Pack of Cards By Madame Sosostris

-- Happy New Year, my dears! I can't quite say 2002 was the best of years, but despite the confused state of world affairs, quite a few exciting social and cultural events did take place. I'm hoping 2003 will be just as entertaining, as well as a little less daunting in a geo-political sense, perhaps -- although I must admit, my sweets, that I have seen my share of topsy- turvy goings-on over the years. Rest assured -- things have been worse. And in any case, you always have to look on the bright side. So with that in mind, let's dig straight into this week's pack....

-- At the Journalists' Syndicate headquarters, an open discussion with Minister of Environment Mamdouh Riyad recently took place. Organised by the syndicate's economic committee, headed by Mamdouh El-Wali, Al-Ahram Weekly's environmental affairs reporter Mahmoud Bakr also helped co-ordinate. Amongst the topics discussed at the forum was the brick-manufacturing project which has been launched as a way of helping to get rid of the rice straw that is being blamed for the proliferation of the "black cloud" phenomenon, as well as new environment-friendly technologies and the establishment of new environment-friendly industrial zones.

-- With my spy camera in hand, I excitedly headed for the Egyptian premiere of the latest James Bond film, Die Another Day. Vodafone organised the big celebration, which was attended by a bevy of businessmen, media personalities and artists. Amongst them were Abdel-Rahim Shehata and Mohamed Abul-Leil, the respective governors of Cairo and Giza, British Ambassador John Sawers and his wife, Pakistani Ambassador Anwar Kamal and his wife, Al-Akhbar Editor-in-Chief Galal Dowidar, businessmen Naguib Sawiris and Ismail Osman, producer/director Tareq El-Erian and popular singer Amr Diab. The guests were welcomed by Vodafone Egypt Chairman Mohamed Nosseir, deputy chairman Mohamed El- Hamamsi as well as a large contingent from the company's marketing and PR department. Vodafone is the worldwide sponsor of the film, organising its global premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an event which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II as well as the film's cast and crew. Die Another Day -- starring Pierce Brosnan in his fourth 007 adventure, and the stunningly beautiful Halle Berry, winner of the best actress Oscar for 2001 -- is currently showing in Egyptian cinemas.

-- At the Nile Hilton, meanwhile, the Lions Club of Garden City, which is headed by Awatef Serageddin, organised a celebration honouring the stars of the popular Ramadan soap opera, Amira Fi Abdin (Amira in Abdin). The show featured a whole load of familiar names -- including Samira Ahmed, Youssef Shaaban, Mohamed Riyad, Tawfiq Abdel- Hamid, Hanan Turk, budding actress Basma, Wafaa 'Amer and Sameh El-Serayti.

-- Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz's birthday celebrations last month inspired events all over town. One of those was organised by the Cairo Opera House, which hosted a lecture entitled "Dialogue of Naguib Mahfouz", in which my dear friend Bahaa Taher -- another celebrated writer -- delved deeply into the works of Mahfouz. According to my active and enthusiastic colleague Mustafa El-Minshawi, Taher kept the audience who had braved the cold night winds to attend in awe as he drew attention to the importance of further studying Mahfouz's latest works, in particular his most recent series of stories called Dreams of Rehabilitation. A French documentary about Mahfouz's daily life and literary output was also screened. The documentary featured a lengthy interview Mahfouz had given to a French television station, as well as testimonies by many of his friends, the most prominent of whom is Gamal El-Gheitani, the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Akhbar Al-Adab.

Speaking of friendly, Al-Ahram Weekly's very own caricaturist George Bahgory has recently returned from a two- week trip to Bahrain and Tehran. In Bahrain, Bahgory was a member of the jury at the annual fine art exhibition launched by Sheikh Rashed Bin Khalifa and attended by Jordanian sculptor Mona Al-Saudi and Moroccan artist Mohamed Al- Cassimi. This was Bahgory's fourth trip to Bahrain, and he was hosted not just as a veteran caricaturist, but as a close friend of the royal family as well. Actually, Bahgory has drawn Bahraini Prime Minister Bin Suleiman Bin Khalifa several times. In Tehran, Bahgory took part in the mega celebration of fine art that took place at the Museum of Modern Art, and was attended by Iranian President Mohamed Khatami, who delivered an interesting lecture on the art of beauty and spoke with some of the artists on hand about their work.

Ancient traditions are going high-tech, my dears -- within the framework of the mutual co-operation between the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces (GOCP) and the Ministry of Communications, an agreement on preserving the folkloric heritage of Egypt on digital CDs was recently signed by GOCP head Anas El-Fiqi and Fathi Saleh, who heads the National Centre for Documenting Civilisational and Environmental Heritage. The agreement also included plans for the classification of this material in a way that makes it easy for researchers and students to find what they need.

-- The Cairo Opera House has signed an agreement with German director Christian RŠth and décor and costumes designer Suzanna Paum to direct and design the décor and costumes of Mozart's The Magic Flute, which will show for the first time at the opera house from 12 to 17 January 2003. RŠth is currently busy rehearsing with the full opera orchestra, choir and soloists.