The WHO says 5.5 billion coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered so far, but 80% of those have been to upper- and middle-income countries. Rich countries have also offered to donate 1 billion doses to other countries, but fewer than 15% of those doses have “materialized,” Tedros said. Earlier Wednesday, COVAX managers again scaled back their target to ship doses this year, projecting about 1.4 billion doses will be available through the program by year-end — down from about 1.8 billion previously. They had originally hoped to ship 2 billion doses this year. But it also said deliveries are ramping up strongly, and another 1.1 billion doses are expected to be available by year-end through the program, up from 330 million so far.

ALGIERS, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Algeria has detained 30 people, including seven members of a separatist group that the government has declared a terrorist organization, for involvement in wildfires that killed at least 65 people, the paramilitary police said on Wednesday. They have been placed in custody after appearing before a court following investigations over the wildfires that erupted last month in several provinces, mainly in the Kabylie region, east of Algiers, the paramilitary police, or National Gendarmerie, said in a statement. Authorities have blamed the MAK group, which seeks independence for the Berber-speaking Kabylie region, for the devastating forest fires, and accused Morocco of backing it. Morocco’s support for the group was one of the reasons cited by Algeria to cut diplomatic relations with the Kingdom late last month. Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed Editing by Bill Berkrot

Sept 8 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia welcomed on Wednesday the release of classified documents relating to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Its U.S. embassy said in a statement that “any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in the September 11 attacks is categorically false”. U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI’s probe into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks for declassification and release. Saudi Arabia has said it had no role in the hijacked plane attacks. The embassy said that Saudi Arabia has called for the release of all materials related to the United States’ investigation of the attacks.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA), headed by Ahmed Megahed, announced after an extended meeting Portuguese Carlos Queiroz has been appointed the new head coach of the Egyptian national football team. Diaa al-Sayed was appointed as general coach, Mohamed Shawky as assistant coach and Essam al-Hadary as goalkeeper coach. Queiroz will arrive at the end of next week, while the rest of the administrative, medical and assistant staff will be finalized during the next meeting. Queiroz’s assistant staff is scheduled to arrive in Cairo at the beginning of next week, and includes a foreign assistant, a performance analyst and a rehabilitation specialist.

Some of the new accounts are on networks used predominantly in countries that have not previously been significant Chinese propaganda targets, such as Argentina. Multiple Russian-language LiveJournal accounts used identical wording: “US Ft. Detrick was the source of COVID-19,” referring to the US Army’s Fort Detrick installation in Maryland. Many of the accounts link to each other or use the same photos, helping the researchers see connections among them. Many of the posts echo claims in state-controlled Chinese media, and they are consistent with other government propaganda efforts. Some of the posts urged protesters to demonstrate against racism in the United States.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday reported 378 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths, and 674 recoveries. A total of 290,773 cases have been reported in Egypt, alongside 16,811 deaths and 243,297 recoveries. Any facility that violates summer hours will receive a fine and be subject to close for two weeks. The Health Ministry is currently working to issue QR-coded vaccination certificates for Egyptians and foreigners that receive their doses in the country. As of September 5, World Health Organization data states that 10.4 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Egypt, which has a population of 104 million.

The Egyptian Transport Ministry uploaded a video on Tuesday showing a machine from Austria made to check on tracks and provide a report on the technical condition of the entire rails. Facts about the new machine:The railway inspection machine is one of the latest models of machines specialized in measuring the engineering condition of railways. The railway inspection machine enters the Egyptian railways for the first time in its history. The machine uses ultrasound technology to check all components of the system. The Egyptian National Railway Authority (ENR) said that contracting modern machines to inspect the railways will increase all safety factors in operating the trains.

