Pack of Cards

His Excellency Muhamad Quraishi Shihab, the Indonesian ambassador to Egypt, paid special tribute to the Egyptian government and President Hosni Mubarak for the support Egypt gave Indonesia during the liberation struggle against Dutch colonial rule and in appreciation of the special cordial relations that bind the two countries. The Egyptian- Indonesian Friendship Treaty was first signed in June 1947: now where would you be if I were not here to tell you these fascinating tidbits, my sweets?.

A coterie of distinguished characters graced the occasion, including Ambassador Abdel- Rehim Shalabi, adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Egyptian ambassador to Indonesia; Sheikh Mahmoud El- Habib, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments); members of the diplomatic corps including Singaporean Ambassador Ranjan and OAU Ambassador Shaaban, newspapermen and our very own international affairs editor Gamal Nkrumah, whose scintillating social talents speak for themselves.

* What good news for the hot summer: I have just heard from my colleague Reham El-Adawi that the consummate soprano, 25- year-old Amira Selim, won the first prize (worth five million liras) at the international contest of opera singing held in the Italian city of Orvieto this month. The competition, organised under the auspices of the Italian Culture Ministry, comprised 65 participants representing 25 countries. The international committee also granted Amira a special prize and nominated her to feature in several operas due to be held in several Italian cities, including Florence. She will also appear at the opening of Giuseppe Verdi's grand opera Falstaff .

* Nowadays, my dears, folklore festivals are everywhere. Apart from the 12th Ismailia Folklore Festival, being held in Egypt from 24 to 31 August, another international folklore festival is taking place in Fribourg, Switzerland, until 26 August. At this festival, Al- Tanoura troupe from Egypt was chosen by Mohamed Ghoneim, first under-secretary at the Ministry of Culture for foreign relations, to represent Egyptian Sufi music and dance. Al-Tanoura, led by Mahmoud Eissa, will perform four shows in addition to participating in a collective show with other troupes from Switzerland, Bosnia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania and France. Shows will be performed in Swiss streets, universities and church halls. The festival, as you may have guessed, aims at bringing the world's cultures closer together.

The Organisation of Cultural Palaces (OCP) has organised the Sixth Arabic Music Festival at Al-Fustat Garden in Old Cairo. The festival, which started on 19 August and runs for a week, presents troupes from Greater Cairo and the northern reaches of Upper Egypt. To commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of the late singer and composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, they are playing a selection of his works such as 'Ashiqt Rouhak and Ibn Al- Balad. There will also be patriotic songs, solo and group recitals galore. The festival will be judged by the first under-secretary of the Supreme Institute for Criticism at the Arts Academy, Zein Nassar

 * I have always been a firm advocate of living and letting others do the same, so I am especially pleased to tell you about this special celebration. On 21 August, the South African ambassador to Egypt, Frank Mdlalose, officiated over the Torches of Tolerance ceremony held at the South African embassy. Torches of Tolerance will be commemorated by all South Africans and South African embassies abroad to coincide with the World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which will be held in Durban, South Africa from 31 August to 7 September. In his remarks at the ceremony, Ambassador Mdlalose remarked how appropriate it was that South Africa is hosting the conference, because his country is so opposed to racism, sexism and all other forms of intolerances. He added that the presence of international delegates and representatives of NGOs will also be an occasion for South Africans to thank the international community for its collective efforts in defeating the scourge of apartheid and an inspiration to all people of the world. Racism, intolerance and xenophobia, by their evil nature, are indeed bound to perish, as the ambassador so aptly pointed out. Mdlalose prayed for the success of the conference and wished the delegates well in their deliberations.

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