UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the U.N. food agency is warning that 16 million people in Yemen “are marching towards starvation” and says food rations for millions in the war-torn nation will be cut in October unless new funding arrives. At a virtual pledging conference co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland on March 1, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for $3.85 billion for Yemen this year. In major pledges, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $290 million in humanitarian assistance for Yemen and the European Union said it was allocating an additional 119 million euros (about $139 million) in humanitarian and development aid. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the United States, to try restore Hadi to power, and threw its support behind his internationally backed government. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated largely into a stalemate and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

SHANGHAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – US companies’ optimism about business conditions in China has recovered to hit three-year highs even though the firms have reservations about Beijing’s COVID-19 policy, an annual survey showed on Thursday. Beijing’s wide-ranging crackdown on companies has also unnerved US firms, an American industry lobby executive said. By contrast, in 2021, 10% of respondent companies described themselves as “pessimistic” about their five-year outlook, compared to 18% and 21% of respondents in 2020 and 2019, respectively. But firms expressed reservations toward some Chinese policy in the aftermath of COVID-19, especially with respect to hiring labour, the survey said. “Further hindering our members, many regulatory changes were enacted after our survey closed.

DUBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that his kingdom supports efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, as world leaders prepare to resume talks with Tehran to reinstate a 2015 nuclear pact. Iran and Saudi Arabia, leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have been rivals for years, backing allies fighting proxy wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. His remarks followed a call by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to resume nuclear talks with world powers that would lead to the removal of U.S. sanctions. read moreIn his address, King Salman said Yemen’s Houthis were rejecting peaceful initiatives to end the war and that Saudi Arabia would defend itself against ballistic missiles and armed drones. He also made reference to Saudi Arabia fighting extremism.

“A new strategic economic agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods to $100 billion within five years of the signed agreement,” the ministers said in a joint statement released on Wednesday. India is looking to boost exports through trade relationships and new pacts with a number of countries to revive its economy. With nearly $60 billion of bilateral trade, UAE is already India’s third-largest trading partner. UAE is also India’s second-largest export destination after the United States, with exports valued at about $30 billion. India’s top imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood and wood products.

Egypt ranked first globally in orange exports, surpassing Spain, which was the world leader in the exports of orange. The total volume of Egypt’s exports of orange by the end of 2020 amounted to about 1.6 million tons. Egypt ranked first in frozen strawberries exports, while total exports during the period from January 2021 until now amounted to 3.7 million tons. The number of markets that were opened for Egyptian exports during the year 2020 so far reached 11 export markets for six export crops. The Japanese market was opened for the Egyptian agricultural exports of citrus for the first time in November 2020, a new certification for Egyptian products given the strength of the Japanese market’s procedures.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that all countries that sponsor, support and shelter terrorists must be held accountable. During his speech before the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Sisi added that a comprehensive approach to confronting terrorism requires international cooperation, and stressed the importance for all countries to respect their obligations. Terrorism can only be eradicated by confronting the takfiri ideology within the framework of a comprehensive approach, Sisi explained, and warned that terrorism remains one of the most important challenges facing humanity in our time. Electing Egypt to chair the current 15th session of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission culminates Egypt’s active contribution to the United Nations peace-building structure since its construction in 2005, he added. And Sisi added that Egypt calls on the international community to improve the conditions of citizens in Palestine, and to deliver food and aid to them.

CAIRO – 22 September 2021: Egypt’s Ministers of International Cooperation and Environment Rania Al-Mashat and Yasmine Fouad launched national consultations with the World Bank Group (WBG) to discuss the general framework for climate action and the preparations for the climate and development report for Egypt. Minister Al-Mashat praised the successful partnership between Egypt and the World Bank Group, which supports national efforts to achieve development in many areas, including transport, housing, utilities, environment, health, among many others. Soliman stressed the importance of consultation and discussion with various sectors to highlight the opportunities to catalyze climate investments in response to climate change across all development sectors. Soliman also noted that climate change poses a threat to all countries, which requires collective effort by all stakeholders to advance Egypt's sustainable development plan, including combating climate change. Marina Wes, Regional Director of the World Bank office in Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, thanked the Egyptian government for collaborating in curbing the repercussions of climate change, noting that the World Bank Group seeks to support national efforts in terms of climate action, given the importance of these initiatives to enhance national and regional development efforts led by Egypt.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday reported 688 new coronavirus cases, 24 deaths, and 703 recoveries. A total of 298,296 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,016 deaths and 251,395 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. While Egypt’s Supreme Committee for the Management of Coronavirus Crisis lifted some COVID-19 restrictions back in June, there is talk of reinstating some measures. Egypt is set to receive 5.2 million doses of the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines in September, Zayed announced.

DUBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund plans to announce soon its first green debt deal, with borrowing linked to sustainability, the Public Investment Fund’s governor told a virtual event. “We will be the first sovereign wealth fund in the world to announce this green issuance,” Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan told an event on Tuesday held alongside the United Nations General Assembly. This month, PIF hired banks to be members of its ESG panel for its medium-term capital-raising strategy, IFR News reported. PIF signed a $15 billion loan with a large group of banks in March, followed a $10 billion loan it took in 2019 that was repaid last year and an $11 billion facility in 2018. Saudi Arabia will announce its “Green Initiative” next month, followed by the “Middle East Initiative”, which includes planting 50 billion trees, Rumayyan said.

According to a person familiar with the matter, Biden was set to announce a significant new purchase of vaccines to share with the world, and to set targets for other nations to hit. The existing gaps between nations with regard to the vaccination process are unheard of,” Colombian President Iván Duque said. The World Health Organization has long decried vaccine inequity between rich and poor countries. “G-7 countries have shown limited political will to address vaccine inequities, despite having it in their power to do so. Associated Press writers Josh Boak at the United Nations and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

CAIRO-21 September 2021: Tala'ea El Gaish won the first title in the club’s history after defeating Al Ahly 3-2 on penalties on Tuesday night. The players honored the late Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy as they observed a minute of silence before the match and wore black armbands during the match. Today I lost my godfather Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy and I would like to dedicate this title to him.” El Gaish coach, Abdelhamid Bassiony, said after the game. Mohammed Bassam, El Gaish goalkeeper and captain, was the hero for his team, having saved three penalty shots, securing the victory for his team. We only had one week to prepare for this tough game but we stepped up to the mission and won the game.” Bassiony added.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made the request in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday. Muttaqi asked to speak during the annual high-level meeting of the General Assembly, which finishes on Monday. The Taliban letter said Isaczai’s mission “is considered over and that he no longer represents Afghanistan,” said Haq. Until a decision is made by the credentials committee Isaczai will remain in the seat, according to the General Assembly rules. He is currently scheduled to address the final day of the meeting on Sept. 27, but it was not immediately clear if any countries might object in the wake of the Taliban letter.

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed to an average of more than 1,900 a day for the first time since early March, with experts saying the virus is preying largely on a distinct group: 71 million unvaccinated Americans. West Virginia has had more deaths in the first three weeks of September — 340 — than in the previous three months combined. The nation was stunned back in December when it was witnessing 3,000 deaths a day. And yet, average deaths per day have climbed 40% over the past two weeks, from 1,387 to 1,947, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In Kansas, 65-year-old cattleman Mike Limon thought he had beaten COVID-19 and went back to work for a few days.

MANCHESTER, England, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Hungary must play their next World Cup qualifier behind closed doors after FIFA imposed a ban on fans and a 200,000 Swiss franc ($217,000) fine following racist incidents in this month's match against England. Hungary's next qualifier is against Albania on Oct. 9. They will also have to play their next two games in UEFA competition behind closed doors after a UEFA sanction for "discriminatory behaviour" by fans was imposed in July following incidents during the team's Euro 2020 games at the Puskas Arena. During the game, Hungarian fans threw plastic cups towards England players and a flare landed on the field. Footage was shown of one fan making a monkey gesture in the stands at the Puskas Arena and other individuals were seen behaving similarly.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday images of what appeared to be Border Patrol agents on horseback rounding up migrants trying to cross the southern border “horrified” him, but he stopped short of calling the new influx of migrants there a crisis. The latest increase in migration at the border has prompted Republicans to renew attacks on Democrats for what they say is a failure to address a crisis at the U.S. border. Mayorkas said 600 Homeland Security employees, including from the Coast Guard, have been brought to Del Rio. He said he has asked the Defense Department for help in what may be one of the swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants and refugees from the United States in decades. “If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned.