The new British ambassador to Cairo, Gareth Bayley, officially started his term at the beginning of this month. Bayley succeeds Ambassador Sir Geoffrey Adams, whose tenure witnessed a remarkable improvement in British-Egyptian relations following a stark decline with former Ambassador John Casson. Bayley has worked in Egypt with Adams for 20 years, is fluent in Arabic and has visited Egypt several times as a tourist in recent years. Takla said that Adams had arrived in Egypt to handle British tourists being unable to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, and he made commendable efforts until the problem was resolved. He expressed hopes that Bayley’s arrival in Cairo harkens the removal of Egypt from the red list of countries so that British tourists would return to visit Egypt.

But he asserted that the airlift was a historic accomplishment that removed 124,000 people from Taliban rule. They are demanding more details on the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 13 American service members in the final days of the withdrawal. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who as head of Central Command oversaw the withdrawal, testified alongside Austin and Milley. Both Milley and Austin have defended the US military’s execution of an Afghanistan withdrawal that Biden ordered in April. The Pentagon has defended its execution of an airlift from Kabul airport that transported more than 120,000 people, while acknowledging that it got off to a chaotic start and was under near-constant threat of terrorist attack.

AMMAN, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Jordan’s state carrier, Royal Jordanian (RJAL.AM), will resume direct flights to Damascus from Oct. 3 for the first time in nearly a decade in the latest step to restore extensive business ties with Syria hurt by the conflict, officials said. Flights had been suspended at the start of the decade-old conflict in Syria even though other airlines continued to fly to Amman from Damascus. Jordan will fully reopen its main border crossing with Syria from Wednesday after imposing pandemic-related restrictions, Jordanian government and industry officials said on Monday. Jordanian businessmen had largely shunned dealing with Syria after the 2019 Caesar Act – the toughest U.S. sanctions yet that prohibited foreign companies trading with Damascus. Jordanian officials say they have lobbied Washington to ease some of the tough sanctions placed on business dealings with Syria to help revive dealings with a main trading neighbour.

CAIRO – 28 September 2021: Trade exchange between Egypt and Brazil increased 22.9 percent, to record $1.3 billion during the first half of 2021, compared to $1 billion during the same period in 2020, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). CAPMAS clarified that Egypt’s exports to Brazil recorded $245.6 million during the first half of 2021, compared to $89.4 million during the same period in 2020, marking an increase of 174.6 percent. It added that Egypt’s imports from Brazil rose to $1 billion during the first of 2021, compared to $930.8 million during the same period in 2020, with an increase of 8.4 percent. The value of Brazilian investments in Egypt recorded $5.1 million during the fiscal year 2018/2019, compared to $246 thousand during the same period in 2017/2018, marking an increase of 1973.2 percent. The remittances of Egyptians working in Brazil amounted to $4.27 million during the fiscal year 2018/2019, compared to $4.28 million during the fiscal year 2017/2018, with a slight decrease of 0.1 percent, while the remittances of Brazilians working in Egypt amounted to $2 million during the fiscal year 2018/2019 compared to $875,000 during the fiscal year 2017/2018, an increase of 132.6 percent.

CAIRO - 28 Septemebr 2021: The Ministry of Health announced on Monday that 702 new coronavirus cases were registered, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 302,327. In a statement, Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said 37 coronavirus-linked deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide death toll to 17,224 since the outset of the pandemic. As many as 588 cases were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving the necessary medical care, pushing the total number of recovered cases in the country to 255,059, the spokesman added. Health Minister Hala Zayed said students will be received in 1,100 centers allocated for vaccination nationwide, a ministry statement read, explaining that they include 270 youth centers allocated for vaccination purpose. Megahed noted that 270 youth centers are currently being used as vaccination venues, in cooperation with provincial governors and the youth and sports ministry

DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Iran on Tuesday rejected a U.S. call to grant U.N. inspectors access to a nuclear site, saying Washington was not qualified to demand inspections without condemning a sabotage attack on the facility, Iranian state media reported. “Countries that did not condemn terrorist acts against Iran’s nuclear site are not qualified to comment on inspections there,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said during a visit to Moscow, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. read moreThe United States said on Monday that Iran must stop denying the U.N. nuclear watchdog access to a workshop making centrifuge parts as agreed two weeks ago or face diplomatic retaliation at the agency’s Board of Governors meeting. Iran removed them and the destroyed camera’s footage is missing. Reporting by Dubai newsroom, Editing by William Maclean

Meteorologists predict moderately hot weather on Wednesday during the day over Greater Cairo, the Delta, and northern Upper Egypt. The weather will be milder along the North Coast and warmer in South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt. Moderately cold weather is expected late at night and in the early hours of the morning across most parts of the country. Maxmium temperatures:Alexandria: 29CCairo: 31CHurghada: 33CSharm el-Sheikh: 34CQena and Luxor: 34CAswan: 35CActive winds are expected on the northern coasts, South Sinai, and Upper Egypt. Waves in the Mediterranean Sea will be moderate, ranging between 1.5 and two meters in height with northwestern surface winds, while waves in the Red Sea will be moderate to rough, ranging between two and 2.5 meters in height with northwestern surface winds.

The Egyptian government has established new regulations to encourage more tourists of different nationalities to visit Egypt and enjoy its many tourist destinations. The online e-visa portal supports eight languages, answers several tourist inquiries, provides secure electronic payment and issues visas within 24 hours. An additional 28 countries have been added to an already existing list of 46 nationalities who are able to obtain a tourist online and upon arrival at any of the Egypt’s ports – the total is now being 74 nationalities. Tourists who have a valid visa from the Schengen area countries, the UK, the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand or Canada can obtain a tourism visa upon arrival to Egypt. For more information about the 74 nationalities and to apply for an e-visa, visit this link

Images from the sources, which Reuters could not independently verify, show a badly damaged property and family members with injuries they say were from Taliban beatings. Omar’s family said their experience contradicted that commitment. “None of us had imagined we would be targeted like this,” said one of Omar’s relatives, requesting anonymity. On Sept. 3, armed Taliban fighters in army fatigues raided Omar’s official residence in Jalalabad, two family members who were present said. He sees no future for himself and his family in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

The Health Ministry has vaccinated 900,000 education sector workers out of its target of one million, Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed announced, stressing that within a few days all workers in the education system will be vaccinated. Dduring a phone call to the “A Last Word” program, presented by Lamis al-Hadidy, Megahed urged all university students – private, civil, governmental or Al-Azhar affiliated – to head to any of the 1,100 coronavirus vaccination centers nationwide to receive the vaccine free of charge. There are also fixed vaccination centers in Egyptian universities to vaccinate workers, administrators and faculty members, he noted, and stressed the government spares no effort to provide all medical capabilities such as vaccines, medicines and a strong health infrastructure for citizens. Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Monday reported 702 new coronavirus cases, 37 deaths, and 588 recoveries. A total of 302,327 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,224 deaths and 255,059 recoveries.

Getting those cases swiftly to trial is turning out to be an even more difficult task. Investigators have collected a mountain of evidence in the attack and are working to organize it and share it with defense attorneys. Further complicating things are limitations the court has put on trials because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the court cases continue to stall, so do answers to what happened that day and the possibility for consequences from the most violent assault at the Capitol in a generation. The Justice Department is building massive databases to share all evidence stemming from the attack with defense attorneys.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government announced Tuesday that the coronavirus state of emergency will end this week to help rejuvenate the economy as infections slow. Government officials are also instituting other plans such as vaccine passports and virus tests, Suga said. With the lifting, Japan will be free of emergency requirements for the first time in more than six months. Japan is eager to expand social and economic activities while balancing the need to prevent another wave of infections. “Lifting of the emergency doesn’t mean we are 100% free,” Dr. Shigeru Omi, top medical adviser for the government, told reporters.

In an emergency National Security Council meeting, the South Korean government expressed regret over what it called “a short-range missile launch” by the North. South Korea’s military earlier said the object fired from North Korea’s mountainous northern Jagang province flew toward the waters off the North’s eastern coast. A ballistic missile launch would violate a U.N. Security Council ban on North Korean ballistic activities, but the council typically doesn’t impose new sanctions on North Korea for launches of short-range weapons. Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Tuesday North Korea remains unresponsive to South Korea’s attempts to exchange messages over the channels. DPRK refers to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who is African American, wouldn’t comment on the recent reparations discussions. The debate about reparations has been ongoing ever since slavery was abolished in 1865. While each reparations program would specifically be between the perpetrators and the victims’ descendants, the conversation to rectify wrongs in history has now become universal. There was even a discussion devoted to reparations, though it didn’t go unnoticed during that talk that last week’s new declaration stopped short of demanding nations must pay reparations to those their government harmed. U.N. officials for Britain and Germany didn’t immediately respond for requests to comment.

In contrast, at Bucharest’s Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology, the ICU’s chief doctor, Genoveva Cadar, says its beds are now at 100% capacity and around 98% of all its virus patients are unvaccinated. Government data shows that 91.5% of COVID-19 deaths in Romania between Sept. 18-23 were people who had not been vaccinated. On Sunday, 1,220 of Romania’s 1,239 ICU beds for virus patients were occupied. Sabila Marinova, the ICU manager at a hospital in Bulgaria’s northern town of Veliko Tarnovo, says none of its COVID-19 patients is vaccinated. Experts say vaccine skeptics in parts of Europe could hamper the entire continent’s efforts to end the pandemic.