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Egypt Opens 2 Pyramids to Public

People walk in front of the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, that was reopened after restoration work, in Dahshur, south of Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
People walk in front of the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, that was reopened after restoration work, in Dahshur, south of Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Egypt Opens 2 Pyramids to Public

People walk in front of the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, that was reopened after restoration work, in Dahshur, south of Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
People walk in front of the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, that was reopened after restoration work, in Dahshur, south of Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt opened to visitors on Saturday and for the first time since 1965 the 101-meter "Bent" Pyramid built for pharaoh Sneferu.

Tourists will now be able to clamber down a 79-meter narrow tunnel from a raised entrance on the pyramid's northern face, to reach two chambers deep inside the 4,600-year-old structure that lies just south of Cairo.

They will also be able to enter an adjoining 18-meter high "side pyramid", possibly for Sneferu's wife Hetepheres.

The "Bent" Pyramid is one of two built for Fourth Dynasty founding pharaoh Sneferu in Dahshur, at the southern end of the Memphis necropolis that starts at Giza.

Its appearance is unusual. The first 49 meters, which have largely kept their smooth limestone casing, are built at a steep 54 degree angle, before tapering off in the top section.

The angular shape contrasts with the straight sides of Sneferu's Red Pyramid just to the north, the first of ancient Egypt's fully formed pyramids and the next step towards the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Architects changed the angle when cracks started appearing in the structure, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

"Sneferu lived a very long time...the architects wanted to reach the complete shape, the pyramid shape," Mohamed Shiha, director of the Dahshur site, said.

"Exactly where he was buried -- we are not sure of that. Maybe in this (Bent) pyramid, who knows?"

Authorities are seeking to promote tourism at Dahshur, about 28km south of central Cairo. The site lies in the open desert, attracts just a trickle of visitors, and is free of the touts and bustle of Giza.

As they opened the pyramids, archaeologists presented late-period mummies, masks, tools and coffins discovered during excavations that began near the Dahshur pyramids last year and are due to continue.

"When we were taking those objects out, we found...a very rich area of hidden tombs," Waziri said.

Archaeologists also unveiled the nearby tomb of Sa Eset, a supervisor of pyramids in the Middle Kingdom, which has been closed since its excavation in 1894 and contains finely preserved hieroglyphic funerary texts.

Foreign ambassadors were invited to attend the archaeological announcements.

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Varieties

Reintroduction of Wildlife Species at Saudi Arabia’s Hegra Reserve to Enhance Ecological Balance

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
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Reintroduction of Wildlife Species at Saudi Arabia’s Hegra Reserve to Enhance Ecological Balance

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), in cooperation with the National Center for Wildlife, has reintroduced 37 wildlife species at the Hegra Nature Reserve in AlUla as part of its efforts to enhance ecological balance and preserve the region's natural biodiversity.

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.

It also supports eco-tourism by increasing the presence of wildlife species and enriching visitors' natural experiences, in line with AlUla's vision to develop its natural resources and strengthen its environmental values.

Varieties

WHO Reaffirms No Link between Vaccines and Autism

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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WHO Reaffirms No Link between Vaccines and Autism

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The World Health Organization's vaccine safety committee said on Thursday that new reviews of scientific evidence found no link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder, reaffirming conclusions reached more than two decades ago.

The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety assessed two systematic reviews covering studies published between 2010 and August 2025, according to Reuters.

The reviews examined vaccines in general and those containing thiomersal, a mercury-based preservative that has long been accused by critics of contributing to autism - a claim repeatedly dismissed by scientific studies.

A causal link between vaccines and health outcomes is considered only when several high-quality studies consistently show a statistical association, the committee said.

Twenty out of 31 studies found no evidence of an association between vaccines and autism, according to the WHO.

Eleven studies that suggested a possible link were deemed to have major methodological flaws and a high risk of bias, the committee said.

Last month, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview with the New York Times that he had personally instructed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change its long-standing position that vaccines do not cause autism.

Varieties

Vietnam's Capital Chokes Through Week of Toxic Smog

This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
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Vietnam's Capital Chokes Through Week of Toxic Smog

This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Toxic smog has blanketed Vietnam's capital for more than a week, blotting out the skyline and leaving residents wheezing as Hanoi's air quality dipped to among the world's worst on Thursday.

The city of nine million ranked second only to India's New Delhi on IQAir's ranking of most polluted cities on Thursday morning, improving slightly in the afternoon.

According to the Swiss monitoring company, levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- were vastly higher than the World Health Organization's recommended daily exposure limit.

"I have experienced difficulty in breathing out on the streets these days," resident Dang Thuy told AFP on Thursday, adding she had bought two new air purifiers for her apartment.

Hanoi authorities, in an administrative order made public Thursday, urged people to limit time outdoors and said schools can close if the situation deteriorates.

The order instructed officials to crack down on illegal waste burning and take measures to control the dispersion of dust at construction sites, including covering trucks and spraying water to keep tiny particles from becoming airborne.

However, AFP reporters observed construction sites operating normally, with trucks arriving and departing without the required coverings.

"Authorities have been quite active on paper only. Nothing has worked yet and the terribly toxic air remains in our city," said Thuy.

According to the WHO, a number of serious health conditions, including strokes, heart disease and lung cancer, are linked to air pollution exposure.

Experts say pollution in Hanoi is a result of widespread construction, as well as emissions from the huge number of motorbikes and cars that criss-cross the capital every day.

Emissions from coal plants to the north and agricultural burning exacerbate the problem.

Authorities have announced plans to ban gas motorbikes from central Hanoi during certain hours starting in July next year.