Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
HANOI: Rising prices and a growing fear of scarcity have prompted some of the world's largest rice producers to announce drastic limits on the amount of rice they export. The price of rice, a staple in the diets of nearly half the world's population, has almost doubled on international markets …
Food scientists are meeting in Cusco, Peru, this week to find ways of boosting world potato production to ease the strain of surging cereal prices on the world's poorest countries. Potato production already reached a record high last year as cereal prices rose, partly as a consequence of grain producers …
A wheat disease that could destroy most of the world's main wheat crops could strike south Asia's vast wheat fields two years earlier than research had suggested, leaving millions to starve. The fungus, called Ug99, has spread from Africa to Iran, and may already be in Pakistan.
>> Arab countries have agreed to allow punishment of satellite channels deemed to have offended Arab leaders or national or religious symbols. At a meeting in Cairo called by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, a charter was adopted allowing authorities to withdraw permits from offending channels. The charter calls on broadcasters …
In a small room, in a modest, but well-maintained building in Central Cairo, a phone rings. The caller, a woman, suspects that her husband has been having sex with someone else. She is concerned that she might be at risk of catching hiv. The call that lasts no more than …
The southern Mediterranean region faces one of the most important water crises in the world. The combination of aridity, foreign dependency, climate change, misallocation of the resources and escalating human demand make water supply a primary issue for health, economy and poverty reduction. In this context, institutional reform of the …
Cotton is the most important textile fibre and contributes to 62 percent of the Indian Textile Industry's requirement. Among the different quality groups, the ELS Cotton of 35 mm and above is in great demand world over for the manufacture of high quality ring spun yarns.
The mummy of King Tutankhamen went on a public display for the first time on November 4, after archaeologists removed the body from his stone sarcophagus in an underground tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. The 3,000-year-old remains needs immediate protection, since they started deteriorating from …
a recent study has revealed that trees are in significant decline in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The desert ranks among the most extreme deserts, with average annual rainfall being less than 30 mm. However, the region has widespread dry river valleys called wadis. The researchers monitored Acacia tortilis and …
Women are more at risk of contracting avian flu than men, states the Egyptian health ministry. The statement came after an appraisal of the gender ratio of avian flu infected people in the country. Most avian flu deaths in the country were found to be among women and a total …
yes, radio: On November 17, 2006 the government approved an expansion of community radio stations by non-profit organisations. Applicants need to have a standing of at least three years. Individuals, political parties or their affiliates and trade unions will not be allowed to operate stations. Stations should serve a well-defined …
Bakkar, the eponymous hero of a popular all-Egyptian cartoon series, is into tackling environmental problems. Directed by award-winning Mona Abul-Nasr and produced by Cairo Cartoon
an optimistic note, about wiping out polio from the six afflicted countries, was to be sounded at a conference organised by the World Health Organisation (who) in Geneva on January 15. Instead, the sudden re-emergence of the disease in two African nations
Despite being at the receiving end of the post-9/11 anthrax attacks, the us is drifting away from the convention that seeks to ban biological weapons. On top of it, Washington has readied a plan for vaccinating us troops against smallpox and enhancing its biodefence infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the country's …
jumbo fighters: Tiny bugs would no longer trouble jumbo jets. If undetected, microbes in aviation fuel harm the planes' instruments and even eat through the wings. They also produce misleading readings in fuel gauges. Now, Cardiff-based ECHA Microbiology has developed an industry-standard test for the pests, which lets non-microbiologists check …
the use of compressed natural gas (cng) has brought some respite for Cairo. Experts say that cng has been able to drive out a haze from the city. "V ehicle conversion to the cng mode is a major factor behind a drastic reduction in Cairo's pollution. cng vehicles emit about …
Groundwater levels below the Karnak temple complex situated in the town of Luxor have risen alarmingly. Experts say that this could result in the crumbling or sinking of the complex, which was built around 2,500 years ago. The groundwater that was measured at almost seven metres below the foundations 50 …
