years, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended children stick with a shot, as some studies showed it was more effective. There is no such suggestion this year. The time get the shot is now Schaffner adds that if you have a chronic disease such as diabetes or asthma or heart disease, the flu shot should be a part of your regular care. In that case, you are the kind of patient that the flu makes very sick and you are at highest risk for hospitalization and death. The flu can also put you more at risk to have a heart attack or a stroke. With some older people, doctors might recommend they get the vaccine in the middle or end of October, because their immunity could wane toward the end of the season. But Dr. David Cennimo, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor in the department of medicine at Rutgers University, said he usually tells his patients to get it whenever they can. "If they are really concerned about the potential for the vaccine to wane over six months, they may want to wait a few weeks but you really don t want to go beyond middle October or the end of October, because of the risk of exposure to flu in your area," said Cennimo. What else can you do to avoid the flu? There are ways to avoid the flu. Repeatedly washing your hands can help protect you this flu season. Flu germs tend to linger and hand washing can cut down our exposure. Avoid friends and family members that are sick. And for the sake of those around you, stay home from work or school if you are sick. Rest will help you get better and staying home can protect people around you.

Popular Egyptian band Cairokee will give a concert at Al-Manara Arena on Friday 11 October under the title of Cairokee Empire 3rd Edition . The band will feature some other talents including DJ Al-Sharif and young rapper Marwan Pablo. Founded in 2003, eight years before the 2011 revolution, their first big success came in the post-25 January 2011 period with their hit single Sowt El-Horreya (The Voice of Freedom). They then cemented their popularity with a number of albums including El-Sekka Shemal (An Indecent Path), Naas W Naas (People and People) and No ta Beida (Drop of White), in addition to their latest Abna a El-Battah El-Sawda a (The Ugly Ducklings). Popular Egyptian band Cairokee will give a concert at Al-Manara Arena on Friday 11 October under the title of Cairokee Empire 3rd Edition . The band will feature some other talents including DJ Al-Sharif and young rapper Marwan Pablo. Founded in 2003, eight years before the 2011 revolution, their first big success came in the post-25 January 2011 period with their hit single Sowt El-Horreya (The Voice of Freedom). They then cemented their popularity with a number of albums including El-Sekka Shemal (An Indecent Path), Naas W Naas (People and People) and No ta Beida (Drop of White), in addition to their latest Abna a El-Battah El-Sawda a (The Ugly Ducklings). Cairokee s 2019 hit song Kan Lak Ma aya has been viewed by over 21 millions on Youtube alone in which they used the voice of legendary Egyptian singer Um-Kulthumm in electronic adaption

Classic Beatles album “Abbey Road” is back at number one in Britain half a century after its first release, with the band breaking their own record for the longest gap between stints at the top of the charts. The band s final studio album with its instantly recognizable zebra-crossing cover came out in September 1969, six days after John Lennon told his bandmates he was leaving the group. It was the UK s best-selling album for 17 weeks, and on Friday a special 50th-anniversary edition featuring unheard material took the top spot once again. “It s hard to believe that Abbey Road still holds up after all these years. But then again it s a bloody cool album,” tweeted band member Paul McCartney. With 49 years and 252 days since its last reign, the album has had the longest gap between UK number ones — a record previously held by the Fab Four s “Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Two years ago a 50th-anniversary edition of “Sgt. Pepper”, which Rolling Stone magazine has named the greatest album of all time, topped the charts again after 49 years and 125 days. Last month, hundreds of Beatles fans mobbed the street outside Abbey Road Studios in northwest London to celebrate five decades since the band were snapped at the pedestrian crossing there. The photograph of Lennon leading Ringo Starr, McCartney and George Harrison over the road in single file became an all-time classic when it appeared on the “Abbey Road” sleeve, which unusually did not feature the name of the band or the record. The album, which features songs including “Come Together” and “Here Comes the Sun”, was also the week s best-selling vinyl, shifting around 9,000 physical copies.

Cairo Runners is the leading running community in Egypt, and was one of the earliest pioneers in encouraging Egyptians to adopt a healthier, more energetic lifestyle, taking to the streets for early runs each Friday and choosing different locations through the capital each time. On 25 October, they are collaborating with another established running community, Alexandria Runners, to host the first full marathon in Alexandria. Runs will include five types, giving everybody alternatives to suit their preference: The 42km full marathon, the 21km half marathon, followed by the Fun Run, Family Run, and finally their latest addition; the Para Race. Cairo Runners take pride in their expansion. At the beginning of the initiative years ago, the participants were around 70, but the number of participants increased with the success of each event. Cairo Runners outreach has almost reached 500,000 on Facebook, the average numbers of runners per weekly run is around 3,000, while the participants in the annual half marathon exceed 7,000.

