The Latest on Afghanistan:ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister has met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Afghanistan. The Foreign Ministry’s statement on Friday said the two leaders met on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting in Tajikistan’s city of Dushanbe. The discussion centered on Afghanistan and other bilateral issues, with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan underscoring his country’s vital interest in a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. According to the statement, Khan said it was essential to take urgent steps to stabilize Afghanistan’s security, humanitarian and economic situation. ___IMAGE: Taliban forces patrol near the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport, a day after US troops withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 31, 2021.

(Reuters) - Bernd Leno started the season as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper but manager Mikel Arteta said he is not guaranteed his place after new signing Aaron Ramsdale kept a clean sheet in last week’s Premier League win over Norwich City. German Leno started Arsenal’s first three league games of the season but was dropped after the team conceded nine goals without reply in those matches, including a 5-0 hammering by Manchester City late last month. “We have to change something and Aaron has come here to try to make us better,” said Arteta, whose team are 16th with three points from four games. What we want to do is empower performance and ask them to train, behave and play the best possible way. It is what you’re going to do today and tomorrow, and that’s it.”Arsenal travel to 18th placed Burnley in the league on Saturday.

(Reuters) - Manchester City’s official supporters club has told manager Pep Guardiola to stick to coaching after he commented on the thousands of empty seats for their Champions League win over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Kevin Parker, the general secretary of City’s official supporters’ club, told British media he was surprised by Guardiola’s comments. “Of course he would want a full house but I don’t know why he would question whether we’d have one against Southampton,” Parker added. “We have played two Saturday home games and the stadium – from a City perspective at least – was full on both occasions. I don’t think anybody anywhere within the club should be questioning the loyalty of the supporters.

"The two boys (Haaland and Bellingham) are currently players with us... anything else is just rumours," said Rose. Wolfsburg will remain top if they make it five wins from five league games at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Fresh from their mid-week Champions League win at Barcelona, second-placed Bayern Munich are favourites at home to Bochum in their first meeting since 2009/10. Unlike Dortmund, Union are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season with a win and three draws, but while Haaland and Bellingham attract the limelight, Kruse and Awoniyi could well serve up a surprise for the visitors. Key stats53 - the appearances Bellingham has made for Dortmund, scoring six goals, despite only turning 18 in June.

CAIRO – 16 September 2021: Presidential Health Adviser Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said on Thursday that Egypt has allocated $191 million to secure the coronavirus vaccine doses for citizens. In remarks to media, Tag El-Din said Egypt works to secure the largest possible number of vaccine doses to the Egyptian people. Tag El-Din said the budget of the Health Ministry is open amid the pandemic. Health Minister Hala Zayed said earlier this week that Egypt has produced five million doses of coronavirus vaccine, 2.5 million of which will be available later this week. She said two million vaccine doses will be available next week, as she took part in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

CAIRO – 16 September 2021: Egyptian Ambassador in Beirut Yasser Elwi met on Thursday with Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad as they discussed the latest developments as regards the exportation of Egypt's gas to Lebanon. The agreement was reached during the ministerial meeting of the Arab Gas Pipeline countries (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A day after reaching the agreement, Lebanon announced the formation of a new government and assigned Walid Fayyad as the new Minister of Energy and Water. The Egyptian natural gas was exported to Lebanon through the Jordanian territories in 2009, but it stopped in 2011 after the January 25, 2011 uprising. Lebanon witnesses an energy crisis due to shortage of fuel reserves needed to generate electricity and the lack of funds to secure it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to form a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain to counter China is angering France and the European Union. The security initiative, unveiled this week, appears to have brought Biden’s summer of love with Europe to an abrupt end. AUKUS, which notably excludes France and the European Union, is just the latest in a series of steps, from Afghanistan to east Asia, that have taken Europe aback. Then just this week, Biden enraged France and the European Union with his announcement that the US would join post-Brexit Britain and Australia in a new Indo-Pacific security initiative aimed at countering China’s increasing aggressiveness in the region. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who in June extolled the “excellent news for all of us that America is back,” expressed “total incomprehension” at the announcement of the initiative.

