Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 811 new coronavirus cases, 35 deaths, and 431 recoveries. A total of 310,745 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,619 deaths and 262,043 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. The Ministry of Health reiterated warning against a fourth wave of the coronavirus in Egypt, stressing that everyone should adhere to precautionary measures. The ministry stated that there are 10 million citizens registered on the ministry’s website to receive the vaccine, 7.5 million of whom have received at least one dose.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s elections on Sunday come with enormous challenges: Iraq’s economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. Current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has sought to portray Iraq as a neutral mediator in the region’s crises. That will require a lengthy process involving backroom negotiations to select a consensus prime minister and agree on a new coalition government. Randa Slim, of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Iraq’s regional mediation role is al-Kadhimi’s achievement, a result of his success at balancing between U.S. and Iranian interests in Iraq. “If he won’t be the next prime minister, all of these initiatives might not be sustained,” Slim said.

But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. Organized tours for Russians have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics. Lauded by Russian President Vladimir Putin as world’s first registered COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V emerged in August 2020 and has been approved in some 70 countries, including Serbia. Apart from Sputnik V and a one-dose version known as Sputnik Light, Russia has also used two other domestically designed vaccines that have not been internationally approved. Back in Russia, some Moscow residents said they understood why many of their fellow Russians travel abroad for vaccines.

BEIJING, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to realize peaceful “reunification” with Taiwan, though did not directly mention the use of force after a week of tensions with the Chinese-claimed island that sparked international concern. Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its coercion, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people could decide their future. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi said the Chinese people have a “glorious tradition” of opposing separatism. Peaceful “reunification” best meets the overall interests of the Taiwanese people, but China will protect its sovereignty and unity, he added. China’s air force mounted four straight days of incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zon

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Senior Taliban officials and US representatives are to hold talks Saturday and Sunday about containing extremist groups in Afghanistan and easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country, officials from both sides said. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is based in Doha, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the talks will also revisit the peace agreement the Taliban signed with Washington in 2020. The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal. US officials will also encourage Taliban officials to give humanitarian agencies free access to areas in need amid the economic upheaval following the US departure and Taliban takeover. The official stressed the session did not imply the US was recognizing the Taliban as legitimate governors of the country.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — After a crude oil sheen was detected on the waters off the Southern California coast, environmentalists feared the worst: A massive spill that would wreck the ecosystem. A week later, the region and its signature beaches appear to have been spared a potentially calamitous fate, though the long-term toll on plant and animal life remains unknown. “Based on what we’re seeing, it’s a lighter impact than expected of a worst-case discharge,” California Fish and Wildlife Lt. Christian Corbo said. Officials initially feared Huntington Beach — dubbed Surf City USA — could be off-limits to surfers and swimmers for months. But Mayor Kim Carr on Thursday said she was “cautiously optimistic” they could be back in the water in weeks.

Brazil appears intent on returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, even as its death toll tops 600,000, according to official data on Friday from the health ministry. The country’s average daily death toll has hovered around 500 for a month, down sharply from more than 3,000 in April. Almost 45% of the population is fully vaccinated, and a booster shot is being administered to the elderly. A greater percentage of Brazilians are at least partially vaccinated compared to Americans or Germans, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. Queiroga said all Brazilians between ages 18 and 60 will be able to get vaccinated again next year.

RIGA (Reuters) - Davy Klaassen scored the only goal as the Netherlands beat Latvia 1-0 away in Riga on Friday to keep themselves ahead in a tightly contest World Cup qualifying group. Klaassen was unmarked at the back post to tuck away Memphis Depay's corner after 19 minutes for the lone goal of the game, although the Dutch did dominate with almost relentless attacks in the closing 20 minutes and might have won by a larger margin. The Netherlands advanced to 16 points in Group G, two ahead of Norway and four in front of third placed Turkey after those two countries drew 1-1 in Istanbul at the same time. It was a third win in four games for the Dutch since Louis van Gaal returned as coach and they are expected to move closer to World Cup qualification when they host Gibraltar in Rotterdam on Tuesday. Latvia remained on five points with a single win from their seven qualifying group games.

