NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) – The head of Libya’s Presidency Council said on Saturday he would urge candidates in elections proposed for December not to take part unless there was consensus on the vote’s legal framework. However, he added: “Not having a proper vision towards this election, (not having) this kind of consensus, is by itself a risk”. CONTROVERSYThe head of the eastern-based parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), said this month the body had issued a law for a presidential election. “This is a constitutional path which is the main responsibility of the parliament and the High State Council,” he said. He said the Presidency Council would step in only if the other bodies – the HoR, the HSC, the U.N. and its dialogue forum – were unable to resolve a legal framework.

“Our lives are at risk — Nigerian students, especially in Kaduna state where we are,” the 24-year-old said. They fear pursuing an education in Nigeria, and they are now relying on the help of a school committee overseeing their application process for overseas education. The education of up to 1.3 million Nigerian children has been affected because of the school abductions, he said. The Kaduna school and many other schools in at least four states remain closed because of insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated those numbers, according to Save The Children Nigeria, which said 46 million Nigerian students have been affected by school closures as a result of the pandemic.

GAZA, Sept 26 (Reuters) – The reconstruction of homes in Gaza that were destroyed or damaged in the May conflict between Israel and Hamas will begin in the first week of October using aid from Qatar, a senior Palestinian housing official said on Sunday. Gaza’s Hamas-run government says Israeli air strikes destroyed about 2,200 homes in the enclave during the 11-day conflict and damaged 37,000 others. Some homes in Israel were damaged by rockets launched by Islamist organisation Hamas and other Gaza militant groups. About 1,800 destroyed or damaged homes will be rebuilt in the first phase of work, according to Naji Sarhan, Gaza’s deputy minister for housing and public works. Gaza officials estimate it will take $479 million to rebuild homes and infrastructure damaged in the May fighting.

The spike in demand — expected following last week’s federal recommendation on booster shots — would be the first significant jump in months. “I hope that we have the level of interest in the booster … that we need more vaccines,” Colorado Gov. While most vaccines can stay on the shelf unopened for months, once a vial is opened the clock starts ticking. Vaccines are only usable for six to 12 hours, depending on the manufacturer, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They don’t come in nice, tidy individual single-serving packages.”State health officials said they have tried to request only what health care providers and pharmacies expect to need from the federal supply.

Meteorologists predict moderately hot weather on Monday 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. Maximum temperatures for the following cities are:Alexandria: 28CCairo: 30CHurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh: 34CQena and Luxor: 35CAswan: 37CActive wind is expected on the northern coasts, South Sinai, and Upper Egypt. Light fog will linger in the morning on some roads leading to Greater Cairo, the Delta, and the North Coast. Waves in the Mediterranean Sea will be moderate, ranging between 1.5 and 2.25 meters in height with northeastern surface winds, while waves in the Red Sea will be rough, ranging between 2.25 and 3.25 meters in height with northwestern surface winds.

Libya’s Minister of Economic Affairs Salama al-Ghwail announced the signing of a protocol between the Holding Company for EgyptAir and Libya’s Afriqiyah Airways for cooperation in civil aviation security. The protocol grants these Egyptian experts wide powers to re-inspect luggage, bags, plane meals and freight parcels, and to give enforceable instructions to the interests of Libyan aviation in regards to security matters. Egypt allowed the landing of Libyan planes at Cairo International Airport after a five-year ban, as flights were directed exclusively to Borg al-Arab Airport in Alexandria. The Libyan government announced earlier in September that the Civil Aviation Authority in both Egypt and Libya agreed to work towards returning direct flights between the airports of Mitiga, Misrata, and Benina to Cairo International Airport, starting September 30. Egypt and Libya had signed more than 14 economic agreements and memoranda of understanding in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with an initial value exceeding billions of dollars.

The Taliban wrote to the United Nations requesting to address the U.N. General Assembly meeting of leaders that is underway in New York. “Taliban does not represent the will of the Afghan people,” Afghanistan’s currently accredited ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Nasir Andisha, told The Associated Press. “I think for the world, for the United Nations, it’s time to use this as a leverage,” Andisha said. During that era, the U.N. refused to recognize their government and gave Afghanistan’s seat to the previous, warlord-dominated government. The U.S. has “significant leverage when it comes to the Taliban,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Friday.

