By Madame Sosostris * The Egyptian-European Council organised a seminar, my honey bunnies, attended by my colleague Ghada Abd El-Kader. Present, she reports, was International Ethical Collegium member and former Netherlands prime minister (1977-1982) Andreas Van Agt, together with my good friends former minister of tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui, former foreign minister Ahmed Maher, Secretary-General for the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) Ahmed El-Guweili and Arab-West Understanding Centre (CAWU) Director Cornelius Hulsman, who gave a presentation of the work of the CAWU, stressing the importance of intercultural cooperation and understanding across difference and asking Van Agt to inaugurate the project. For his part the gorgeous El-Beltagui seconding Hulsman on the importance of tolerance, said he was glad to be made chairman of CAWU, while Van Agt delivered an apologia for the Danish cartoon crisis, pointing out that it was a secular, not specifically anti-Islamic, attitude that produced it. Among the audience members Abd El-Kader met four of my most valued friends, dears: the El-Sawy Culture Wheel Director Mohamed El-Sawy, Bahrain Ambassador Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zawadi, TV anchor Leila Rostom and prominent Al-Akhbar journalist Nawal Mustafa. * Diplomats, my babies, and more international work. This time it was our friends the Indians, though, with the Indian-Egyptian Friendship Association and the Indian Embassy collaborating on an orphan party where pop star Medhat Saleh performed his wonderful children's songs and the winners of Dar Al-Hilal's Delhi-Egypt Competition were honoured in the presence of Indian Ambassador Gopinathan, veteran actress Samiha Ayoub, and National Theatre Director Hoda Wasfi, among other wonderful friends from both countries. * A new Arabic programme by the Spanish news agency EFE, darlings, was launched at its international headquarters in Cairo. A very informative press conference accompanied the launching, too, with my good friend the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos, EFE President Alex Grijelmo, EFE Administrative Manager Lola Alvarez, EFE Information Director Nemesio Rodriguezan, EFE Cairo Office Director Jiever Otazu and my close friend Arab Service director Javier Martin, who announced that the programme will offer independent impartial coverage provided by EFE's 2,000 journalists. photo: Mohamed Wassim * Another of Italian Ambassador Antonio Bandini and his wife Donia 's delightful parties, this time to celebrate Italian president Carlo Ciampi granting my very accomplished friend Mohamed Salmawy, head of the Egyptian Writers' Union and editor-in- chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo, the Italian republic's Order of Merit in degree Grande Official -- the highest official honour in all of Italy. It was great to see my friends and associates again: besides Salmawy 's wife, painter Nazli Madkour and Madkour 's mother Malak Madkour, the beloved Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi, former minister of tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui, French Ambassador Philippe Coste, Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir, and a host of gorgeous actresses. photo: Ayman Barayez * And yet another seminar, lovelies: German-Egyptian mathematics for secondary school students, courtesy of the German University in Egypt (GUE), with over 36 participants, a Rhine-Nile river logo designed by an 11th-grade German School (DSB) student and one exciting motto that sums up the point behind the project: Mathematics Builds Bridges. * Speaking of which, dears, my beautifully talented musician friend Omar Khayrat gave a concert at the selfsame Culture Wheel featuring some of his best-known songs. It looked like he was playing the piano, sure -- but really he was plucking the strings of over 1,300 hearts. Two of my dearest friends were among the guests, beauties: Minister of Communication and Information Tareq Kamel and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mahmoud Abu Zeid. photo: Ghada Abd El-Kader * Congratulations are in order to our very own Gihan Shahine, dears, recently married to engineer Sherif Fahmi. Their delightful wedding took place at the Sheraton Royal Gardens (once the residence of the great theatre giant Youssef Wahbi ). Family and friends engaged in a cheerful dance with the bridegroom as the gorgeous bride rushed to refresh her make-up, artistically made by Amal Abdel-Hamid. Finally a chance to see Sahar El-Bahr, Inas Ahmed, Rania Khallaf, Amany Abdel-Moneim, Inas Mazhar, Shahira Ismail, Nesmahar Sayed, Nashwa Abdel-Tawab, and Khaled El-Ghamri outside the office.
