Pack of Cards

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By Madame Sosostris

The press has been a hot topic in recent months. Perhaps Cumali Onal 's appointment as the first professional Turkish journalist to open an Egypt bureau is a good sign of things to come. Onal is representing Zaman (Times) newspaper, one of the leading Turkish daily papers with a 450,000 daily circulation. The paper is said to be comparable to The Guardian in Britain, described as "intellectual conservative". The English version of the paper -- which has won numerous awards, can be viewed at www.zaman.com. Certainly worth a browse my dears.

My dears, as I said, the press is the talk of the town. As part of the national debate, I attended a five-day workshop on legal protection for journalists entitled "For a free and responsible press", which was held recently at the Palestine Helnan Hotel in Alexandria. The workshop was organised by United Group, Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute, and financed by the Dutch Embassy.

Around 50 lawyers and journalists participated in the seminar aiming at emphasising the role of journalists in protecting the principles and values of human rights.

Lecturers included Negad El-Borai, former secretary- general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) and general manager of the Group for Democratic Development, head of Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute Osama Saraya, and lawyer Ihab Salam.

The 16 sessions of the seminar dealt with freedom of expression in international law, the mechanisms of national and international protection for journalists, the psychological effects of libel cases, restricting press freedom in Egyptian law, copyright crimes and the press codes of ethics. It was certainly a most stimulating event, my delights.

My delights, I used to shudder when I heard "law office", never thinking it could be linked to smile-breaking news. But that has changed, my dears. During the last couple of weeks, Shalakany Law Office held its first, one-day mini-football tournament at Wadi Degla sports Club in Maadi. The participants were staff members from each of: Shalakany Law Office, Vodaphone, Mobinil, Link.Net, Shlumberger, Zaki Hashim Law Firm, Denton Wilde Sapte Law Firm and EFG Hermes.

At the end of a very sportive day, the trophies were divided among the two co-winners who scored 3:3, Shalakany law office and EFG Hermes. What a pleasant employee retreat!

On its 25th anniversary, the Cairo Art Guild held its yearly exhibition at Ahmed Shawqi Museum. President of the guild Ola El-Sifi and 18 artist members participated with works of sculpture, painting and jewellery. Among other participants were: Nermin El-Nahas, Hoda El-Ghaiati, Sami Youssef, Faissal Sayed Ahmed, Licia Marteni, Nagwa Mahdi, Ebtisam Zaki, Mohamed Amer, Anna Hammouda, Heba Amin, Sherine Kamal, Azza Refaat and Amani El- Bayoumi. It was a splendid way to spend the afternoon.

The news of the situation in Iraq has been heart-wrenching my delights. But it is nice to hear that some people are trying to debate a peaceful way out. As part of that dialogue, the International Law Forum (ILF) at Cairo University is holding a seminar in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation entitled "The legal treatment of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East". The seminar is to be held on 19 April at 9am at the university's faculty of economics and political science. Certainly something to attend, my dears.

My dears, last week the governor of Fayoum Saad Nassar, along with Anas El-Fiki, head of the Cultural Palaces Authority, inaugurated the eighth annual theatre festival for fringe theatre troupes. Renowned actress Samiha Ayoub presided this year's edition of the festival. The opening ceremony was delightful my dears, consisting of artistic shows performed by Arab Al-Fayoum and Al-Fayoum Folkloric Troupe. An art exhibition was also held on the sidelines of the event, with works by the talented Fayoum artists. Also part of the rich cultural programme, was a documentary film on the life of Buthayna Abdel-Hamid, showing her role in enriching the theatrical movement in Fayoum.

The festival honoured the governor of Fayoum for the key role he has played in advancing the arts in the governorate. Also honoured, were actors Ezzat El-Alaili, Salah El- Saadani, and Mamdouh Wafi.

It was a most engaging way to spend the day my sweets, enhanced by the natural splendours of Fayoum.

Darlings, I must share with you the evening I spent at the Goethe Institute, where I listened to professor Aliya Khattab talk about Prince Puckler-Muskau and his relationship and visits to the Orient. The lecture was most enlightening, revealing the prince's obsession with the Pyramids -- which led him to build a green pyramid in his own back yard in Berlin. On the sidelines, was a photography exhibit by Udo Lauer, showing 100-year-old photos of the green pyramid. The talk was most stimulating, reviving one's own appreciation of the historic wonder of the world.