The sound of music Bassam El-Zoghby was ready with his camera at the opening ceremony of Egypt's first International Oud Forum where Iraqi oud master and president of the forum Nasseer Shamma conducted the Arab House of Oud Orchestra in a mesmerising performance playing excerpts of his own compositions as well as improvisations. This week, Mohamed Hassanien Heikal is 87 years old. Born in 1923, Heikal has emerged as the Arab world's premier political writer. He is the foremost political commentator in the region. He, however, is humble enough to describe himself as a "newspaperman". He is, of course, far more. Heikal is a persuasive orator and most convincing commentator. His graphic descriptions of the events of yesteryear have left his listeners and readers spellbound. He is the Arab world's leading voice and most articulate advocate of social justice and liberation in the region. We are all his students and it is a personal honour to have worked with him and learnt from his unique style and colourful personality. Heikal is characterised by his clear-headedness and his eloquence. He had a dream of producing an English language newspaper to lend credence and be the voice of the Arab world. Heikal 's dream was realised in 1991 when Ibrahim Nafie, former chairman of the board and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram launced Al-Ahram Weekly. From the word go it was a liberal paper par excellence. We owe Heikal a great deal. We wish him a happy birthday, long life and health. Commemorating the bicentenary of Independence of Mexico and the centenary of the Mexican Revolution, Mexican Ambassador to Egypt Maria Carmen Onate Munoz hosted a reception at the garden of her residence in Maadi. The party was crowned by the presence of Cuban Ambassador Otto Vaillant and his wife Gisela Sosa, Uruguay Ambassador Ines Ubici De Busso and her husband Anibal Busso as well as a number of the Latin American ambassadors in Egypt. Former Egyptian ambassador to Cuba Abdel-Fattah Ezzeddin and deputy head of the Latin American-Egyptian Association ambassador Fathi Youssef and Abdel-Fattah El-Zeini at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry were all present. Alexandria Opera House's Sayed Darwish Theatre witnessed the spectacular inaugural ceremony of the 26th Alexandria International Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries. Opened by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, Alexandria Governor Adel Labib and president of the festival Mamdouh El-Leithi, the ceremony featured the screening of Al-Musafir (The Traveller) with the attendance of its stars -- world-renowned actor Omar Sharif, gorgeous Lebanese actress Serene Abdel-Nour, emerging actor Sherif Ramzi, actress Basma and director Ahmed Maher. The festival honoured a galaxy of cinema figures such as veteran actor Gamil Rateb, actresses Samira Ahmed and Laila Elwi, scriptwriter Mustafa Moharram, veteran filmmaker Ali Badrakhan. The festival also granted honorary shields to filmmakers Dawoud Abdel-Sayed, Youssri Nasrallah, Marwan Hamed, Osama Fawzi, Mohamed Khan and Atef Hatata. Actor Hisham Selim and actress Zeina were among the festival's jury committee while veteran cinema critic Rafiq El-Sabban, scriptwriter Mariam Naoum and filmmaker Ahmed Abdallah were among the jury committee for the digital films competition. A private screening was held for the new blockbuster Aelet Mickey (Mickey's Family) at Nile City Cinema. The film casts veteran actors Lebleba and Ahmed Fouad Selim, along with budding talents Amr Abed and Seifeddin Tarek, and is scripted by Omar Gamal and directed by Akram Farid. A private screening was also held for the newly released blockbuster Al-Ragol Al-Ghamed bi Salamto (Mr Mysterious), starring comedian Hani Ramzi and Nelly Karim, scripted by Bilal Fadl and directed by Mohsen Ahmed. A thrilling seminar of friendship was held for Lions Clubs in Egypt at the Four Seasons San Stefano in Alexandria at Zone 352 presided over by Sami Gabr. Former head of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority Abdel-Halim Noureddin delivered a speech during the seminar highlighting archaeological sites that lie on the Alexandrian seabed and how they became attractions for tourists. The seminar was attended by many guests, such as head of Rehab Lions Club Mahmoud El-Maghrabi and many Lions Club members, such as Mohga Mahran, Ahmed Salem, Magdi Azab, Assad Anwar and Gelan Farghali. The General Annual Catholic seminar for Youth was held at Al-Muqattam Monastery with the participation of 2,000 Arab and Egyptian youth. President of the International Union of Muslim-Christian- Jewish Dialogue and Peace Education Ali El-Samman, Father Rafiq Gerish, controversial journalist and media figure Mufid Fawzi and Director of the Catholic Centre Father Boutros Daniel were all present. An audience of about 5,000 attended the cultural festival organised by the Cairo Opera House at the Mubarak Library in Port Said. It featured marimba queen Nesma Abdel-Aziz who performed a collection of compositions by Mohamed Abdel-Wahab performed on tabla and other percussion instruments. The second part of the concert was enlivened by Syrian singer Magd Al-Qassem and his band. Following the concert, Port Said Governor Mustafa Abdel-Latif granted Cairo Opera House Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel, Abdel-Aziz and Al-Qassem the governorate's shield. In South Korea, the Daejeon International Cartoon Contest takes place under the theme of "Oddity and Monster" and where 58 countries around the world are participating. The festival, running through 1 October, comprises 500 cartoonists who are presenting 1,500 cartoon paintings. Al-Ahram veteran cartoonist Said Badawi, along with Mohamed Effat, Fawzi Mursi and Wessam Khalil were chosen from Egypt. Badawi has a painting on permanent show in Korea.
