photo: Khatchig Wanis Under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development launched its arts and handicrafts exhibition of Akhmim and Hagaza centres. The event was inaugurated by the Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs Amina El- Guindi, along with head of the association Emil Neweir and its director Hani Samir. The exhibition is running through 20 May at the association premises in Daher, Cairo. This week, the Theatre Organisation organised, in cooperation with the Actors Syndicate an evening commemorating 40 days since veteran actor Ahmed Zaki passed away. Lebanese diva Magda El-Roumi flew in from Beirut specifically to participate in the evening. Syrian actress and poetess Raghda, who accompanied the late actor in his last days, recited a poem she composed in Zaki 's honour. The event, which was staged at the National Theatre, was organised by the theatre director Sherif Abdel-Latif and attended by a galaxy of luminaries including First-Under Secretary for Foreign Cultural Relations at the Culture Ministry Sherif El-Shoubashi, Al-Ahram 's Amal Bakir, actresses Madiha Youssri, Shahira, Mona Zaki, Wafaa Salem, and actors Youssef Shaaban, Galal El-Sharqawi, Ahmed Abdel-Halim and Mohamed Heneidi. photo: Sherif Mahmoud Syria's gifted singer Asala celebrated her birthday at Al-Tanoura Nile boat. The party was crowned by the presence of a group of stars among others were actresses Laila Elwie, Hanan Turk, Lebleba, Magda Noureddin and her husband actor and cinema producer Sami El-Adl, Tunisian singer Latifa. Last Saturday, counselor at the Religions Dialogue Committee of Al-Azhar Ali El-Saman held at his house a dinner party in honour of Garnier Branstone, a member in the House of Lords and head of the Institution of Peaceful Co- existence, on the occasion of his visit to Cairo. Branstone had the opportunity to meet Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi. Among those who attended the party were British Ambassador in Egypt Sir Derek Plumbly and his wife Nadia Gohar, Head of Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin and member of the Egyptian- American Business Council Mohamed Rizq. photos: Ayman Barayez Tomorrow, my sweets, the Nile Hilton Austrian Cultural and Culinary Festival held in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the EgyptianAustrian Friendship Association and Austrian Airlines will conclude its activities. It was opened by Austrian Ambassador Kurt Spallinger, General-Manager of Austrian Airlines Maged Shenouda and General-Manager of Nile Hilton Jean-Pierre Mainardi, along with Global Strategic Consultants Chief Executive Officer Mona Zaki. Together they sampled the gastronomic specialties from different parts of Austria created by Chef Stefan Kaiblinger. Lately, the closing ceremony of the Pharaonic Village photography contest was held at the village restaurant, sponsored by Kodak, Egypt. Chairman of the Pharaonic Village Abdel-Salam Ragab, granted the prizes and the certificates of appreciation to the winners during the ceremony. The first prize went to Omar El-Moataz Bellah for his photo named "Reflections". Last Saturday, the Freedoms Committee of the Journalists' Syndicate and Watani Sunday newspaper held a celebration at the syndicate's building to commemorate the 10th death anniversary of the paper's founder Antoun Sidhom. Secretary- General of the Freedoms Committee Mohamed Abdel-Qoddous talked about Sidhom 's role as a defender of civil liberties and national unity. I enjoyed another Armenian Folk Dance Festival held last week at the Russian Cultural Centre's Tchaikovsky Hall and performed by Sardarabad troupe. The event was held under the auspices of Ashot Mnatsakanyan, Locum Tenens of Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Egypt, organised by Houssaper Armenian Cultural Association. The two-hour show featured 24 dances performed by 44 dancers aged from seven to 18 years. The success of the show was due in large measure to the diligence of Caroline Mazloumian and Sylva Assadourian, directors of Sardarabad Youth Folk Dance Troupe. In an unprecedented development, the American University in Cairo ranked second place at the award of distinguished delegation in the 2005 New York Model United Nations Conference held in New York. This year, 3,263 student delegates from 226 schools on five continents attended. The AUC delegation consisted of 23 student delegates and their faculty advisor professor of political science Maye Kassem. Graduate and undergraduate heads of the delegation were Sarah Rizq and Hedayat Heikal, respectively. The Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), unveiled couple of days ago a brand new community centre in the town of Idku, Beheira. The new centre, which ELNG built and donated to the people of Idku, aims at supporting the community by offering the youth a space to gather socially and play sports such as football, volleyball and handball. The event began with Chief Executive Officer of Egyptian LNG Roger Fox welcoming Governor of Beheira Osman Asaal and other community leaders to the centre. Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guellah welcomed the head of the Afro-Asian Lawyers Union for Human Rights Essmat El-Merghani as an international observer to the presidential elections. President Guellah praised the efforts of the union during the elections.
