عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

UNESCO Selects 34 Elements Marking Sudan's Intangible Cultural Heritage

The UNESCO headquarters building, seen here, is located in Paris. (© Charles Platiau/Reuters)
The UNESCO headquarters building, seen here, is located in Paris. (© Charles Platiau/Reuters)
TT
20
TT

UNESCO Selects 34 Elements Marking Sudan's Intangible Cultural Heritage

The UNESCO headquarters building, seen here, is located in Paris. (© Charles Platiau/Reuters)
The UNESCO headquarters building, seen here, is located in Paris. (© Charles Platiau/Reuters)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced the selection of 34 elements of the Sudanese intangible cultural heritage to make part the human cultural heritage, including "the cheese ritual, coffee, the Sudanese dress, and the Sudanese henna."

The selection came during a workshop in Khartoum aimed at developing strategies for safeguarding and developing intangible Sudanese cultural heritage and strengthening national capacities to carry out this mission in partnership with the UN and other global institutions.

In a keynote delivered during the opening of the workshop on Tuesday, Faisal Mohamed Saleh, minister of Culture and Information, said the partnership with the international community represented by the UNESCO, with the participation of the UAE, and the National Council for Cultural Heritage and Promotion Of National Languages, as well as the civil society organizations, is a good start for the development of strategies and indicators to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of Sudan.

"The official institutions have been suffering from failure in managing cultural diversity, due to a lack of care and financial support," Saleh added.

For her part, Minister of Education and Scientific Research Intisar Saghiroun emphasized the important role of the heritage and unity centers in El Fashir and Blue Nile Universities and the Sinnar Regional Center for Dialogue and Cultural Diversity in this mission.

She also said her ministry's institutions are ready to assist and encourage studies in the field of "intangible heritage." The strategy for safeguarding intangible heritage is the first step in a project supported by the Heritage Fund and funded by the UNESCO and the UAE's Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

The project debuted in 2013 with the training and qualification of 164 administrators and researchers in heritage and culture. "There is little national capacity for heritage, so we signed the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage with the UNESCO in 2003, and 30 experts were invited to urge the safeguarding of heritage. We aim to highlight and preserve the rich Sudanese heritage, which gathers the African and Arabic cultures, as a symbol of national identity," Hassan said.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

‘Urgent Action’ Needed to Protect Workers from Heat Stress in Warming World, UN Says 

Jaime Lopez, a mason, works in the heat on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Jaime Lopez, a mason, works in the heat on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
TT
20
TT

‘Urgent Action’ Needed to Protect Workers from Heat Stress in Warming World, UN Says 

Jaime Lopez, a mason, works in the heat on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Jaime Lopez, a mason, works in the heat on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP)

Governments and employers should take urgent action to help protect the health of workers who are increasingly exposed to extreme heat, the United Nations said on Friday.

Climate change is making heatwaves more common and intense, and workers worldwide are already experiencing the health impacts, the agencies said in what they described as a “much needed” major update of a report and guidance last published in 1969.

Worker productivity drops by 2-3% for every degree above 20°C, the report said, with half of the world’s population already suffering the adverse consequences of high temperatures.

The health risks include heatstroke, dehydration, kidney dysfunction and neurological disorders, said the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Association.

Manual workers in sectors like agriculture, construction and fisheries, as well as vulnerable populations like children and older adults in developing countries, were particularly at risk, they added.

"Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity," said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.

In response, the agencies called for heat action plans tailored to regions and industries, developed alongside workers, employers, unions and public health experts.

Unions in some countries have pushed for maximum legal working temperatures, for example, which the agencies said was an option but would likely differ globally depending on the context.

They also called for better education for health workers and first responders, as heat stress is often misdiagnosed.

The International Labour Organization recently found that more than 2.4 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat globally, resulting in more than 22.85 million occupational injuries each year.

"No-one should have to risk kidney failure or collapse just to earn a living," said Rüdiger Krech, director ad interim for environment, climate change and health at the WHO, at a press conference ahead of the report’s release.

Varieties

India’s Supreme Court Orders Stray Dogs Released to New Delhi Streets in Modified Ruling 

People protest in solidarity with stray dogs in New Delhi, India, 21 August 2025. (EPA)
People protest in solidarity with stray dogs in New Delhi, India, 21 August 2025. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

India’s Supreme Court Orders Stray Dogs Released to New Delhi Streets in Modified Ruling 

People protest in solidarity with stray dogs in New Delhi, India, 21 August 2025. (EPA)
People protest in solidarity with stray dogs in New Delhi, India, 21 August 2025. (EPA)

India’s Supreme Court ordered the release of all stray dogs that were removed from New Delhi streets after sterilization and immunization.

The court’s ruling Friday modified its earlier judgment by ordering the dogs to be released to the same localities they were removed from. The order also calls for designated feeding spaces across the capital.

Animal lovers and activists filed an appeal against the Aug. 11 ruling ordering permanent relocation to shelters.

While many dogs roaming New Delhi’s streets are harmless, the court’s order aimed to control rising cases of biting, including incidents involving children. Some estimates based on hospital records suggest New Delhi sees nearly 2,000 dog bite episodes every day.

Rabies through dog bites is caused by a virus that invades the central nervous system and is almost always fatal if left untreated.

The court’s judgment Friday ordered the dogs to be released to the same localities they were removed from and called for designated feeding spaces across the capital. The order does not apply to dogs infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behavior.

Estimates put the number of stray dogs in New Delhi between 500,000 and 1 million.

Varieties

Japan City Proposes Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

People walk across the street at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on August 22, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
People walk across the street at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on August 22, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
TT
20
TT

Japan City Proposes Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

People walk across the street at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on August 22, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
People walk across the street at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on August 22, 2025. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

A Japanese city will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties.

The limit -- which will be recommended for all residents in central Japan's Toyoake City -- will not be binding and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance.

The proposal aims "to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems," mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday.

The draft urges elementary school students to avoid smartphones after 9:00 pm, and junior high students and older are advised not to use them after 10:00 pm, AFP reported.

The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic.

"I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible," one user wrote on social media platform X.

"In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone)," wrote another.

Others said smartphone use should be a decision for families to make themselves.
The angry response prompted the mayor to clarify that the two-hour limit was not mandatory, emphasizing that the guidelines "acknowledge smartphones are useful and indispensable in daily life.”

The ordinance will be considered next week, and if passed, it will come into effect in October.

In 2020, western Kagawa region issued a first-of-its kind ordinance calling for children to be limited to an hour a day of gaming during the week, and 90 minutes during school holidays.

It also suggested children aged 12 to 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9:00 pm, with the limit rising to 10:00 pm for children between 15 and 18.

Japanese youth spend slightly over five hours on average a day online on weekdays, according to a survey published in March by the Children and Families Agency.