The Egyptian Gazette on Tuesday night celebrated the 130th anniversary of its debut, an event that drew many Egyptian and foreign guests and foreshadowed the Iceland volcano fallout. During the gala, the five former editors-in-chief Amin Abul Einen, Ramez el-Halawani, Sami el-Shahed, Mohamed el-Ezzabi and Mohamed Ali Ibrahim have been awarded with The Gazette Distinguished Award in appreciation of their efforts to serve and upgrade the newspaper during their respective tenures. The celebration, held under the auspices of Shura Council Chairman Safwat el-Sherif, who is also the chairman of the Supreme Press Council, included honouring twelve senior former and current Gazetteers. Mr. Ali Hashim, the Board Chairman of el-Tahrir Publishing and Printing House, which publishes The Gazette, along with the newspaper's Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Ramadan Abdul Kader, presented certificates of merit to the family members of late journalist Gomaa Abdul Moneim, and late layout technician Farouq Ibrahim. Similar certificates were handed to el-Sebaaei el-Masri, Ashraf Sadek, Samar Ali Ezzat, Amina Abdul Salam, Mohamed Kassim, Mohssen Arishie, Ali Khalil, Manal Abdul Aziz, Mohamed Salah Attia, and Osama Salah. Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Hani Hillal, and Minister of Economic Development, Osman Mohamed Osman, attended the celebration, which was held at the Cairo Opera House.
