CERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Europe will miss a key climate target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 years unless it picks up the pace on energy transition measures and improves governance, a study involving Europe’s biggest utility Enel (ENEI.MI) said. At the current pace, Europe will only reach its 2030 target for a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gases in 2051, a study by Enel Foundation and the European House-Ambrosetti said. The study, presented on Saturday, said investments of around 3.6 trillion euros ($4.3 trillion) were needed across the bloc to reach 2030 goals, with a potential cumulative impact on the EU’s economic growth of more than 8 trillion euros. But it warned the EU needed to step up its efforts if this potential was to be realised. He said at the current pace Europe would only reach its 2030 target of raising the share of renewable energy to 40 percent of final consumption in 2043.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban special forces in camouflage fired their weapons into the air Saturday, bringing an abrupt and frightening end to the latest protest march in the capital by Afghan women demanding equal rights from the new rulers. Taliban fighters quickly captured most of Afghanistan last month and celebrated the departure of the last U.S. forces after 20 years of war. Flanked by fellow demonstrators, Sudaba Kabiri, a 24-year-old university student, told her Taliban interlocutor that Islam’s Prophet gave women rights and they wanted theirs. The Taliban official promised women would be given their rights but the women, all in their early 20s, were skeptical. As the demonstrators reached the presidential palace, a dozen Taliban special forces ran into the crowd, firing in the air and sending demonstrators fleeing.

Sept 4 (Reuters) - Wales captain Gareth Bale on Saturday called for countries whose fans are repeat racism offenders to be banned from international soccer after reported abuse towards England's Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham in Budapest on Thursday. British broadcasters reported "monkey chants" being aimed at England's Black players while plastic cups rained down on the players when they celebrated goals near the corner flag. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Saturday authorities need to take steps to prevent expressions of racism at soccer matches or any other aspects of life. But he criticised the international media for saying there was a "racist and hostile" atmosphere in the Puskas Arena. After facing Belarus, Wales take on Estonia at home on Sept. 8.

CAIRO-4 September 2021: Jadon Sancho, England and Manchester United winger, will not be available for England’s upcoming matches in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers against Andorra and Poland due to injury. Sancho is one of the promising talents in English football, having earned 22 caps for the Three Lions and he scored three goals. The Three Lions are leading their group in the qualifiers with 12 points from four victories after four matches. Gareth Southgate’s men are leading the group by five points and they are marching towards securing a place in the 2022 World Cup. Engalnd will face Andorra at Wembley stadium on Sunday before facing Poland in Warsaw on Wednesday.

Other Louisiana and Gulf Coast utilities have faced similar disasters, sometimes needing to rebuild entire networks. The isolation of metro New Orleans has always made power supply tricky, because there aren’t enough power plants inside the area to meet needs. The utility says it builds new transmission towers to withstand winds up to 150 mph, but the company has said its oldest towers were only designed to withstand 100 mph (160 kph) winds. While Louisiana encourages burying local distribution lines in new developments, studies have suggested that burying high voltage transmission lines could cost billions. There are also questions about feasibility, Kury said, because underground transmission lines can overheat and be damaged by water.

CAIRO - 4 September 2020: Sharm el Sheikh International Airport received on Saturday the first Swiss Air flight after a five-year hiatus. The flight coming from Geneva was carrying 62 passengers. The plane was received with the customary tradition of spraying water as soon as it landed at the airport. The passengers were gifted with flowers and souvenirs. Head of the airport Nabil el Maleh said the Geneva-Sharm el Sheikh flight will be operated every Saturday.

CAIRO - 4 September 2020: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli on Saturday inspected a number of projects in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). Madbouli said that several visits will be paid to the New Administrative Capital in the coming period to follow up the implementation of construction projects there. The meeting also reviewed the road axes at the New Administrative Capital, such as the southern and northern axes of Mohammed bin Zayed. For his part, Housing Minister Assem el Gazzar said that the internal road network will be completed within weeks. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had urged following up the different projects in the new capital until they are completed.

It is a very good feeling to represent a big club like Al Ahly. It is the biggest club in Africa and I am so glad to be here and to be part of this club.” He told the club’s official website. Miquissone believes that his performance in the game made a big role in his move to Al Ahly, saying “It is a great feeling to face big teams like Al Ahly. "My experience with him in Mamelodi Sundowns was so good; he made me to be a good player and to be better. Besides Miquissone, Al Ahly managed to sign South African winger, Percy Tau, from Brighton and Hove Albion, Hossam Hassan from Smouha and Karim Fouad from Nogoom FC.

