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Pakistan has seen more than 200 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the country’s deadliest day since the pandemic began last year, official data shows, as authorities contemplate imposing new lockdown restrictions.

Aljazeera reports that at least 201 deaths were reported by the authorities on Wednesday, taking the country’s death toll to 17,530, according to data from the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), which is overseeing the government’s pandemic response.

There were 5,292 new cases of the coronavirus recorded, with active cases rising by 413 to 88,207, the data showed.

Pakistan has been grappling with a surge in COVID-19 cases since early March when daily case rises began to exceed 2,000 cases.

The country has been carrying less than the World Health Organization-recommended number of tests and recorded a test-positive rate of 10.77 percent on Tuesday, official data showed, with 49,101 tests conducted.

The country has also been seeing a higher number of daily deaths due to COVID-19 since February. In April, there have been at least 3,000 deaths, or 17 percent of all COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, according to official data.

This week, the government deployed military troops to 16 big cities where test-positive rates were high in a bid to increase enforcement of government restrictions on business timings and market opening, as well as social distancing and hygiene guidelines.Strict measures have been taken in cities where the test positivity rate is higher than elsewhere, and the government additionally announced widespread restrictions on travel and businesses during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in mid-May.

The government has also postponed scheduled examinations for secondary school students across the country until after June 15, after widespread anger from students and parents at an earlier decision to go ahead with the tests.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Faisal Sultan said the government was working to increase hospital capacity in places where it was needed.

“We are increasing the capacity of our healthcare system every day so that there are proper facilities available for this increasing number of COVID patients,” he said.

As of Tuesday, at least 570 COVID-19 patients were on ventilators across Pakistan, according to NCOC data. Doctors in the cities of Lahore and Islamabad told Al Jazeera that COVID wards were filling up, with little excess capacity.

On Wednesday, more than 70 percent of available ventilators were occupied in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city, Multan, Mardan and Gujranwala, according to NCOC data. In the central city of Gujranwala, the NCOC recorded occupancy of beds equipped with oxygen supply for patients at 98 percent.

Pakistan began its vaccination drive for citizens in February and has so far administered more than 2.1 million doses, according to Planning Minister Asad Umar.

The country has lagged behind others in the region on vaccine procurement and rollout, with a current vaccination rate of 0.95 doses per 100 citizens, according to official data

At least two people were killed and 27 injured in Chad on Tuesday as demonstrators took to the streets demanding a return to civilian rule after the military took control following President Idriss Deby’s death last week.

A woman died on Tuesday when anti-military protesters attacked a bus in N’Djamena, while a man was killed during demonstrations in the south of the country, prosecutors said.

“The demonstrators attacked a bus in the Dembe district, some passengers fled but a woman remained and was killed by the protesters,” N’Djamena prosecutor Youssouf Tom told AFP news agency.

Tuesday’s unrest underscores the tense atmosphere in Chad following Deby’s death with the military transition already struggling to win over a population exhausted by 30 years of monolithic rule.

The ruling military council seized power after Deby was killed as he visited troops fighting rebels on April 19.

A spokesman for the council said security forces were attempting to contain the protesters while limiting material damage.

Some opposition politicians have called the military takeover a coup and asked supporters to protest, even as the army appointed a civilian politician, Albert Pahimi Padacke, as prime minister of a transitional government on Monday.

The military council banned protests in a statement Monday, saying no demonstrations that could lead to disorder were allowed while the country was still in mourning.

The military council, headed by Deby’s son Mahamat Idriss Deby, who was declared president, has said it will oversee an 18-month transition to elections.

Police responded with tear gas as protesters burned tyres in several neighbourhoods of N’Djamena early on Tuesday.

A Reuters news agency witness said firefighters struggled to contain the blaze that was large enough to be seen from several neighbourhoods away.

“We do not want our country to become a monarchy,” said 34-year-old protester Mbaidiguim Marabel. “The military must return to the barracks to make way for a civil transition.”

Trucks loaded with soldiers were seen patrolling the streets around central N’Djamena.

“The police came, they fired tear gas, but we are not scared,” said Timothy Betouge, age 70.

The council is coming under international pressure to hand over power to civilians as soon as possible.

In a communique released last week (PDF), the African Union’s Peace and Security Council expressed “grave concern” about the military takeover.