The Egyptian TV Channel “ON E” announced that the Egyptian movie “Al-Mamr” (The Passage; 2019) will play on the channel October 6 and 12 for the anniversary of the 1973 October war. The movie will be aired on the TV Channel DMC on October 11 and 15. The movie stars some of the biggest names in Egyptian cinema including Ahmed Ezz, Ahmed Rizk, Eyad Nassar, Hend Sabri, Ahmed Falawkas, Ahmed Salah Hosny, Sherif Mounir, Mohamed Farag, Mohammad al-Sharnoubi, Mohamed Goma, Mahmoud Hafez, Amer Salah Eldin, Asmaa Abulyazeid, Enaam Salousa, and Hagag Abdel Azim. The movie recounts the events following the Six-Day War in June, 1967 after Egypt lost Sinai to Israel. The War of Attrition began soon thereafter. As the story goes, Major Nour and his Special Forces Shock troop were assigned a reprisal raid to destroy the largest Israeli camp in central Sinai with the aid of the heroic Sinai tribesmen. The movie is written and directed by Sherif Arafa and features music by Omar Khairat. The movie raked in almost LE30 million in revenue in the first 12 days of its launch during Eid al-Fitr. The film was released on June 4. The October war was fought by number of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from October 6 to 25, 1973.

Two paintings by famed Egyptian artist Mahmoud Said, Apres la Pluie (“After the Rain”) and Eid Al-Adha, will go up for auction at Sotheby s in London on 22 October. According to Sotheby s, the 20th century art/Middle East auction will include a total of 83 works representing the rarest and most sought-after artists from the modern era to the contemporary period. Other artists featured include Maher Raif (Egypt), Georges Hanna Sabbagh (Egypt/France), Bahman Mohasses (Iran), Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco), Marcos Grigorian (Iran/Armenia), Manoucher Yektai (Iran/USA), Sohrab Sepehri (Iran), Dana Awartani (Palestine/Saudi Arabia), Etel Adnan (Lebanon/USA), and Saloua Radoua Choucair (Lebanon), among others. Said s oil on canvas Apres la Pluie (1936, 75 by 57.5cm) is being submitted for auction by a prestigious private collection, according to Sotheby s website. The painting is expected to sell for an estimate of £300,000 - £400,000. The oil on board Eid Al-Adha (c.1917, 14 by 24cm) is expected to sell for £24,000 - £35,000. Said (1897-1964) is often described as the father of modern Egyptian painting. Several of his works are still in Egypt, while others are abroad. In October 2010, Said s famed Whirling Dervishes sold for $2,546,500 at Christie s against a pre-sale estimate of $300,000-$400,000, setting a world record for the sale of a painting from a Middle East artist. His Petite fille d Assiout, painted by Said in 1945, was sold to a private collector for $650,000 by Christie s in 2011, against a pre-sale estimate of $250,000-300,000.

Four artists supported by Cairo s Mashrabia Gallery — Adel El Siwi, Carmine Cartolano (QarmQart), Heba Abu El Ella and Mustafa El Husseiny — will exhibit their works during the upcoming 1-54 African Contemporary Art Fair set to take place 3-6 October in London. According to the event organisers, the 1-54 is the first leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. The fairs take place on an annual basis in London (since 2012), New York (since 2015) and Marrakech (since 2018). The fair s name indicates the 54 African countries represented by the exhibition in an attempt to shed light on the richness of African cultures and create a dynamic dialogue and exchange between them. Born in 1952, Adel El-Siwi is one of the leading Egyptian artists of his generation. At the fair, he will showcase his paintings that tackle the subject of faces, which have become his trademark since the 1990s. “El-Siwi s elongated faces, which seem to be growing out from the surfaces, are the amalgamation of a three-pronged influence: the Pharaonic face, the African mask, and the Fayum mummy portraits. This gives form to an array of different personalities: amongst pensive moods and suggestive looks, some faces emanate allure and charisma, others intimidate, others reveal a subtle capacity of seduction,” the Mashrabia Gallery explains on its website. El-Siwi has exhibited his works in Egypt and internationally, in both solo shows and exhibitions of renowned art. Cairo-based Carmine Cartolano, aka Qarm Qart, was born in 1972 in Buonabitacolo (Salerno). He studied Arabic and Persian at Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples. During the fair, Qarm Qart will present his series of tarboushes adorned with creative elements, a collection inspired by Naguib Mahfouz s Cairo Trilogy. The tarboushes offer "multiple layers of meaning in the interpretation of Egyptian pasts and presents. The tarboush as male headgear is now an historical relic. But what about its symbolic force of national and patriarchal privilege? The artist makes us ponder whether this privilege has gone with the tarboush itself as he ushers us into disquieting yet intriguing spaces," Mashrabia s website reads. Cairo-based visual artist Mustafa Ali Saad (aka El-Husseiny) is considered one of the one of the most imaginative emerging artists of the contemporary Egyptian art scene with Mashrabia Gallery describing his works as "magical, symbolic, ironic and macabre." “El-Husseiny boldly employs media such as paper paste, acrylic, and collage to show what he came across during his walks through the cemetery in search of a way to reconnect with his late father. El-Husseiny emulates the digging up of a past made of mysterious signs and re-conceptualises his personal research into an all-pervasive memento mori," reads the gallery website. The youngest of the four artists to participate in the fair, Heba Abu El-Ella (born 1993), focuses on visual art and light design. During the fair, Abu El-Ella will exhibit part of her project in which she explores the reality and metaphor of the boat. Soaked in African and Pharaonic history and heritage, the installation is the artist s personal investigation into her roots and the environment in which she has developed. The boat carries multiple meanings for Abu El-Ella: in ancient Egypt it represents trade and transportation, death and burial, and the afterlife and belief. "Heba Abu El-Ella s evocative boat represents at the same time a place inside oneself, where lots of forgotten memories, worries, fears and wishes lie, and a place where the thread of history develops and recreates places that can t be found in everyday life anymore," reads the gallery website. With its four artists, Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art will showcase the works at the South Wing of Somerset House, Booth S3.

