A special Ramadan evening was organised in Hurghada to encourage tourism. It featured concerts by the West Al-Balad band and Mawlawia troupe, led by munshid Amer Al-Touni. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Activation Authority, the event was held in the presence of Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah. Several Egyptian embassies abroad have celebrated the 62nd anniversary of the 23 July Revolution. Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia Mohamed Idris, for example, gave a reception last week that was attended by top officials and diplomats and members of the Egyptian community in Ethiopia. The atmosphere of the reception was very special given the resumption of Egypt's participation in the activities of the African Union and the boost that Cairo-Addis Ababa relations have witnessed. Earlier this month, the Egyptian Embassy in Burundi organised an Iftar to commemorate the anniversary of the revolution. Top Burundi and Arab officials joined the Iftar. Egyptian Ambassador to Burundi Atiyya Abul-Naga said during the party that this year's celebration is important because it comes at a time when Egypt has reached two milestones on the road map: the constitution and the presidential elections. Menha Bakhoum, Ambassador of Egypt to Serbia, organised another celebration late last month. The party was held at the prestigious Sava Centre in Belgrade and attended by diplomats, top Serbian officials, members of the religious communities and members of the Egyptian community in Belgrade. On the fringe of the celebration, Bakhoum organised an Egyptian night in which the Samaa troupe for religious and Sufi chanting sent a message of peace that reflected the unity of all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians. Other embassies and consulates also held celebrations last month in Russia, Australia, Armenia, China, Thailand, Finland, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Congo and Cote d'Ivoire. The Egyptian-Lebanese Businessmen Friendship Association (ELBFA), headed by Fathallah Fawzi, held its annual Ramadan sohour at Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel. Among those present were the wife of the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada, diplomat Ghazi Nasser, Ambassador Mohamed Hammad and his wife Magda Barsoum, Vice-President of the ELBFA Alex Choueiri, actors Khaled Zaki and Hani Ramzi, TV presenter Poussi Shalabi, society ladies Samia Shash, Anisa Abi-Morshid, Wafaa Al-Ghazali, Fatma Fayed, Ilham Sultan and Zizi Bedewi. An honourary ceremony for casualties from the police and the army took place last week in the presence of 20 of the victims' families and a number of social figures and celebrities. Representatives of the Minister of Defence and Minister of Interior were present along with Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, actors Ilham Shahine, Youssra, Hala Sedqi, Leqaa Sweidan, Fardous Abdel-Hamid and Dorra, Ahmed Abdel-Warith, Sherif Mounir, Ahmed Abdel-Aziz and Mohamed Abu Dawoud, singer Iman Al-Bahr Darwish, journalists Soheir Gouda and Mustafa Bakri, Imam of the Omar Makram Mosque Mazhar Shahine, screenwriter Wahid Hamed, TV presenters Osama Kamal and Hayat Abdoun, former football players Khaled Al-Ghandour, Magdi Abdel-Ghani and Zakaria Nassef, businessman Hani Aziz, judge Tahani Al-Gibali, journalist and TV presenter Hala Sarhan and director Magdi Ahmed Ali. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer chose the Red Sea in Hurghada to film parts of the new film A Hologram for the King, the story of an American businessman moving to Saudi Arabia to sign a contract with a wealthy monarch played by Hollywood star Tom Hanks, to be released in 2015. Hanks and Tykwer along with the rest of the cast and crew arrived at Hurghada airport on Friday. They will be staying in a yacht on the Red Sea during the shooting. Hanks stated this is his first visit to the Red Sea, which he had read about and looked forward to seeing its spectacular coral reefs. Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah announced that he has provided the required permissions for filming. French Ambassador Nicolas Galey and his wife Camilia gave a lavish reception at their residence in Giza to mark the National Day of France. Present were Minister of Health Adel Adawi, former head of Intelligence General Murad Mowafi, former minister of education Hani Hilal, actress Lebleba, novelist Gamal Al-Ghitani, tourism expert Amr Badr, businessmen Mansour Al-Gammal and Hassan Rateb as well as Spanish Ambassador Arturo Avello, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari and his Japanese counterpart Toshiro Suzuki and General Richard Clark and Marc Sievers from the US Embassy. Indian Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri held an Iftar banquet at his residence in India House in Zamalek. Suri addressed the guests in Arabic, pointing out that India is the second biggest country in the world in the number of its Muslim population and the second biggest mosque in the world is found in India, adding that this Iftar is among the most important events organised by the embassy throughout the year. Among the attendees were Minister of Health Adel Adawi, former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, Chairman of the Board of Al-Shorouk newspaper Ibrahim Al-Muallem, businessmen Rami Lakah and Mansour Al-Gammal, political analyst Mustafa Al-Fiqi and former MP and political science lecturer at the AUC Mona Makram Ebeid. The Al-Nahar Satellite Channel Network, presided over by Ibrahim Hammouda, held its annual Ramadan Iftar. The event featured a ceremony presented by Poussi Shalabi to honour former chairman of the board of Al-Nahar Walid Mustafa and the new Chairman of the Board Amr Qoura. Present were political analyst Mustafa Al-Fiqi, talk show hosts and journalists Mahmoud Saad, Adel Hammouda, Khaled Salah, Ibrahim Hegazi, Doaa Gad Al-Haq, TV presenters Medhat Shalabi, Samar Youssri, Sherihan Abul-Hassan, Amr Al-Kahki, former head of the Egyptian Television and Radio Union Osama Al-Sheikh and producer Zaki Abdel-Hamid, director Haitham Al-Bitar, head of Al-Nahar Sports Channel Ihab Galal and, from the board of Al-Nahar, Walid Abdel-Moneim, Ghassan Al-Sherif, Fadi Ali, Mohamed Mustafa and Mohamed Adel, as well as football players Walid Salaheddin, Nour Khattab and Tarek Yehia. Germany is to issue a stamp marking its team's victory in the World Cup 2014. The stamp was ordered by Germany's Finance Ministry which holds a large stake in Deutsche Post. Five million were printed before the final match was held. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he had “dared to hope very early on” that the national team would win. If Germany had lost to Argentina on Sunday the 0.60 euro (£0.47) stamps would have had to be pulped. “It's wonderful that the team turned this dream into a reality,” Schaeuble said. The stamp went on sale after the first commemorative copies were presented to the coach, players and team staff. Graphic designer Lutz Menze told the German news agency DPA that the image does not show individual footballers in order to honour the whole team. He said that producing a stamp usually takes six months but he had been contacted by the government after the tournament had started. This is Germany's fourth World Cup title after 1954, 1974 and 1990.