It added it was “deeply concerned about the evolving situation in Chad and the potential threat to peace, security and stability”.

Meanwhile, France, the former colonial ruler, and some of Chad’s neighbours are pushing for a civilian-military solution.

Deby’s death came as Chad’s military battles a rebellion by a Libya-based group known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT). The rebels came as close as 200-300km (125-185 miles) to N’Djamena before being pushed back by the army.

Chad’s military council rejected an offer from the rebels for peace talks on Sunday, calling them “outlaws” who needed to be tracked down and arrested for their role in Deby’s death

The Nigerian Government is set to announce new travel restrictions following an upsurge in Coronavirus deaths in India, Brazil, and Turkey, as well as other hard-hit countries.
Recent developments in the three countries where the death toll keeps rising owing to the latest variants of Covid-19 may compel Nigeria to issue travel advisory on international flights coming from these countries in the next 48 to 72 hours. 
Although the country has recorded zero deaths in the past few dates, it has been observed that the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 is already expressing fears that the 3rd wave of the pandemic might hit the country anytime soon hence the need to maintain the non-pharmaceutical measures protocols.
The Head of the Secretary of Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, said this at Monday’s media briefing in Abuja.
According to Mohammed, “the fact that the number of cases in Nigeria is not rising, does not mean that we are immune or we are completely protected against COVID-19.”
He said: “While we continue to reopen the economy, we must also be aware of the happenings around the globe. Mr. Chairman and Honourable Minister of Health have made reference to specific incidences in India, Turkey, Brazil, and also South Africa. 
“These were taken with serious concern and we continue to monitor what is going on in these countries. We sympathize with the people of these countries because it is really a very trying time particularly for India, which is recording over 300,000 cases a day. And according to over 2000 deaths. 
“It is not easy. India is a prime destination for medical tourism for Nigeria. We know that many Nigerians like to travel to India, but now we see the situation that the country has found itself in. While we urge Nigerians to limit all travelers to only essential travel, particularly to these affected countries.
“We will continue to urge Nigerians to also comply with public health measures that are put in place to continue to ensure that we comply with the regulation. 
“We actually empathize with those countries and what is happening in those climes. However, on our part, we are looking seriously into this issue. We are looking at other considerations that we need to provide. 
“The health of Nigerians is of prime importance and whatever we need to do to protect Nigeria and to protect Nigerians from going into an escalation of this current situation, the PSC will do that as necessary. 
“We will be providing some travel advise  in the next 48, 72 hours with particular reference to both Nigerians and those coming into the country to help advise us.”

A patch of scorched grass and scattered rubble in Abbottabad, Pakistan, all that remained of the once place of Osama Bin Laden, the one time world’s most wanted man, serves as a playing ground for children in the area, reports AFP.

It was in this Pakistani city that Osama bin Laden was killed in the clandestine “Operation Geronimo” raid by US Navy Seals in the early hours of May 2, 2011.

The operation had global repercussions and dented Pakistan’s international reputation — exposing contradictions in a country that had long served as a rear base for Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies while suffering from the effects of terrorism.

Bin Laden had been living in seclusion for at least five years in Abbottabad, hidden behind the high walls of an imposing white building less than two kilometres from a renowned military academy.

“It was a very bad thing for this place and for the whole country,” said Altaf Hussain, a retired schoolteacher, walking down an alley alongside Bin Laden’s former residence.

“By living here, Osama gave this city a bad reputation.”

The raid caught Pakistan between a rock and a hard place.

Officials could deny knowing he was there — but in doing so they would effectively be admitting to a shocking intelligence failure.

They could also have admitted that the world’s most infamous fugitive was under their protection, but that would concede being powerless to prevent Washington from carrying out such a daring raid on sovereign soil.

They opted for the former, but the US operation reinforced an already strong anti-American sentiment among a population tired of the heavy financial and human toll paid for the war on terror — and Islamabad’s alliance with Washington after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Pakistan was initially receptive to the founding myth of Al Qaeda — the resistance of Muslims to American imperialism.

But at the time of his death, Bin Laden’s local popularity had waned.

“Before, I remember that people named their children Osama, even in my village,” said Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, a specialist in jihadist networks.

Bin Laden’s death did not stop extremism from spreading in Pakistan, and conservative religious movements became even more influential.

