Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Maher Abdel-Wahed held a dinner in honour of his Italian counterpart, Corte Constituzionale della Repubblica Italiana head Franco Bile, who was visiting Egypt. Bile had met President Hosni Mubarak when he arrived for the dinner at the Cairo Sheraton Hotel, accompanied by a delegation of Italian judges. Present were the speaker of parliament Fathi Sorour, Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, and presidential adviser Osama El-Baz, as well as head of the National Council for Human Rights Kamal Abul-Magd, and the deputy heads of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Tahani El-Gebali, Adel Sherif and Maher Sami What a wonderful opportunity to meet old schoolmates and remember the old days of fun and childhood. My colleague Nesmahar Sayed spent a day sharing in the reunion of graduates of the DSB (the German School of Saint Charles Borromaer Nuns) at Bab Al-Louq. The reunion was held in the school playground, where tables and chairs were covered with orange ribbons and a stage set up and decorated with white flowers -- giving the place a jovial atmosphere. The event featured a bazaar as well as concerts by West Al-Ballad and Echo. The reunion brought different classes of the school together with the nuns and teachers. Sister Mathilda greeted everyone, while Wurzer, the school headmaster, and Magda Tantawi, the Egyptian headmistress, shared the excitement. In her speech as the head of the graduates association, and on behalf of the graduates, Amal Sidqi thanked Heba El-Sanhouri and Passant Hassan for their efforts to organise the reunion, which was sponsored by a number of brand names and companies. She expressed the desire to make it an annual event. At the Conference Hall of the Egypt Language Schools (ELS), a press conference was held to announce the participation of 82 athletes with special needs in the Winter Olympics, to open in September 2007 in China. Present were the Chairman of Egyptian Special Olympics Ismail Osman and his wife, executive head of the same organisation, Magda Moussa as well as ELS Director of Public Relations Nagwa Gomaa and supervisor of special-needs teams Mohamed El-Alfi. Last week held a special day for our voluptuous colleague Amany Abdel-Moneim, who was emotionally overwhelmed at the graduation party of her daughter, Menna Hossam Ashour. Menna, among the brightest IGCSE students who graduated from Manor House School in June 2006, was smiling from ear to ear while she faced the prospect of adult life. The ceremony took place at the spectacular Alf Leila wa Leila ballroom at the Nile Hilton, but it wasn't until after the ceremony that the real fun began -- when parents were asked to leave and make room for the faculty and new graduates to let their hair down. The absolute climax of the party took place a little later, however, when heart throb Mohamed Hamaqi, one of Egypt's best loved pop stars among the young, hit the stage -- and joined in the revelry. Menna is currently enjoying her first academic year, studying engineering with a major in architecture at MSA University. In the meantime Abdel-Moneim is the proudest mom on earth even as she remains the most voluptuous. At Al-Mansoura National Museum (Dar Ibn Loqman), Governor of Mansoura Ahmed Said Sawwan inaugurated the 11th annual Art Salon of Daqahlia. The exhibition showcases the work of over 150 artists: oil paintings, water colours, photography, graphics, sculpture and pottery. Present were head of the Plastic Arts Syndicate, veteran caricaturist Mustafa Hussein and his Daqahlia counterpart Hussein Ali Hussein. The exhibition is open until mid-April. Film star Hussein Fahmi, former head of the Cairo International Film Festival, celebrated his birthday at the Nile Hilton Hotel following a press conference to promote the International Special Olympics for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in Egypt. Fahmi was the guest of honour as the first Special Olympics MENA global ambassador. Present were Nile Hilton General Manager Jean-Pierre Mainardi, chairman of the Federation of Chambers of Tourism Ahmed El-Nahhas and the TV presenter Pussy Shalabi World famous American mezzo soprano Eugenie Grunewald, together with Italian soprano Nuccia Focile and Egyptian bass Reda El Wakil will perform at the Cairo Opera House on 3 April. One of those rare artists who have mastered not only the dramatic roles of Verdi and Wagner, but also the Bel Canto repertoire, she is increasingly acclaimed for her dramatic abilities and vocal artistry. Grunewald regularly sings with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera, and has performed in Barcelona and Hamburg, among other cities. The concert will be conducted by Artistic Director and Principle Conductor of the Cairo Opera Orchestra Nader Abbasi. (See Music & Dance, Listings P. 16) The School of Arts at the Virginia Commonwealth University of Qatar (VCUQ) announced the winners of the first phase of the 2007 Design Competition, themed "Designing for a Better Future". The winners for Egypt were Nouran El-Bastany, Rateb El-Hussein and Noha El-Farouk in first, second and third places, respectively; all hail from the Modern English School. VCUQ Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Charles Bleick, Events Project Coordinator Donna Duffett and Recruitment Officer Dima Salameh were present at the reception. VCUQ scholarships are provided by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned, chairperson of the Qatar Foundation. The Mualana Azad Centre hosted six well-known Indian painters -- Vasundhara Tewari, Lalu Prosad Shaw, Amitava Das, Surya Prakash and Aditya Basak -- for a discussion in which they compared notes with their Egyptian counterparts, including Togan and George Bahgori, in the presence of Indian Ambassador A Gopinathan. A short visit, this will be followed by a longer stay during which the artists will exhibit their work. Charge d'affaires of the Tunisian Embassy Mahmoud El-Khoumiri celebrated the Tunisian Independence Day in the presence of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab, Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moseilhi, Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana, actress Nabila Ebeid and pop star Hakim.
