(AP) — Darkness set in for Natasha Blunt well before Hurricane Ida knocked out power across Louisiana. Advocates say the small wins they’d made for marginalized communities and people of color since the pandemic began have been quickly wiped out. “The message that people get is their lives are expendable.”As Ida approached Louisiana, Blunt knew it was intensifying rapidly. She’d gone days without power, and Ida had caused roof leaks and fence damage. But even with the horror stories of Katrina, Blunt said, Ida has been worse for her.

MOSCOW, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Three people died, including an 11-year-old girl, after a gas explosion caused a two-story apartment building to partially collapse in a Russian village early on Saturday, head of the Lipetsk region Igor Artamonov said. Six other people were injured, five of whom were hospitalized, said Vasily Razmunov, head of the local emergencies ministry. A gas explosion in the central part of the building had caused it to collapse, said the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee. Gas explosions are relatively common in Russia because of aging infrastructure and poor safety regulations. Two people died earlier this week after a blast at a nine-story block of flats.

CAIRO - 11 September 2020: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted that the National Strategy for Human Rights in Egypt is a roadmap for human rights conditions in the country. This first strategy aims at promoting national efforts to develop human rights and respect rights and freedoms of citizens, Shoukry went on to say. He noted that the Permanent Higher Committee for Human Rights is responsible for preparing the strategy. The establishment of the committee is an important addition to the institutional structure, that respects and protects human rights, the foreign minister further said. Launching of the strategy shows the importance the political leadership is attaching to promoting human rights in Egypt, he added.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population on Friday reported 433 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths, and 532 recoveries. A total of 292,018 cases have been disclosed in Egypt, alongside 16,847 deaths and 245,325 recoveries. Moreover, the Health Ministry has stated that official figures likely only represent 10 percent of actual cases. Any facility that violates summer hours will receive a fine and be subject to close for two weeks. Health Minister Hala Zayed announced last week that Egypt had given 11 million doses of coronavirus vaccines so far, as it works toward vaccinating its population of 104 million.

CAIRO - 11 September 2020: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Saturday attended a celebration to launch the 2021/2026 National Strategy for Human Rights in Egypt in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). The spokesman said the strategy is the first comprehensive and long-term self-strategy in the human rights field in Egypt. This comes with the aim of enhancing and respecting all civilian, political, social, economic and cultural rights, the spokesman added. The strategy strengthens policies in backing the rights of women, youth, the elderly, the disabled and all segments of the society, he pointed out. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Defense and Military Production Minister Mohamed Zaki and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

By midnight, it was 9/11, the staggering starting point for a new era of terror, war, politics, patriotism and tragedy. “It’s hard because you hoped that this would just be a different time and a different world. President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to all three attack sites: New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The US is now concerned that al-Qaida, the terror network behind 9/11, may regroup in Afghanistan. “I hope that, after 20 years, other people are asking that question: What good can come from this?” said Tung, of Wellesley, Massachusetts.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The UN special envoy for Libya warned Friday that failure to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24 could renew division and conflict and thwart efforts to unite the oil-rich North African nation after a decade of turmoil. Kubis said the House of Representatives adopted the presidential electoral law, and he was told it is in the process of finalizing the electoral law for parliamentary elections. He said the High Council of State, an executive institution that among other duties proposes electoral laws, complained that the presidential electoral law was adopted without consulting its members. “The country and its people need a full clarity that the elections are going to happen on Dec. 24,” Kubis said in a video briefing. Hifter launched a military offensive in 2019 to capture the capital, a campaign backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France.

