“The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan remains really dire,” Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commmissioner for Refugees, said in an interview in Islamabad. Most of the nation’s international assistance has been cut off, though there are exceptions for humanitarian aid. Billions of dollars in central bank assets held abroad have also been frozen, which has put pressure on the banking system. Baloch added there were new challenges since the collapse of the government and the takeover of the country by the Taliban administration. The lack of commercial flights meant supplies needed to be taken in on special flights or by road.

DHAKA, Oct 9 (Reuters) – UN officials signed a deal with Bangladesh on Saturday to help provide basic services to thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who have been moved to camps on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. The Bangladeshi government has moved nearly 19,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char island from border camps despite protests by some refugees and opposition from rights groups, who say the low-lying island is vulnerable to flooding and storms. Refugees in Bhasan Char, some of whom have protested against living conditions on the island, welcomed UNHCR’s involvement. “Now we’ll get enough of the assistance that we need,” Mohammed Arman, a Rohingya refugee told Reuters by telephone. Dozens of people died after a fishing boat crammed with Rohingya trying to flee the island sank in August.

MANILA, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa used her new prominence to criticize Facebook as a threat to democracy, saying the social media giant fails to protect against the spread of hate and disinformation and is “biased against facts”. Sought for comment on Ressa’s remarks, a Facebook spokesperson said the social media giant continues to invest heavily to remove and reduce the visibility of harmful content. Facebook has become the world’s largest distributor of news and “yet it is biased against facts, it is biased against journalism,” Ressa said. The presidential palace, Duterte’s spokesperson, his chief legal counsel, and communications office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. That campaign “will be a battle for facts,” Ressa said.

Meteorologists predict hot weather on Sunday during the day over Greater Cairo, the Delta, South Sinai, and northern Upper Egypt, moderately hot on the northern coasts, and very hot on southern Upper Egypt. The weather will be mild at night on northern parts until northern Upper Egypt, and moderate over South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt. Maximum temperatures for the following cities are:Alexandria: 29CCairo: 31CHurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh: 34CQena, and Luxor: 40CAswan: 41CActive winds are expected on Greater Cairo, northwestern coasts, and South Sinai. Mists expected in the morning on some roads leading to Greater Cairo, Lower Egypt and the northern coasts. Waves in the Mediterranean Sea will be low to moderate, ranging between one and 1.75 meters in height with northeastern surface winds, while waves in the Red Sea will be moderate to rough, ranging between 1.5 and 2.5 meters in height with northwestern surface winds.

The Administrative Prosecution office in Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt, began investigating the reasons why 40 boxes containing 13,214 ampoules of the SinoPharm vaccine were disposed on banks of a canal in a Bani Mazar village. The Administrative Prosecution is conducting extensive investigations with three health administration officials in the Bani Mazar city to determine what happened to the COVID-19 vaccines intended to vaccinate 26,428 citizens. In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Qady said that the Public Prosecutor opened extensive investigations into the incident. He said that it started when some citizens from Abshaq village found quantities of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, on sides of the canal. A team composed of security services, the health administration and the local unit moved to the scene of the incident.

“Our signature feature Flow, an infinite mix of your favorite tracks and new recommendations now includes a brand new smart Flow Moods wheel. We’re the only streaming service that lets fans use Flow Moods as an emotional jukebox to play only mood based music. Flow moods are updated constantly, so you don’t have to worry about hearing the same recommendations over and over again. Thanks to Flow Moods, we’re making sure that our listeners can have an emotionally connected experience that’s relevant to their daily moods and feelings,” said Deezer’s Chief Product and Technology officer Matthieu Gorvan. Flow Moods is available worldwide for all users on iOS and Android devices.

