FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationOct 4 (Reuters) - Facebook and Instagram appeared to be partially reconnected to the global internet on Monday afternoon, nearly six hours into an outage that paralyzed the social media platform. Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram apps went dark at around noon Eastern time, in what website monitoring group Downdetector said was the largest such failure it had ever seen, with 10.6 million problem reports globally. (Also Read: Facebook asks judge to dismiss lawsuit to force sale of Instagram, WhatsApp)Around 5:45 pm ET, some Facebook users began to regain partial access to the social media app. The outage was the second blow to the social media giant in as many days after a whistleblower on Sunday accused the company of repeatedly prioritizing profit over clamping down on hate speech and misinformation.

(Reuters) - The current levels of match congestion, extensive travel and reduced off season time in elite men's soccer are detrimental to players' health and careers, global players' union FIFPRO said in a report on Tuesday. National team regulars at the top clubs have the toughest workload, the report said, adding that some players spent 70% to 80% of their playing time in a two-game-a-week rhythm. FIFPRO recommended that soccer governing bodies enforce a four-week break between seasons and a two-week mid-season break to safeguard players' mental and physical well-being. The union also suggested a mandatory break for individual players after a specified number of successive games. FIFPRO last month called for reforms to the international calendar to address the need for a reduced workload for players after soccer's world governing body FIFA announced a feasibility study into making the World Cup a biennial event.

National Council for WomenThis is in addition to Maya Morsy, the human rights and women advocate who leads the National Council for Women (NCW) established in 2000. National Council for Human RightsMoushira Khattab has been selected to lead the National Council for Human Rights, Egypt’s independent council in charge of developing and promoting human rights. The NCHR also cooperates with the National Council for Women and the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood to enhance the state’s institutions’ efficiency regarding promoting human rights. National Strategy for Human RightsPresident Sisi in September attended a celebration to launch the 2021/2026 National Strategy for Human Rights in Egypt in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). The fourth section deals with five areas that are promoting awareness pertinent to human rights, introducing human rights content in education curricula, training members of the Police Authority, training members of judicial entities, and improving the training programs delivered to workers at the administrative body.

The selection comes shortly after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi last month announced the launch of Egypt’s National Strategy for Human Rights, to serve the country’s comprehensive human rights concept. The NCHR, through independent work in the country, seeks to develop and implement a national strategy for human rights as well as to protect and promote human rights in accordance with the Constitution. The NCHR’s vision is to “make human rights concerns a national priority.”The Council holds human rights-related conferences, sessions and round-table discussions. Comprehensive concept of human rightsPresident Sisi in September attended a celebration to launch the 2021/2026 National Strategy for Human Rights in Egypt in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). The strategy consists of four sections that are Civil and Political Rights; Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; Rights of Women, Children, Disabled, Youth, and Elderly; and, Awareness and Capacity-Building in the Field of Human Rights.

CAIRO – 7 October 2021: On October 7, the Royal Swedish Academy "Nobel" will announce the name of the winner of the Novel Prize in Literature for the year 2021, amid anticipation of intellectuals and those interested in literary affairs, in various countries of the world. The Royal Swedish Academy also confirmed that it will not organize a ceremony in Stockholm this year, and that the winners will receive the awards in their countries. Announcements are made in Stockholm and Oslo, and are broadcast live on the official digital channels of the Nobel Prize, according to the New York Times. The Nobel Prize announcement dates in the various categories come as follows:- The Physics Prize will be announced on October 5. Six Nobel Prizes are awarded each year, each recognizing the pioneering contribution of an individual or organization in a particular field.

CAIRO – 4 October 2021: Egypt’s Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir received some of the members of the Union for the Mediterranean. These visits came on the sidelines of their current visit to Egypt to attend the second Ministerial Conference for the Environment of the Mediterranean region. Director General of the Pyramid Antiquities AreaAshraf Mohieddin received the members in the Giza Antiquities Area, and accompanied them on a tour to the three pyramids, the Sphinx and the Panorama areas. They expressed their fascination with the ancient Egyptian civilization, the greatness of the Pyramids, and the miraculous carving of the Great Sphinx. Two of the secretariat of the conference visited the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, where they were received by Sabah Abdel Razek, the director of the museum, and Ahmed Samir, the curator of the Egyptian Museum, and toured the museum's various halls.