New US studies released Friday show the COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalizations and death even as the extra-contagious delta variant swept the country. As delta surged in early summer, those who were unvaccinated were 4.5 times more likely than the fully vaccinated to get infected, over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC released two other studies Friday that signaled hints of waning protection for older adults. One examined COVID-19 hospitalizations in nine states over the summer and found protection for those 75 and older was 76 percent compared to 89 percent for all other adults. And in five Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations was 95 percent among 18- to 64-year-olds compared to 80 percent among those 65 and older.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Friday appointed Aziz Akhannouch as the country’s new prime minister. A statement from the royal palace said the king tasked Akhannouch with forming a new government. The announcement came after Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents (RNI) party triumphed in Wednesday’s parliamentary polls. Shortly after the declaration of results, Akhannouch said he would “implement his majesty’s vision.”The businessman has called Wednesday’s results “a victory for democracy.”Akhannouch has promised to create one million jobs to boost the economy. Wednesday’s results, however, have dealt a blow to the long-ruling PJD, which has been at the helm since 2011.

They anticipate the FDA could make a decision on whether the shot is safe and effective in younger children within three weeks of the EUA submission. He estimated that a decision on the Moderna shot could come around November, according to the source. The second source said Fauci’s timeline for Moderna appeared “optimistic.”Officials at Pfizer, Moderna and NIH did not immediately comment. Pfizer has previously said that it would have data on children age 5-11 ready in September and planned to submit for an EUA shortly after. Previously, federal health regulators, including Fauci, have suggested that an FDA decision might come in November or later.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Saudi Arabia of today is far different from the Saudi Arabia of Sept. 11, 2001. Well over a third of the population of Saudi Arabia is under 14, born years after 9/11. But it was the shared effort of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the 1980s that may be reverberating loudest today. When judging Saudi Arabia, Dergham says, look at the wider strategic interests that have long underpinned US-Saudi relations. “Americans just think Saudi Arabia equals 9/11,” she said.

Conde, who had been in power since 2010, has been detained by the junta, the National Rally and Development Committee (CNRD), since it staged the coup last Sunday. The ECOWAS delegation also included Ghanaian Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway and Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Alpha Barry. Doumbouya and the other special forces soldiers behind Sunday’s coup said they had ousted Conde because of concerns about poverty and endemic corruption. “Given the changing security situation, it was decided that the team would be relocated to the US Embassy in Conakry. Guinean security forces provided an escort to Conakry to ensure the safe passage of the team,” the Department said.

(Reuters) - AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud has recovered from COVID-19, the Serie A club said on Friday, and the Frenchman could now be in line to feature against Liverpool in the Champions League. “AC Milan can confirm that Olivier Giroud has tested negative for COVID-19. The player will, tomorrow, undergo a medical screening as per Italian government protocols in order to return to sporting activities,” a club statement read. Milan face two important league games either side of the trip to Liverpool -- hosting Lazio on Sunday before travelling to Juventus the following weekend. France striker Giroud joined Milan from Chelsea in July after a nine-year spell in England with Arsenal and the Blues.

The agreement was reached during the ministerial meeting of the Arab Gas Pipeline countries (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Wednesday. The second phase of the joint pipeline was implemented on two stages; the first stage extended from Aqaba to the Rehab, Northern Jordan, with a length of 393 km. Meanwhile, the second stage of the second phase stretched from Rehab to the Jordanian-Syrian border with a length of 30 km and 36 inches in diameter. The Egyptian natural gas was exported to Lebanon through the Jordanian territories in 2009, but it stopped in 2011 after the January 25, 2011 uprising. Lebanon witnesses an energy crisis due to shortage of fuel reserves needed to generate electricity and the lack of funds to secure it.

Many clubs refused to release players to 'red list' countries but Spurs' Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Davinson Sanchez went on international duty and will miss Saturday's game at Crystal Palace due to quarantine protocols. "First it's confusing for everybody because we don't have too much news from the governing bodies on what we should do, what to expect in the next international break," Nuno told reporters on Friday. There are two more international breaks coming up this year in October and November. His problems were compounded when South Korea forward Son Heung-min picked up a calf injury, while Steven Bergwijn, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon face late fitness tests. "Sonny is not so well, but let's wait for the club to make the proper announcement and explain to you better what kind of injury he has," Nuno said.