PARIS, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, who became Iran’s first president after the 1979 Islamic revolution before fleeing into exile in France, died on Saturday aged 88. He died at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris following a long illness, his wife and children said on Bani-Sadr’s official website. Bani-Sadr had emerged from obscurity to become Iran’s first president in January 1980 with the help of the Islamic clergy. But after a power struggle with radical clerics he fled the following year to France, where he spent the rest of his life. Bani-Sadr recalled then how 40 years earlier in Paris, he had been convinced that the religious leader’s Islamic revolution would pave the way for democracy and human rights after the rule of the Shah.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 811 new coronavirus cases, 35 deaths, and 431 recoveries. A total of 310,745 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,619 deaths and 262,043 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. The Ministry of Health reiterated warning against a fourth wave of the coronavirus in Egypt, stressing that everyone should adhere to precautionary measures. The ministry stated that there are 10 million citizens registered on the ministry’s website to receive the vaccine, 7.5 million of whom have received at least one dose.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s elections on Sunday come with enormous challenges: Iraq’s economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. Current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has sought to portray Iraq as a neutral mediator in the region’s crises. That will require a lengthy process involving backroom negotiations to select a consensus prime minister and agree on a new coalition government. Randa Slim, of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Iraq’s regional mediation role is al-Kadhimi’s achievement, a result of his success at balancing between U.S. and Iranian interests in Iraq. “If he won’t be the next prime minister, all of these initiatives might not be sustained,” Slim said.

But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. Organized tours for Russians have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics. Lauded by Russian President Vladimir Putin as world’s first registered COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V emerged in August 2020 and has been approved in some 70 countries, including Serbia. Apart from Sputnik V and a one-dose version known as Sputnik Light, Russia has also used two other domestically designed vaccines that have not been internationally approved. Back in Russia, some Moscow residents said they understood why many of their fellow Russians travel abroad for vaccines.

BEIJING, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to realize peaceful “reunification” with Taiwan, though did not directly mention the use of force after a week of tensions with the Chinese-claimed island that sparked international concern. Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its coercion, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people could decide their future. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi said the Chinese people have a “glorious tradition” of opposing separatism. Peaceful “reunification” best meets the overall interests of the Taiwanese people, but China will protect its sovereignty and unity, he added. China’s air force mounted four straight days of incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zon

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Senior Taliban officials and US representatives are to hold talks Saturday and Sunday about containing extremist groups in Afghanistan and easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country, officials from both sides said. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is based in Doha, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the talks will also revisit the peace agreement the Taliban signed with Washington in 2020. The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal. US officials will also encourage Taliban officials to give humanitarian agencies free access to areas in need amid the economic upheaval following the US departure and Taliban takeover. The official stressed the session did not imply the US was recognizing the Taliban as legitimate governors of the country.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — After a crude oil sheen was detected on the waters off the Southern California coast, environmentalists feared the worst: A massive spill that would wreck the ecosystem. A week later, the region and its signature beaches appear to have been spared a potentially calamitous fate, though the long-term toll on plant and animal life remains unknown. “Based on what we’re seeing, it’s a lighter impact than expected of a worst-case discharge,” California Fish and Wildlife Lt. Christian Corbo said. Officials initially feared Huntington Beach — dubbed Surf City USA — could be off-limits to surfers and swimmers for months. But Mayor Kim Carr on Thursday said she was “cautiously optimistic” they could be back in the water in weeks.

Brazil appears intent on returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, even as its death toll tops 600,000, according to official data on Friday from the health ministry. The country’s average daily death toll has hovered around 500 for a month, down sharply from more than 3,000 in April. Almost 45% of the population is fully vaccinated, and a booster shot is being administered to the elderly. A greater percentage of Brazilians are at least partially vaccinated compared to Americans or Germans, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. Queiroga said all Brazilians between ages 18 and 60 will be able to get vaccinated again next year.

HAMBURG, Germany, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Substitute Thomas Mueller scored an 81st minute winner to complete Germany's 2-1 comeback win over visitors Romania in their 2022 World Cup qualifier on Friday that kept them on course for a spot in next year's tournament. They have conceded just one goal in their last four matches could now seal their spot with a win over North Macedonia next week. "We were engaged but it was not a good feeling going into the break at 1-0. We did get the two goals then," Mueller said. They did, however, repeatedly look vulnerable when Romania counter-attacked, as they had done with Hagi to take the lead.