The state is now seeking taxes from Egyptian YouTubers and bloggers, as the head of the Egyptian Tax Authority and Undersecretary of the Finance Ministry, Reda Abdel Qader called on online content creators to register with the authority. He noted the role played by e-commerce in the Tax Authority in listing, following up and registering companies that engage in trade activity through websites. The Tax Authority’s e-commerce unit supervisor al-Sayed Sakr said that all online creators who profit off their views are subject to tax. During a phone interview with Ahmed Moussa’s TV show “Ala Massoulity” (On My Responsibility) Sakr said that the number of bloggers and YouTubers was not counted. “We started extending our hands in a friendly way, join the official economy, join the tax system,” he added.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Saturday reported 667 new coronavirus cases, 39 deaths, and 789 recoveries. A total of 300,945 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,149 deaths and 254,060 recoveries. According to World Health Organization data, as of September 14 over 12 million vaccine doses have been administrated in Egypt. Egypt has imported a number of major coronavirus vaccines, including AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Johnson & Johnson. Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed announced on Wednesday that Germany donated 2.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Egypt.

CAIRO – 26 September 2021: Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir headed to Spain Sunday to examine ways of delivering the first batch of Talgo trains by the end of 2021. The deal – worth €226 million - provides supplying Egypt with six trains. The contract signed in 2020 set the delivery date of the first batch for 2021 but a delay was expected because of COVID-19. The minister noted that starting January, only new and upgraded trains will operate on Egypt's railroads. Earlier this year, the delivery of 110 train engines by General Electric was concluded, while the delivery of 1,300 railcars by Transmasholding is still ongoing.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok expressed his country’s readiness to engage in any initiative that leads to a peaceful solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis. He noted that bringing the GERD issue before the Security Council came to strengthen the current negotiating umbrella under the African Union. Egypt and Sudan say they want a legally binding agreement, while Ethiopia says any pact should be advisory. They presented the GERD issue at a UN Security Council hearing in July in hopes of bringing more international players into the negotiation process. Negotiations over the dam between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have stalled for years, with the three parties ultimately failing to reach any agreements.

China and Russia are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, as well as ideologically sympathetic to its ruling military. Weapons of war continue to be deployed in towns and cities to suppress opposition,” Bachelet said in a statement. “The national consequences are terrible and tragic. “The international community must redouble its efforts to restore democracy and prevent wider conflict before it is too late.”Myanmar opposition forces have one small consolation. “The military is suffering from the resistance, but whether these tactics will result in the military conceding is not clear.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — At least four Palestinian gunmen were killed in shootouts with Israeli security forces during a sweeping West Bank arrest operation cracking down on the Islamic militant group Hamas on Sunday, the Israeli military said Sunday. It was the deadliest violence between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks and came amid heightened tensions following this year’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said that troops involved in arrests in the West Bank came under attack as Palestinian gunmen fired on soldiers. Recent months have seen a rise in violence in the West Bank, with more than two dozen Palestinians killed in sporadic clashes with Israeli troops and during protests. The Palestinians seek the West Bank as part of their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to resolving the conflict.

TAIPEI, Sept 26 (Reuters) – The situation in the Taiwan Strait is “complex and grim”, Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a congratulatory letter on Sunday to the newly elected leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, who has pledged to renew talks with Beijing. In Xi’s letter, a copy of which was released by the KMT, he said both parties had had “good interactions” based on their joint opposition to Taiwan independence. “At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together,” wrote Xi, who is also head of the Communist Party. He expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on “seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalization”.

And while cases soared when restrictions were lifted this summer, deaths didn’t follow at anywhere near the same pace. But the winter months, when respiratory diseases are usually at their highest, could bring an added challenge. Scotland, which is part of the U.K. but sets its own health rules, is being more cautious, introducing vaccine passports for nightclubs and keeping mandatory masks indoors. Once the U.K. had some of Europe’s strictest international travel rules, but it’s easing quarantine and testing restrictions for many visitors starting next month. Johnson’s government is counting on vaccines to do the heavy lifting against the virus, supplemented by voluntary “common sense” behavior.