CAIRO – 16 September 2021: Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi affirmed Ethiopia’s right in development but affirmed the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam within a given timeframe. Radi affirmed that Egypt’s stance on GERD is clear and fixed as it calls for applying the principles of the international law. Gaza, Palestinian causeRadi said Egypt has set a strategy to deal with the Palestinian cause in the present time and the future, affirming that Egypt has succeeded in stopping violence. He said the first stage of the reconstruction process has been almost completed. Radi also affirmed efforts to explore a political horizon and revive the peace process through intensified communication among Egypt, Jordan and Palestine.

Following the success of the last two seasons of “Arous Beirut” (The Bride of Beirut), the show’s producers have announced that a third season is on the way. Tunisian star Zarif al-Abidine announced initial preparations for the next art with a video on is Instagram account, commenting: “Stay tuned. We are coming back.”The third season is scheduled to be presented in 45 or 50 episodes, depending on the scenario and events, at the end of October. While Adam (Mohamed al-Ahmad) separates from his wife Sarah due to her infidelity. “Arous Beirut” stars Dhaffer L’Abidine, Carmen Bsaibes, Takla Chamoun, Joe Trad, Mohamed al-Ahmad, Maram Ali, Nadine Jaber and Bilal Shehadat.

Applications for jobless aid rose from 312,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Unemployment aid applications jumped 4,000 in Louisiana, evidence that Hurricane Ida led to widespread job losses in that state. But Ida’s impact was limited: Applications for jobless aid fell slightly in Mississippi. The steady fall in weekly applications for unemployment benefits coincides with a scaling-back of aid for jobless Americans. An additional 2.7 million people who are receiving regular state unemployment aid lost a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement last week.

AL-AIN, Lebanon (AP) — A convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian diesel crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon early Thursday, the first in a series of deliveries organized by the militant Hezbollah group to ease crippling fuel shortages in the crisis-hit Mediterranean country. It was portrayed as a victory by Hezbollah, which stepped in to supply the fuel from its patron, Iran, while the cash-strapped Lebanese government grapples with months-long fuel shortages. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese or US officials on the Iranian fuel delivery. Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, announced last month that Iran was sending fuel to Lebanon to help ease the crisis. He said three other tankers carrying diesel and one carrying gasoline are to arrive in the coming weeks.

The City Stars Mall in Nasr City, Cairo, witnessed a horrific incident early in the morning after a woman fell to her death from the upper floors. Dozens of visitors gathered around the body until they were dispersed by administrative security . A report was issued on the incident, and the public prosecutors took over investigations to uncover the mystery of the incident. A large number of social media users circulated a video clip inside City Stars Mall from the place where the woman fell. The security services seized the surveillance cameras to monitor the victim’s movements before she fell to investigate if the death was an accident, foul play or suicide.

Meeting of Minister of International Cooperation Rania A. Al-Mashat and Khalida Bouzar, Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States in Cairo, Egypt on September 16, 2021. This comes within the framework of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s endeavors to deepen strategic relations between Egypt and its multilateral and bilateral development partners. Talks also delved into the UNDP’s 2022/2025 strategy, and means of scaling up cooperation with the UNDP, to improve the exchange of expertise and knowledge between Egypt and African countries. Minister Mashat stated that the Ministry of International Cooperation has led national discussions to establish a roadmap for the 2023/2027 UN Partnership Development Framework for Egypt (UNPDF). Al-Mashat, on holding the Egypt - International Cooperation Forum: “Engaging for Impact”, and applauded the Ministry of International Cooperation’s vision to enhance cooperation between stakeholders, as well as the ODA-SDG Mapping.

Talks come on the sidelines of Zein's participation in the 17th Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) in Kazakhstan, according to a statement of the authority on Thursday. Talks also covered exchanging programs and documentaries and boosting cooperation over live-streamed activities

CAIRO – 17 September 2021: A survey has provided feedback as part of the feasibility study regarding the frequency of the men`s FIFA World Cup. The findings of this online survey, conducted in July 2021, will be used as part of a wider consultation process involving fans, which will take place over several phases. 15,000 respondents were identified as expressing an interest in football and the FIFA World Cup, from a broader market research survey involving 23,000 people in 23 countries, across six confederations, commissioned via IRIS and YouGov, independent industry experts. An expanded survey, involving over 100,000 people in more than one hundred countries, is currently underway. This survey will be more global in scope, balances elements such as population, geographic diversity, football history and potential, and covers both the frequency of the men and women`s FIFA World Cup, the findings of which will be published in due course.