The economic drumbeat of war was once again amplified on our airwaves last night. Discussions on the rising prices of meat, poultry and food items took place on Masaa DMC (watch, runtime 5:19) with Supply Ministry official Abdel Moneim Khalil saying that price increases are the result of an “exploitation” of the Ukraine situation by some vendors.

Imported inflation: Economics professor Karim El Omda broke down how a war in Europe will affect the cost of food in our supermarkets in a phone-in with Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime 8:59) who also highlighted the rising prices of oil and gold on her show (watch, runtime 15:24).

Could covid restrictions ease during Ramadan? This could be up to debate if we reach a 70% vaccination rate, Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Kelma Akhira in a phone-in (watch, runtime 11:52), adding that the decision is up to the supreme committee responsible for managing the pandemic. Around 30 mn citizens have been vaccinated so far, he added, which has significantly reduced the number of covid cases across the country.