CAIRO, 8 September 2021: Sports journalist Mohamed Shabana said that he got information from the Egyptian Football Association that Captain Hassan Shehata was chosen as the technical director of the Egyptian national team, to succeed Hossam El-Badri. On Monday, the Football Association officially announced the dismissal of Hossam El-Badri from coaching the Egyptian national team, after a disappointing draw with the Gabon team in the second round of the African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Before announcing his dismissal by the Football Association, Hossam Al-Badri refused to submit his resignation as, from his point of view, he achieved everything possible from the past period. He also led Egypt in the first two rounds of the African World Cup Qualifiers and the national team managed to achieve 4 points to top the group. Egypt plays in Group F of the qualifiers alongside Libya, Gabon and Angola.

Despite that, people in this Balkan nation are the most hesitant in the bloc to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Only 20 percent of adults in Bulgaria, which has a population of seven million, have so far been fully vaccinated. “I don’t believe vaccines work,” she told the AP. I don’t believe it’s so dangerous. Bulgaria has access to all four of the vaccines approved by the EU — Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson&Johnson.

Grant made another huge contribution on Tuesday, scoring his first international goal in the Socceroos' 1-0 win over Vietnam in their 2022 World Cup qualifier in Hanoi. With Australia unable to host World Cup qualifiers due to its strict COVID-19 quarantine regime, joining the Socceroos has meant a big sacrifice for Grant, who may end up spending two months away from home. "I’m so grateful for Rhyan himself," Arnold told Australian media after the Vietnam win. Australia do not play their next qualifier until Oct. 7 against Oman and then Oct. 12 away to Japan but Grant will continue to stay overseas during the A-League off-season. "It's a pretty quick turnaround between these windows so I've got I think, three weeks ... to keep fit and keep training," he said.

(Reuters) - Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is not in favour of a FIFA proposal to hold the World Cup every two years. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be the 32-year-old's last opportunity to play in the tournament but the winger said making the competition a biennial event would diminish its appeal. "I would like every four years but perhaps there could be a discussion around every three," Radrizzani added. "Such a move threatens to destroy the already fragile balance between local, domestic, continental, and international competitions and calendars," the statement read. We do not want or need more World Cups."

Near daily flights from Qatar bring in humanitarian aid, but the needs are massive, and the Taliban can hardly afford isolation. In announcing the Cabinet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid emphasized that the appointments were temporary. Since taking over Afghanistan in mid-August after U.S. troops withdrew, the Taliban have shown no indications they will hold elections. The interim prime minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, also headed the Taliban government in Kabul during the last years of its rule. On Saturday, Taliban special forces in camouflage fired their weapons into the air to end a protest march in Kabul by women demanding equal rights.

Biden spoke after walking streets in New Jersey and then Queens in New York City, meeting people whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged by flooding when Ida barreled through. We can stop it from getting worse.”Biden sounded a similar theme before he toured Manville, New Jersey, also ravaged by severe flooding caused by Ida. “Every part of the country, every part of the country is getting hit by extreme weather,” Biden said during a briefing with officials in Somerset County, including Gov. Biden also talked up a side benefit of the plan, the “good-paying jobs” he said it will create. In New Jersey, Biden walked along a street in the Lost Valley neighborhood of Manville, where flooding is common and the cleanup continues after the Raritan River overflowed its banks.

The UN atomic watchdog on Tuesday said Iran has increased its stockpile of enriched uranium in breach of the 2015 accord intended to limit Tehran’s nuclear program. The uranium could be used to make nuclear weapons and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran had rendered the agency unable to continue with its inspections of the country’s nuclear activities. Under the accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Tehran responded to Washington’s decision to withdraw and reimpose sanctions by contravening many of those nuclear restrictions. Indirect talks between the US and Iran, which took place in Vienna, have halted since Tehran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi took office.

CAIRO - 7 September 2021: We bid farewell to renowned French new wave actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, who passed away at the age of 88 on September 6. Belmondo left an indelible mark as a key figure of the European film-making generation from the 60’s to the 80’s, especially through his collaborations with Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Louis Malle and Jean-Pierre Melville. Some of his most remarkable films are Breathless (1960), Pierrot Le Fou (1965), Le Professionnel (1981), and more.