Director Martin Scorsese unveiled his new film “The Irishman” Friday, kicking off the New York film festival with the ambitious Netflix movie that was more than a decade in the making. The star-studded gangster epic had a budget of $160 million, using 117 different filming locations to shoot 309 scenes which together add up to a run time of 3 hours 29 minutes. Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro started planning the film adaptation of Charles Brandt s book “I Heard You Paint Houses” 12 years ago. “Things got in the way,” Scorsese told journalists Friday after the world premiere screening. “We couldn t get backing — there was no way — for years,” he added. “I m just happy we all got finally to do it because it did take a long time,” said De Niro. “We were lucky to get people to put up the money.” After several studios declined the project, it took Netflix s deep pockets to get the green light for “The Irishman” — the nickname of Frank Sheeran, whose account of real-life events forms the basis of the book and film. Former henchman Sheeran (played by De Niro) claimed to have killed more than 25 people on the orders of mafia boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and truck driver union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The film uses a new technology developed by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) — the effects firm created by George Lucas — to digitally “de-age” actors on screen. De Niro, 76, is able to play Sheeran across several decades, from a 34-year-old in 1955 to his 2003 death aged 83. Scorsese said it was necessary to “come up with a solution for a de-aging that wouldn t interfere with Bob and Joe and Al.” “Talking to each other with helmets on or tennis balls in their faces — they were not going to do it,” he said. ILM eventually succeeded in developing technology which did not require fitting the actors with any devices. After an unsettling first few minutes the special effects work well, with Pacino also shedding multiple decades in some scenes. De Niro s first reaction to when he saw his younger digital self? “I could extend my career another 30 years,” he joked. Murder and morality The movie will be released in a limited number of theaters in the United States on November 1, before it appears on Netflix from November 27. With “The Irishman” Scorsese returns to the gangster movie genre, following “Goodfellas,” “Casino” and “The Departed.” But this film adheres more closely to real-life facts and characters. It also sets a slower, calmer pace than those earlier films, taking a step back as Sheeran, as an old man, takes stock of his life in a series of flashbacks and examines the morality of each event. The movie also revolves around a key episode of his relationship with Hoffa, in 1975. “He finds himself at the most important point of his life in a moral conflict because he s basically a good man,” said Scorsese. The director also makes greater use of dialogue, in particular humor, illuminating scenes between acting giants De Niro and Pacino. Scorsese said he wanted to evoke the atmosphere of the 1960s as a violent time when it seemed like “everybody was getting shot,” starting with President John F. Kennedy. Seemingly tracing a link from those events to the current day, the director described “the true dark forces that are in our nation.” “It doesn t happen maybe with one gunshot,” said Scorsese cryptically. “It happens on every level incrementally and before you know it, it s over.”

The Gouna Film Festival hosted a delightful music night on Wednesday entitled Cinema in Concert at the Marina Theatre in collaboration with the US embassy in Egypt. The concert paid homage to the unforgettable pieces of music in film, conducted by Ahmed El-Saedi, the founder and chairman of the Egyptian Philharmonic Society, with soloists Janet Sung (Violin), Federico Mondelci (Saxophone), Victoria Kapralova (Violoncello) with the vocal performance of Amina Khairat. Cinema in Concert was divided into two sections; Hits of Hollywood and Homage à Nino Rota, celebrating the works of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti.

The Gouna Film Festival s (GFF) administration on Wednesday signed a cooperation protocol with the Facebook company to use Facebook and Instagram s live broadcast studio to develop the festival s web content and share main events to its followers. The head of the Media Partnerships Company in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, Fares Aqad, said that the festival has become notorious and important through the Arab world, upgrading its rank among other competitive festivals annually. Aqad added that the festival is a global platform for creativity and inspiration in the art and entertainment fields, and that Facebook and Instagram administrators will participate at sharing the festival s videos and posts at unprecedented rates. Content writers are a major part of the Facebook entity, he continued, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region as the video viewing rates constantly rise on Facebook. Aqad noted that the festival will provide the most important tools to help content writers create impressive digital videos. He explained that “Over the next three years, the biggest goal of our company will be to increase video content on our products. We have seen stories on Instagram and Status on WhatsApp growing rapidly, each with more than 300 million active users per day, in addition to watching video content.” The GFF s third round kicked off on September 19, running until September 27 in al-Gouna s Marina Theater, witnessing the participation of stars and filmmakers from various countries, the festival s administration said. The GFF will give the festival s Creative Achievement Award to Palestinian director and producer Mai al-Masri, and will also commemorate the Egyptian-Canadian actor Mena Massoud.