Egypt

CAIRO -- Egyptologists have uncovered a Pharaonic tomb near the capital Cairo containing what may be the oldest and "most complete" mummy yet to be discovered in the country, the excavation team leader said on Thursday. The 4,300-year-old mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft in a recently uncovered group of fifth and sixth dynasty tombs near the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Zahi Hawass, director of the team, told reporters. An Egyptian archaeologist restores antiquities after the announcement of new discoveries in Gisr el-Mudir in Saqqara, in Giza, Egypt, January 26, 2023. Photo: Reuters The mummy, of a man named Hekashepes, was in a limestone sarcophagus that had been sealed in mortar. An artifact is displayed after the announcement of the discovery of 4,300-year-old sealed tombs, which have made a number of important archaeological discoveries dating to the fifth and sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, also stated that the expedition had … [Read more...] about Archaeologist hails possibly ‘oldest’ mummy yet found in Egypt

Entrepreneurial young Egyptians are helping combat their country's huge plastic waste problem by recycling junk-food wrappers, water bottles and similar garbage that usually ends up in landfills or the Nile. At a factory on the outskirts of Cairo, run by their startup TileGreen, noisy machines gobble up huge amounts of plastic scraps of all colours, shred them and turn them into a thick liquid. The sludge -- made from all kinds of plastic, even single-use shopping bags -- is then moulded into dark, compact bricks that are used as outdoor pavers for walkways and garages. "They're twice as strong as concrete," boasts co-founder Khaled Raafat, 24, slamming one onto the floor for emphasis. Each tile takes about "125 plastic bags out of the environment", says his business partner Amr Shalan, 26, raising his voice above the din of the machines. Raafat said the company uses even low-grade plastics and products "made of many different layers of plastic and aluminium that are nearly … [Read more...] about Out of Nile, into tile: Young Egyptians battle plastic plague

Workers process tuna for export at a factory in Binh Dinh province. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Despite a sharp fall in exports before the end of 2022 due to global inflation, tuna still brought home 1 billion USD in revenue last year, up 34% from 2021, becoming a billion-dollar commodity for the first time, data showed. Tuna products of Vietnam were shipped to 99 markets, of which the US, the EU, members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Israel, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the Philippines, and Egypt were the largest importers, accounting for 92% of total exports, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Germany, Spain, and Belgium were the biggest EU buyers of Vietnamese tuna . Notably, shipments to Germany and Spain shot up 161% and 117% last December, respectively. Tuna exports to Japan, a CPTPP member, grew fast in the last quarter of 2022. The value surged 131% year on … [Read more...] about Tuna becomes billion-dollar export for first time: VASEP