Under the patronage of Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, consort of the emir of Qatar, Al-Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC), a dedicated free- to-air TV Channel aimed at the Arab children around the world, went on air last Friday. Celebrating the official inauguration, a ceremony was held at the channel's headquarters located in the Education City in Doha. A number of international and national officials and celebrities were present. Twenty-two Arab children were invited from around the Arab world to represent their countries at this special occasion. And, the children, some resplendent in their national costumes, were so cute, my lovelies. The project was accomplished in cooperation with the well-known French group Lagardère Images International. The JCC broadcasts up to six fresh hours of innovative children's programmes everyday. The channel produces over 40 per cent of the programmes internally, in the channel's studios as well as with external production companies. The JCC broadcasts throughout the Arab world via Arabsat and Nilesat satellites and throughout Europe via Hot Bird satellite. Last Thursday, a seminar entitled "Safe without Addiction" was held at the Youth Hall of Semoha Sporting Club in Alexandria organised by Homat Al-Mustaqbal (The Future Protectors) campaign, a project adopted by Right Start International Charity Foundation, Dubai Police and the United Nations. The project, currently spread across 26 countries aiming at fighting drug addiction between youth was inaugurated by the charismatic preacher Amr Khaled last July. The seminar featured an impressive galaxy of officials, artists and society figures. During the event, a vital study was presented by professor of sociology at Alexandria University Ali Abdel-Razeq stating that LE200 million were spent during the past three months on young drug-users in Egypt's Mediterranean coastline. Among other attendees were Sami Abdel-Moneim deputising Alexandria governor and head of Future Protectors Association Abdallah El-Dereni who talked about the success of the project that now covers seven governorates -- Giza, Cairo, Daqahliya, Gharbiya, Sharqiya, Beheira and Alexandria. And, my dears, off I head to a country of my wildest dreams. The ancient land of culture, mystique and outstanding natural beauty -- India. The sublime sub-continent, for India is far more than a country, participated in the sixth Mediterranean Travel Fair 2005, which was hosted by Egypt from 6-8 September. The fair was inaugurated by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Minister of Tourism Ahmed El-Maghrabi. India, famous for the wide variety of tourist attractions available in the country -- including traditional, therapeutic and religious tourism. The Indian booth this year presented plenty of good offers with reasonable prices, especially with the alluring temptation of the twice- weekly direct flights from Cairo to Bombay. Pack your bags, my lovelies, and let us head for indescribable India. And my lovelies, let me dream of another beautiful country -- the fabulous Brazil. It is the land of my dreams, dance, music, superb beaches, sunshine and stunning-looking girls. I for one, my dears, couldn't resist not attending the Brazilian National Day celebrations that took place on Wednesday 7 September at the sumptuous residence of the charming Brazilian Ambassador Elim Dutra and his attractive wife Ilza. It was a memorable evening. Among the attendees were the delectable chief executive officer at Global Strategic Consultants and AUC professor Mona Zaki and her husband the gifted painter Farid Fadel. "Get ready" is an international slogan of scouts around the world. The members of the scout group of St Mary Church, Shubra, renewed their pledges on the 19th anniversary of their group. Annual celebrations are held on the Anba Rweis theatre at the Abbasiya Cathedral. The ceremony was launched by a recitation of the National anthem, followed by a presentation by a number of Coptic priests of scout scarves to the budding Cubs and Brownie scouts. Last week, Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa held a lively party in honour of his councillor and spokesperson Hossam Zaki to bid him farewell. Zaki will start his duties as the deputy head of the Egyptian mission in London in the weeks ahead. The party, held at the Andalusian hall in the headquarters of the Arab League, attracted a galaxy of luminaries. Among the distinguished personalities who attended the party were the permanent representative of Palestine at the Arab League Mohamed Sobeih, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League Noureddin Hashad, media figures Amin Mohamed Amin, Safaa Hegazi to mention but a few. I am overjoyed to announce that Al-Rafedein (Mesopotamia), the brand new Iraqi television channel, will launch its experimental broadcasting on Egypt's Nilesat satellite station broadcasting from the Media Production City, Sixth of October City, next November. Something sanguine from Iraq, my lovelies, and so timely. Long live Iraqi-Egyptian cooperation. Khamis Farhan, the chairman of the board, stated that the channel is not specialised, but aims at building a free Iraq -- a sovereign nation free from the stranglehold of American political hegemony and military occupation. Perhaps, one of the main objectives of the channel is to reveal the genuine national disposition for survival and the fundamental unity of the Iraqi people. Indeed, Farhan stressed that the promising new channel will be objective and professional when tackling the political, social and economic issues animating public opinion in the new Iraq. Furthermore the channel will offer the Iraqi people a comprehensive review of events in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Under the glare of twirling strobe lights, my dainty colleague Amira El-Nakeeb and I ventured into the dazzling opening of Defile D'Egypte last week at the Cairo International Conference Centre, Nasr City. The exhibition was a huge success as it hosted a large number of companies from all over the world specialising in the clothing and textile industries. However, the most exciting part of the evening, my lovelies, was the fantastic fashion show. Sampling the latest trends for winter 2005/2006 was an exhilarating experience. Vibrant colours -- in particular orange and gold -- dominate the fashion scene this year. The trend is especially noticeable in the night gowns and soirée dresses. Stone washed jeans, the king of casual this year, is good news for both men and women who want to flaunt their gorgeous bodies. And, if you love glamour, my sweeties, you would have been thrilled to see gorgeous models swaggering in luxurious fabrics like chiffon, organza and silk. These stunning beauties were wearing fancy dresses in pastel colours -- coy pink tones, eye-catching turquoise and primrose. The slick sequined evening dresses, and embroidered strapless and one-shoulder cocktail dresses are very much in style this season, my darlings. The beautiful models posed like a constellation of stars in the full-moon evening. They took my breath away. Indeed, my sweets, the entire audience was breathless with anticipation as they watched the models parading on the catwalk in beautiful wedding gowns -- bedecked with ravishing white lace, and glittering in the moonlight were sprinkles of diamonds ornamenting the strapless dresses. Heaven on earth my dears. Al-Ahram Agency for Distribution held an enthralling exhibition on the sidelines of Alexandria International Film Festival. General Manager of the agencya, Hani Tolba, made an agreement with the head of the Egyptian Cinema Writers and Critics Association Mamdouh El-Leithi, the organiser of the festival, that the exhibition include books in a wide variety of fields including art, culture, socio-economic themes and politics.