CAIRO - 4 September 2020: The Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed headed for the French capital Paris on Saturday accompanied by Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Dr. Awad Tag Eddin to discuss ways of boosting cooperation in the health sector. Zayed will sign a memorandum of understanding between Egypt's National Cancer Institute and France's Gustave Roussy Institute of Oncology. A diagnostic clinic for breast cancer will be opened in the Egyptian institute in cooperation with France's Gustave Roussy, said Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed. The Health Ministry said that 318 new coronavirus cases were detected in Egypt over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 289,353. In a statement late Friday, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 11 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 16,766.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi gives a speech at the 8th Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ministerial Conference on WomenCAIRO - 4 September 2020: The Egyptian-Cypriot higher committee will be held later on Saturday under the co-chairmanship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the presidential palace, said Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi. He added that the two sides will discuss means of boosting joint cooperation in the fields of defense, energy, trade, investment and maritime transport. The committee meeting, that is held for the first time at a presidential level, will discuss important files in bilateral relations, he noted. The two countries' delegations taking part in the meeting will include ministers concerned, he added. He indicated that they will also discuss current developments in the political arena at the regional, eastern Mediterranean and the international level, especially in light of the common challenges facing the two friendly countries, which require extensive coordination and consultation between Egypt and Cyprus in order to consolidate security, stability and peace.

Sept 3 (Reuters) – The US-trained Afghan pilots and others held at a camp in Uzbekistan already feared being sent back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “deeply concerned” about the Afghan pilots and other forces there. In a dramatic episode, one of the Afghan aircraft collided with an Uzbek jet, forcing the pilots to eject. Besides dozens of pilots, there are Air Force maintenance personnel and other Afghan security forces at the camp. BIOMETRIC READINGSOn Wednesday, officials from the US government arrived at the camp to take biometric data from the Afghan personnel there, the pilot said.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A small group of Afghan women protested near the presidential palace in Kabul on Friday, demanding equal rights from the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new rulers work on forming a government and seeking international recognition. But many Afghans, especially women, are deeply skeptical and fear a rollback of rights gained over the last two decades. Around 20 women with microphones gathered under the watchful eyes of Taliban gunmen, who allowed the demonstration to proceed. “We are concerned about the issues of human rights in Afghanistan, notably on the rights of women,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday. Tens of thousands of Afghans fled the country after the Taliban takeover in a massive US-led airlift out of Kabul international airport.

The Egyptian Armed Forces announced the launch of the joint “Bright Star 2021” military training with 21 countries, which will run from September 2 to 17. The military stressed that the training is the largest and most important international military exercise, due to its size. The Egyptian-Cypriot joint training “Ptolemy 2021”, which is taking place over several days in Cyprus, was also launched. The first phase of this training includes includes theoretical and practical lectures aimed at unifying combat concepts and refining skills. The “Ptolemy 2021” training comes within the framework of the joint training plan of the Egyptian and Cypriot armed forces to exchange experience enhance military cooperation.

DUBAI, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Qatar is working to facilitate the opening of humanitarian corridors to get aid into Afghanistan, a Qatari foreign ministry official said on Friday. Al Qahtani arrived in Kabul on Friday to hold talks on forming an inclusive Afghan government and reopening of the Kabul airport, said a Qatari source familiar with the visit. The Gulf state has emerged as a key interlocutor with the Taliban, having hosted the militant group’s political office since 2013. The Taliban negotiated the U.S. military withdrawal and separate talks with the Afghan government in Qatar. Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Catherine Evans and Angus MacSwan

HANOI, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s coronavirus epicenter Ho Chi Minh City, which has kept residents confined at home under lockdown, is considering reopening economic activity from September 15, shifting from a “zero COVID-19” strategy to a policy of living with the virus. Ho Chi Minh City last month deployed troops to enforce its lockdown and prohibited residents from leaving their homes to slow a spiraling rate of deaths. Ho Chi Minh City alone has recorded 241,110 coronavirus infections and 9,974 deaths, representing half of the country’s cases and 80 percent of its fatalities. read moreThe health ministry on Friday called on recovered COVID-19 patients to help the city battle the epidemic. Editing by Martin Petty and Peter GraffIMAGE: Customers search for food on near empty shelves that were depleted due to panic buying amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam August 21, 2021.