Arabic Video News in English

Oil has risen to yet another record high - just shy of $121 dollars a barrel.

One knock on effect is that some Arab countries are removing state subsidies, which are costing billions of dollars a year.

Jordan removed fuel subsidies in February and, since then, oil prices have shot up by 82 per cent.

Syria too is cutting subsidies, trying to soften the blow with a 25% hike in wages.

And now Egypt has announced a 40 to 50 percent hike in fuel prices - just two days after saying wages would go up by a third.

For a Q&A on rising oil prices: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exere…

Twenty-seven key UN agencies have been meeting in the Swiss capital Bern to hammer out a solution to the growing global food crisis. The meeting is expected to produce a plan of emergency and long-term measures to combat the crisis. Inside Story asks how workable such a plan will be and what obstacles it might face.

Oil prices exceeding $117 a barrel, we ask how far it is likely to continue soaring.

Oil prices exceeding $117 a barrel, we ask how far it is likely to continue soaring.

The cost of rice, one of the world’s most basic foods, is rising fast and with it, discontent.

The World Bank has warned that 33 countries face potential social unrest because of spiralling food prices.

In terms of rice, the sky-rocketing cost comes despite record harvests.

As Paul Allen reports, farmers in Thailand are now going to extreme measures to protect their crops.