Pack of cards

---

From left: El-Feki, Aref, El-Kersh, Moussa and Shukrallah Moussa engages in intent discussion with Shukrallah Shukrallah, El-Ghamri and El-Kersh A jubilant Shukrallah receives a silver tray from the Weekly staff. Aref, Sobhi and Sakr look on photos: Mohamed Wassim The staff of Al-Ahram Weekly threw a party for its former executive editor-in-chief Hani Shukrallah. It was a most moving occasion. A touching speech recounting happy and memorable days was delivered on behalf of the staff with such gusto by our colleague Hala Sakr who was elegantly dressed in a cream suit. Shukrallah, who received a silver tray from Al-Ahram Deputy Editor-in-Chief Samir Sobhi, responded with a most emotional tribute to his onetime staff. I, for one, cried buckets and fumbled in my handbag for my handkerchief and reached out for my sedatives -- I always keep them handy, especially on such heart-warming occasions. The Diplomatic Club, the venue for the reception, was swarming with distinguished personalities. Chief among them was Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, whose inning personality charmed everyone. As fate would have it, Moussa stepped into the party even as Shukrallah was extolling the virtues of Pan-Arabism. Also present were Chairman of the Board of Al-Ahram Salah El-Ghamri ; head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the People's Assembly Mustafa El-Feki ; former defence minister and general intelligence chief Amin Howeidi ; former minister of information Mohamed Fayek ; head of the Journalists Syndicate Galal Aref ; our very own Editor-in-Chief Assem El-Kersh and Managing Editor Galal Nassar.

El-Maghrabi, Agram and Hosni Choreographer Aouni with performers Last Sunday, my dears, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and Tourism Minister Ahmed El-Maghrabi inaugurated the activities of the 11th Cairo International Song Festival (4-10 September) at the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House. The opening ceremony, predictably commenced with a recital of the national anthem, was a sumptuous occasion. The anthem was followed by dazzling shows performed by the Modern Dance Theatre Company, directed and choreographed by Walid Aouni. He introduced a new tune this year with a wide range of Egyptian sounds. Starting with a 15-minute splash of modern dance by the Cairo Opera troupe, created to the sound of an especially composed musical piece, the ceremony moved onto the pirates' dance, extracted from the Sheherazade ballet, followed by the handing out of honorary awards to, among others, the name of the late vernacular poet Salah Jahin ; composer Ammar El-Sherei ; singer Samir El-Iskandarani ; folklore singer Laila Nazmi ; as well as gorgeous Lebanese pop star Nancy Agram and Syrian singer Nour Mehanna. The president of the festival Salah Selim delivered a powerful speech extolling this year's cooperation between the two ministries to support the festival. Spectacular shows were performed by El-Iskandarani and the Portuguese singer Katia Guerreiro, while the Argentine tango troupe presented a number of spectacular dance shows. Singing recitals by gifted Egyptian pop star Shaimaa Said, Mehanna and Agram concluded the event. photos: Ayman Barayez

Last Saturday, the gorgeous TV announcer with the Egyptian satellite channel Mariam Badr celebrated her engagement to the handsome engineer Mustafa Rashad at the Mohamed Ali Club, Giza. The party was crowned with the presence of a number of leading and veteran Egyptian TV announcers including the head of the Egyptian TV Suzanne Hassan, Mervat Salama, Soheir Shalabi, Dena Farouk, Maha Osman as well as my favourite actors Farouk El-Fishawi, Mahmoud Yassin, actress Shahira and the Egyptian fashion designer Hani El-Beheiri. The memorable party featured pop stars Medhat Saleh and Tamer Habib.

Let me be the bearer of good news for all German tourists in the country. An agreement was signed between the German Embassy in Cairo and the South Sinai governorate to establish a German honorary consulate in Sharm El-Sheikh, the provincial capital and bustling Red Sea resort. The decision came as a result of the dramatic increase in the number of German tourists who have been flocking to Sharm El-Sheikh in the past few years. This year, for example, saw an unprecedented increase of 300,000 German tourists holidaying in the Red Sea vacation spot up from last year. German Ambassador to Egypt Martin Kobler declared during his meeting with Governor of South Sinai Mustafa Afifi that Germany is keen on increasing the touristic flow to Sharm El-Sheikh especially after the latest terrorist attacks. Kobler also pointed that Germany is planning to establish other consulates in Hurghada, Alexandria and Port Said.

On 11 September, the Cambridge Beacon School Award ceremony will be held in coordination with the British Council. Every March and September, a dinner is being held to announce the winners of the Cambridge Beacon scholarship. The award is an initiative which gives much deserved recognition to schools that act as an example to others in the way in which they deliver and support the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) syllabuses and courses in Egypt. It is fully supported by the Education Ministry, CIE and the British Council. Operating hand-in-hand with this award ceremony will be the presentation of student and teacher awards and scholarships. There will also be the presentation of a special achievement award in remembrance of Mustafa Amr Fayez, an outstanding student from the Modern Education Schools.