HAMBURG, Germany, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Substitute Thomas Mueller scored an 81st minute winner to complete Germany's 2-1 comeback win over visitors Romania in their 2022 World Cup qualifier on Friday that kept them on course for a spot in next year's tournament. They have conceded just one goal in their last four matches could now seal their spot with a win over North Macedonia next week. "We were engaged but it was not a good feeling going into the break at 1-0. We did get the two goals then," Mueller said. They did, however, repeatedly look vulnerable when Romania counter-attacked, as they had done with Hagi to take the lead.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters and numerous studies credit intensive forest thinning projects with helping save communities like those recently threatened near Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, but dissent from some environmental advocacy groups is roiling the scientific community. Forest managers credit such burns with helping protect the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park. While most scientific studies find such forest management is a valuable tool, environmental advocates say data from recent gigantic wildfires support their long-running assertion that efforts to slow wildfires have instead accelerated their spread. Critics say forest thinning operations are essentially logging projects in disguise. Forest managers cite examples like where a 400-foot-wide (120-meter) fuel break helped protect rural Sierra Nevada homes.

CAIRO – 8 October 2021: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inspected on Friday the development works at the Umm Qamar intersection that links the Cairo-Ismailia desert road with the Cairo-Suez highway. The three-lane junction would serve heavy trucks that carry raw materials extracted from the quarries in that region to the industrial and investment zones in Cairo and other cities, which in turn could support the country's development process, said Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. The president also inspected a bridge passing over the intersection of Umm Qamar with Katameya/ Ain Sokhna Road, the spokesman added. Sisi chatted with officials at the work sites over details of the construction works and expressed his appreciation for all their strenuous efforts to set up such vital axis

An employee shows the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital in New York, U.S., December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File PhotoCAIRO - 9 October 2021: The Health Ministry said Friday night that 811 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed infections since the outbreak in the country began to 310,745. In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 35 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 17,619. “Egyptian vaccination certificates are now recognized in the UK for those wishing to travel from Egypt,” announced the British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley on Friday. The travelers should be vaccinated with (AztraZenca, Modern, Pfizer, or Johnson) fourteen days before their arrivals in the UK, he continued.

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that more talks with regional archrival Saudi Arabia are needed for Tehran and Riyadh to improve ties but that negotiations so far have been heading in the right direction. The comments by Iran’s top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, came on the last day of his two-day visit to Lebanon. “We consider the ongoing dialogue constructive, and we hope that it serves both countries’ interests.”The first direct talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia took place in early April and were credited with reducing a highly hostile public discourse between the two. Iran and Saudi Arabia — a Shiite and a Sunni powerhouse in the Middle East — have long been regional rivals. Relations took a sharp turn when Riyadh removed its diplomats after protesters attacked its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad in 2016.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday condemning Israel’s decision to grant Jews the right to pray in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. They called it a violation of Islamic sanctities and of the Al-Aqsa Mosque as a place of worship purely for Muslims. The Foreign Ministry reiterated that the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites must be respected, in line with international legitimacy resolutions issued by the UN and the UNESCO. The ministry expressed deep concern about the consequences of the decision and its repercussions on security and stability in the region. It called on the Israeli government not to take any measures that would put the decision into effect or prejudice the status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Egypt announced an increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel by 25 piasters, as of Friday, October 8. The new prices will be applicable for the sale of all three types of gasoline products. According to the new amendment, the price of octane-80 fuel is now LE7 per liter, 92-octane fuel is LE8.25 per liter, and 95-octane fuel is LE9.25 per liter. The price of diesel fuel was set at seven LE per liter. A cubic meter of compressed natural gas used as fuel for cars at the fuel stations was set at LE3.75.