TRIPOLI, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Fighting broke out in Tripoli early on Friday between rival armed forces, the heaviest clashes in the Libyan capital since the conflict between eastern and western factions paused a year ago. The new fighting pitted the 444 Brigade against the Stabilization Support Force, two of the main forces in Tripoli, a witness said. The United Nations Libya mission called for an immediate halt in the fighting, saying it had “grave concern”. Political factions have squabbled repeatedly over the role and powers of the interim government as well as over the control of state institutions and the public purse. Reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli and Hani Amara in Istanbul, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Mark Heinrich, William MacleanIMAGE: Smoke rises after an attack on the Administrative Control Authority in Tripoli, Libya, August 31, 2021.

EgyptAir will resume its flights to Kuwait starting September 5, Chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company Amr Aboul Enein announced. The airline will operate two daily flights between Cairo and Kuwait using its Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner, known as the Dream Plane, which accommodates up to 309 passengers. The company is also scheduled to operate its Boeing 737-800 flights, which come with personal screens and more spacious seats. According to the statement, EgyptAir customers can book their flights between Cairo and Kuwait through the website egyptair.com, at EgyptAir offices, and by calling 1717 inside Egypt. Kuwait announced on August 19 that it would resume direct flights with Egypt and a number of other countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

CAIRO-3 September 2021: Hussein Labib, Zamalek's president, revealed that Zamalek are in negotiations with Pyramids to sign their midfielder Abdullah El Said. We have made an offer to sign him but we did not receive and response from Pyramids." He led them to the Egyptian Cup final in 2019 and the CAF Confederation Cup final in 2020 for the first time in the club's short history. We are trying to strengthen our squad and we want to sign several players in different positions." Zamalek achieved the domestic league title for the first time since 2015 after a fierce title race with arch-rivals Al Ahly.

CAIRO-3 September 2021: Al Ahly defeated Morocco's Widad Smara 29-24 on Thursday to win the African Handball Cup Winners' Cup title. "We were determined to win the competition despite its difficult time at the start of the season. Al Ahly had a fantastic run in the competition and managed to win seven matches out of seven to secure the title in a very important time for the team. El Tayar said after the game "Winning the title gives the team a huge motivation ahead of the new season. We have big ambitions and we want to win every title this season."

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says it shot down Israeli missiles as they approached the capital Damascus on Friday, saying it had countered an “aggression” from its longtime adversary with its own air defenses. State news agency SANA said Syria shot down most of the missiles, which were launched from the area southeast of neighboring Lebanon and targeted areas near Damascus. The Israeli military, which rarely speaks of its military operations in the war-ravaged country, did not acknowledge that they carried out any airstrikes. It said only that a surface-to-air missile launched from Syrian territory towards Israeli air space exploded over the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, and that residents in central Israel had located several missile fragments on the ground. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

The Egyptian Embassy in Moscow has announced a hotline for Russian tourists, according to a post on mission’s Facebook page. As of September 1, hotline 19654 in Egypt is open to respond to Russian tourists’ inquiries. In a special statement to RT, the Egyptian Ambassador to Moscow, Ehab Nasr, said that the launch of the Russian hotline comes as part of the Tourism Ministry’s ongoing commitment to helping tourists within the country. A number of Russian airlines recently announced running new flights from Moscow to Egypt’s Red Sea resort cities of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, as Russia officially resumed flights between the areas in mid-August. ___IMAGE: Sharm el-Sheikh Airport receives first Russian flight from Moscow on Monday, August 9, 2021.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 318 new coronavirus cases, 12 deaths, and 651 recoveries. A total of 289,353 cases have been reported in Egypt, alongside 16,766 deaths and 240,976 recoveries. While Egypt‘s Supreme Committee for the Management of Coronavirus Crisis lifted some COVID-19 restrictions back in June, some still remain. As of August 27, World Health Organization data states that 8.7 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Egypt, which has a population of 104 million. The Health Ministry is currently working to issue QR-coded vaccination certificates for Egyptians and foreigners that receive their doses in the country.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Saturday reported 331 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths, and 439 recoveries. A total of 289,684 cases have been reported in Egypt, alongside 16,776 deaths and 241,415 recoveries. While Egypt‘s Supreme Committee for the Management of Coronavirus Crisis lifted some COVID-19 restrictions back in June, some still remain. As of August 27, World Health Organization data states that 8.7 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Egypt, which has a population of 104 million. The Health Ministry is currently working to issue QR-coded vaccination certificates for Egyptians and foreigners that receive their doses in the country.

WELLINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) – New Zealand police on Friday shot and killed a knife-wielding “extremist” who was known to authorities, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, after he stabbed and wounded at least six people in a supermarket. “A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders,” Ardern told a briefing. A witness told the New Zealand Herald the attacker had shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest). Ardern said the reasons the attacker was known to authorities were subject to court suppression orders over legal proceedings. Ardern, asked if the Friday attack could have been revenge for the 2019 mosque shootings, said it was not clear.

“We are afraid that the hungry monkeys will turn wild and vicious,” villager Saskara Gustu Alit said. About 600 of the macaques live in the forest sanctuary, swinging from the tall nutmeg trees and leaping about the famous Pura Bukit Sari temple, and are considered sacred. The Sangeh Monkey Forest typically had about 6,000 visitors a month, but as the pandemic spread last year and international travel dropped off dramatically, that number dropped to about 500. “A few days ago I attended a traditional ceremony at a temple near the Sangeh forest,” Gustu Alit said. “That’s why I have urged villagers here to come to the forest to play with the monkeys and offer them food,” he said.

At least 13 people lost their lives in New York City, along with three in suburban Westchester County. Four people died in suburban Philadelphia as a result of the storm, according to county spokesperson Kelly Cofrancisco. A Connecticut state trooper perished after his cruiser was swept away in floodwaters in the town of Woodbury early Thursday, state police said. New York officials blamed much of flooding on the high volume of rainfall in a short span of time, rather than the daily total, which was within predictions. Subway services in New York City remained “extremely limited,” transit officials said, and commuter rail services to the suburbs were largely suspended.

NASA announced the Perseverance rover exploring Mars succeeded on in scooping up Martian rock on its second try. The first effort was a bust after the rock it tried to scoop up crumbled as the Perseverance robot drill got to work. The drill Perseverance used to collect the rock sample is two meters (6 1/2 feet) long. The target of the rock collection was nicknamed “Rochette” by scientists. ___IMAGE: The shadow of the Perseverance Mars rover next to the first hole it drilled in a rock in early August.

Sept 3 (Reuters) – Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced shortly, sources in the Islamist group said on Friday, as it battled rebel fighters in the Panjshir Valley and strived to ward off economic collapse. Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said. Haibatullah Akhunzada, the Taliban’s supreme religious leader, will focus on religious matters and governance within the framework of Islam, another Taliban source said. RECOGNITIONThe Taliban enforced a radical form of sharia, or Islamic law, when it ruled from 1996 to 2001. The United States, the European Union and others have cast doubt on such assurances, saying formal recognition of the new government, and the resultant flow of economic aid, was contingent on action.

Since then, Afghanistan has seen a proliferation of media outlets, and women made some strides within the restrictions of the deeply conservative society. “I just said to myself this is a good time to show for all the world, Afghan women don’t want to go back. Meanwhile, the Taliban are allowing journalists to enter Afghanistan from Pakistan and allowing media outlets to continue operating in Kabul, albeit under ominous guidelines. In July, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from Reuters was killed covering clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces. Mohseni said he was concerned when the Taliban overran Kabul and that he remains “not necessarily positive.”“But I’m just thinking: Well, let’s just wait and see.

CAIRO – 2 September 2021: Egypt has offered its deepest condolences to the United States over the victims of flash flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida that brought torrential rains. It stressed Egypt’s solidarity and support for the government and people of the United States in this painful loss. At least 41 people were killed in New York and the surrounding area as a result of heavy rains and historical flash floods that occurred on Wednesday night, according to a new toll. Police and local authorities said there were 15 dead in New York City and its suburbs, and three others near Philadelphia. The floods washed away cars, inundated subway lines and forced a suspension to flights in New York and New Jersey.