The ZERO X Series includes three variants – the ZERO X Pro, ZERO X and ZERO X NEO – which all include breakthrough visual technologies such as a Dual-Chip flagship gaming processor, 60X periscope moonshot camera and Infinix’s Galileo Algorithm Engine, a top-notch software feature allowing a high resolution looking shot of the moon. The ZERO X features a 64MP super-night camera lens comprising of the same lenses as the Pro, while the ZERO X NEO is equipped with a 48MP super-night camera. The ZERO X Series also comes equipped with the Super Moon Mode, which combines a 60X periscope moonshot camera and the Galileo Algorithm Engine developed by Infinix. In addition, all ZERO X Series smartphones offer high-quality videos with 960 FPS super slow-motion and 4K time-lapse. The full ZERO X Series includes the ZERO X Pro, ZERO X and ZERO X NEO that are tailored to specific market needs.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Sunday reported 768 new coronavirus cases, 37 deaths, and 695 recoveries. A total of 306,798 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 17,436 deaths and 258,947 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. A total of 16,223,309 vaccine doses have been administrated in Egypt as of September 27, according to World Health Organization data. The Ministry of Health reiterated warning against a fourth wave of the coronavirus in Egypt, stressing that everyone should adhere to precautionary measures.

The director of the Department of Forecasting and Analysis at the Egyptian Meteorological Authority Mahmoud Shaheen said that Egypt will not be impacted by Cyclone Shaheen on Monday, which will more greatly impact the Sultanate of Oman and parts of the Emirates. In a phone-in with the Sada al-Balad channel, he added that Saudi Arabia will not be greatly affected and Egypt is not linked to the air mass in the Gulf and will not be impacted whatsoever. He said that Egypt will see good weather with no rains for the next five days. However climatic changes are more likely to affect Egypt in the second half of the autumn season, he stated, especially in the second half of October which will see heavy rains. The Sultanate of Oman had previously been hit by a number of cyclones due to its presence in the Indian Ocean, but this year a cyclone came in October and reached the Sea of Oman, which will affect the UAE.

Still, one official close to the presidency said the rate cut was worth it despite the risks and inevitable criticism. “There may be negative effects, but it had to be taken … to achieve these benefits.”The president’s office did not immediately comment on whether it pushed for the rate cut and why. Erdogan, a self-described enemy of interest rates, said on Friday that inflation will drop to single digits, but he did not address the interest rate cut. Nevertheless, money market prices show traders expect more cuts before the policy rate returns to 18%-18.5% in a year. He turned up the heat in June when he said he spoke to Sahap Kavcioglu, the current chief, about the need for a rate cut after August.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The first of the 2021 Nobel Prizes is announced Monday with the naming of the winner, or winners, in the field of physiology or medicine. This could boost the chances of those involved in developing vaccines against the coronavirus getting the prize. The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895. ___Read more stories about Nobel Prizes past and present by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes

Oct 4 (Reuters) – Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX) and Dubai-based Emirates would extend their partnership for another five years till 2028, they said on Monday, as both airlines battle with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international air travel. The alliance was formed in 2013 as part of Qantas’ efforts to shore up its loss making international business, replacing its existing deal with British Airways. Since then, more than 13 million passengers have travelled on the joint network. The deal, which was about to end in 2023 earlier, will have to be re-authorised by Australia’s competition watchdog. Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

Under the previous government, gangs of thieves had driven most people off the streets by dark. The Taliban say they will bring back their previous punishments. He said he supported Taliban punishments like amputations, though not for petty thieves. He had no objection to Taliban-style punishments but argued strenuously against putting Taliban leaders and religious clerics in charge of government departments. Still, he welcomed having his complaint heard without any demand for a bribe from the Taliban police.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government acknowledged Monday what most other countries did long ago: It can no longer completely get rid of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a cautious plan to ease lockdown restrictions in Auckland, despite an outbreak there that continues to simmer. Until recently, that elimination strategy had worked remarkably well for the country of five million, which has reported just 27 virus deaths. Ardern said that seven weeks of lockdown restrictions in Auckland had helped keep the outbreak under control. “For this outbreak, it’s clear that long periods of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases,” Ardern said.

And only by staying unified does their no-votes-to-spare majority have any hope of pushing his rebuilding agenda into law. At stake is not only the scaled-back $3.5 trillion plan, but also the slimmer $1 trillion public works bill that is now stalled, intractably linked to the bigger bill. As Democrats in Congress regroup, having blown Pelosi’s self-imposed Friday deadline for passing legislation in the House amid bitter finger-pointing, they now face a new one, Oct. 31, to make gains on Biden’s big plans. The $3.5 trillion package is being chiseled back to around $2 trillion and final approval of the Senate-passed $1 trillion public works bill is on hold, for now. Can Biden’s effort to tackle climate change be extended beyond the money already approved for electric vehicles and weather-resilient buildings in the public works bill?