My dear friend, the suave and dashing Italian ambassador to Egypt, Antonio Badini presided over the Italian National Day celebrations. Among the distinguished guests were Sherif El-Shoubashi, first undersecretary for cultural cooperation in the Ministry of Culture; Hoda Wasfi director of Al-Hanager Arts Centre, artist Farid Fadel ; Zahi Hawass the secretary- general of the Supreme Council of the Antiquities. Ambassador Badini welcomed his guests as his charming wife Donia Abu Rashid, resplendent in a purple frock, looked proudly on. Ambassador Badini also signed a Protocol with the Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Mohamed Awad Tageddin, in which the guidelines for the creation of the Euro-Arab School of Oncology were laid down. The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Health and Population on 7 June. Ambassador Badini said he hoped the project would help in the fight against cancer in Egypt. He expressed his wishes that the Europeans would help train Egyptian cadres combat the dreaded disease. Another dear friend of mine, the ingenious German ambassador to Egypt, Martin Kobler, awarded the talented secretary-general of the Arab League the Order of Merit, the highest honour bestowed by the Federal Republic of Germany. In his presentation speech, Kobler sang the praises of Amr Moussa ; he noted with pride Germany's tremendous appreciation of the Arab League secretary- general's contribution to cementing Arab-German ties. He specifically gave credit to Moussa for his coordination of the successful Arab participation at last year's Frankfurt International Book Fair. Imagine my joy, my darling friends, to discover that Egyptian fashion designer Hani El-Beheiri has been busy with several important fashion shows. Last month he was proud to show off his designs at the Rotary Club's 100th Anniversary in Sharm El-Sheikh held under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. El-Beheiri also entertained a huge crowd with his latest colour and fabric orientations in the Thomas Cook and Lux fashion shows. The fashion shows displayed a myriad of fabulously frothy gowns that dripped with gemstones, jewels and sequins. While the bejewelled dresses hinted at youthful playfulness with their high-cut slits and feathery accessories, the designs were still pure sophistication, lending elegance and charm to already marvellous events. The most glamorous dresses flowed in a delicate pink, almost exactly the colour of sunset over the Nile.
