Leonardo da Vinci may have suffered traumatic nerve damage that left him with a “claw hand”, impairing his ability to paint in later life, a new study said. The damage could have been the result of a fainting episode, according to Italian research published Friday in the British Royal Society of Medicine journal.

Arica, Chile (CNN) — The first humans known to have mummified their dead did so in a rather improbable spot: the driest place on Earth. The Chinchorro people settled in coastal bays of the Atacama Desert, in what is present-day Chile, around 7,000 BC and developed a technique for mummification around 5,000 BC.

The newly restored colossus of King Ramses II at Luxor Temple has been placed in its original location according to the original layout of the Temple American Egyptologist Ray Johnson, a specialist at Luxor Temple who restored the colossus in collaboration with Egyptians counterparts, says that the statue has been placed in its correct location and has the right body pose.

The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) – to be held between 28 June and 6 July in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in the west Bohemia region of the Czech Republic – will honor late iconic Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926-2008). The special tribute will include a large retrospective of 11 re-mastered films consisting of lesser-known early works as well as established classics, such as Cairo Station (1958), Saladin (1963), The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976), and Alexandria...Why? (1978), among others.

Up to one million species face extinction due to human influence, according to a draft UN report obtained by AFP that painstakingly catalogues how humanity has undermined the natural resources upon which its very survival depends. The accelerating loss of clean air, drinkable water, CO2-absorbing forests, pollinating insects, protein-rich fish and storm-blocking mangroves — to name but a few of the dwindling services rendered by Nature — poses no less of a threat than climate change, says the report, set to be unveiled May 6.

An Egyptian-Italian archaeological mission working at the Aga Khan Mausoleum area in Aswan has discovered a rock-cut tomb dating back to the late Pharaonic Graeco-Roman period. Mostafa Waziri, the general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explains that the mission found inside the tomb parts of a painted wooden coffin.

Lebanese actor Nicolas Mouawad is preparing for his first experience in international cinema wherein he will play the main role in the movie “His Only Son”, embodying the life of the Prophet Abraham. The movie is written and directed by David Helling. Mouawad is to travel to Los Angeles in June to shoot scenes of his film, which is due in cinemas by the end of this year. The producer of the film revealed a poster showing Mouawad outfitted as the Prophet Abraham.

Alexandria s Geothe-Institut will run its annual film week from April 18 until April 23, presenting a repertoire of German contemporary feature films and a wide-ranging collection of Arabic films to be viewed at premiers and regular screenings, according to the institute s official Facebook page. The institute announced a closing program of short films to be screened as part of the “Shubbak El Fann – Alexandria” (Window of Art) initiative. The program includes seven diverse films by Egyptian filmmakers. The majority of these films will be screened for the first time.

Nearly 300 people have been arrested in ongoing climate change protests in London that brought parts of the British capital to a standstill, police said Tuesday. Demonstrators began blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on Monday at the start of a civil disobedience campaign that also saw action in other parts of Europe.

Gardeners trying to lure pollinators to their landscape would be wise to mimic nature and plant wildflowers. The attractive perennials tolerate harsh climates, seldom need fertilizing and resist most diseases and insect pests. Wildflowers are durable, too, requiring little or no irrigation once established. “They bloom early and establish nicely to make a very natural colony,” said Barry Glick, owner of Sunshine Farm and Gardens in Renick, West Virginia.

The Egyptian Textile Museum at al-Moez Street in Cairo is organizing a celebration on World Heritage Day on Thursday, in cooperation with the General Administration for Heritage Preservation in Cairo. Head of the Museums Sector at the Antiquities Ministry Elham Salah said on Sunday that this year’s celebration, organized on al-Moez Street, has been dedicated to African heritage following Egypt’s presidency of the African Union and that 2019 is the year of Africa in Egypt.

Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anany has chosen to open all museums and archaeological sites for free on Thursday, April 18, to celebrate World Heritage Day. A statement from the Antiquities Ministry on Saturday said that includes archaeological sites registered on the World Heritage List. The statement said this aims to draw the world’s attention towards endangered historical sites, especially those on the World Heritage site list.

An Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered the tomb of a Fifth Dynasty dignitary named Khuwy during an excavation and documentation survey carried out in south Saqqara, and has also discovered the name of the queen to whom a pyramid complex in the area belonged. The tomb consists of a superstructure with an L-shaped offering chamber, which was once decorated with reliefs. Only the bottom part of this decoration is preserved, as the white limestone blocks of the other parts were re-used in the construction of other buildings in antiquity.

The Ministry of Health and Population, in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Education, has launched the second phase of a national campaign to eliminate intestinal parasites (worms) in primary school children across the country. The national campaign is targeting 12.5 million children aged between 6-12.

Egyptian singer and composer Shereen Abdo expressed satisfaction with her eye-catching performance at the women music event held on Friday at the Greek Campus of the American University in Cairo on Friday, which was part of the ongoing Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF). "This concert was very important to me because it was my first ever at D-CAF, such an important event that really helps the whole scene either in music, cinema, theatre or visual arts during the ongoing circumstances, which are seeing a lack of funds and shut down of many festivals," the young independent musician told Ahram Online Monday.

Egypt has unveiled the 2,500-year-old mummy of a high priest at an ancient cemetery south of Cairo. The sarcophagus of an ancient Egyptian high priest has been opened on live TV by experts working with the Discovery Channel.

Port Said-based folk troupe El-Tanbura will perform some traditional regional songs and dances at the Cairo Opera House s Open Air Theatre on Friday. "Let s dance and enjoy together," the troupe urged their fans on their Facebook page, adding that this would be their first performance since their celebration of the troupe s 30th birthday last December. Founded by Zakaria Ibrahim in 1989 in Port Said, El-Tanbura have worked to revive folkloric songs played on the simsimia, a stringed instrument.

Cairo’s downtown, with its old European-designed buildings, is wrestling to preserve its cultural heritage as Egypt readies a new capital in the desert. A stroll through the district takes pedestrians past buildings that meld Islamic and European motifs, neo-classical columns and ornate decorations. But its elegance and prestige are fading, as the one-way streets and former palaces fall into ruin and shops selling cheap clothes and odds and ends have moved in.

The Aga Khan Music Award in Performance is presented to Mustafa Said," David Harrington, one of the jury members (and a founding member and violinist of the Kronos Quartet) read the Master Jury s decision on Saturday evening, 30 March, shortly after all the finalists took the stage to perform the best of their repertoire at the Calouste Gulbenkian Centre in Lisbon, Portugal. The official gala honoring all the winners of all Aga Khan Music Awards categories will take place in the evening of Sunday 31 March.