Over the next three years, several terror groups — foremost among them the Pakistani Taliban — carried out bloody attacks and established strongholds in northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

A military campaign launched in 2014 helped bring down the violence, although a recent series of minor attacks have raised fears that extremists are regrouping.

Without its charismatic leader, Al Qaeda “survived, but barely” and is no longer able to launch major attacks in the West, says Yusufzai.

The group is also no longer “a great threat to Pakistan”, believes Hamid Mir — the last journalist to interview Bin Laden face-to-face — although other groups such as the Islamic State remain so.

He said while the Al-Qaeda founder is still seen as a “freedom fighter” by some, many also acknowledge him as “a bad person who killed innocent people and caused destruction — not only in Pakistan but in many countries, in violation of the teachings of Islam”.

Bin Laden nonetheless retains an aura in radical circles.

“He is alive in the heart of every Taliban and every jihadist”, said Saad, an Afghan Taliban official living in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan caused a scandal two years ago by telling parliament that bin Laden had died a “martyr” — a noble demise in the Islamic world.

Even in Abbottabad, a prosperous and largely tolerant medium-sized city, there is ambiguity towards Bin Laden, whose house was razed in 2012 by authorities so that it would not become a memorial.

“In this street, there are differences of opinion,” says teenage former neighbour Numan Hattak.

“Some say he was good, others that he was bad.”

Chad’s ruling military council has said it would not negotiate with rebels who launched an offensive in the north of the poor Sahel country two weeks ago and are accused of killing President Idriss Deby.

 “The time is not for mediation, nor for negotiation with outlaws,” Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesman of the military council headed by the late strongman’s son Mahamat Idriss Deby, said on Sunday after the rebels said they were prepared to observe a ceasefire.

“They are rebels, which is why we are bombing them. We are waging war, that’s all,” Agouna said.

The military council claimed that Mahamat Mahadi Ali, the leader of the rebels known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), had fled into Niger and appealed to help from its neighbour to track him down.

“Chad calls for the cooperation and solidarity of Niger … to facilitate the capture and bringing to justice of these war criminals,” Agouna said.

The FACT rebels came over the northern border from Libya on April 11 calling for an end to Deby’s 30-year rule.

They came as close as 200-300km (125-185 miles) from the capital, N’Djamena, before being pushed back by the army.

Deby died after succumbing to wounds sustained while leading troops against the rebel offensive, just after he won an election.

His death shocked the Central African country, which has long been a Western and regional ally against armed groups they call “Islamist militants”.

The air force has since bombarded rebel positions, the military and rebels said. The military said on Saturday it had “annihilated” the rebels.

After Deby’s death, a military council headed by his son, Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power and said it would oversee an 18-month transition to elections.

Opposition politicians called this a coup and the rebels said they would not accept a “monarchy”.

“FACT is ready to observe a ceasefire for a political settlement that respects the independence and sovereignty of Chad and does not endorse a coup d’etat,” FACT spokesman Kingabe Ogouzeimi de Tapol told Reuters news agency.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from N’Djamena, said the move “seems to be a response to the call by the transitional military council for dialogue”.

“It seems that the announcement that the rebel group is ready to observe ceasefire is just a step forward, but not a complete announcement of the ceasefire and it remains to be seen how many other armed groups are ready to lay down their weapons and negotiate with the transitional military council,” she said.

The military council is under pressure to hand over power to a civilian transitional government as soon as possible.

The African Union has expressed “grave concern” about the military takeover, while France and regional powers are pushing for a civilian-military solution.

A move towards temporary civilian-military rule could offer Chad a way out of the crisis.

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is acting as mediators on behalf of the African Union. United Nations representatives are also holding talks with both sides.

A consensus is emerging among opposition politicians and civil society to support a transitional civilian president with a military vice president or prime minister, they told Reuters.

The proposal would mirror a transition in Mali, where a coup last August prompted international calls for the military to relinquish power.

A civilian president was appointed with a vice president from the military, although the Malian opposition is still concerned about the military’s hold on power.

“Most of us are in favour of cohabitation between the military, politicians and civil society,” said Mahamat Ahmat Alhabo, president of the opposition PLD party. “The Malian model … is very inspiring.”

Its spokesman, Azem Bermendao Agouna, said it was open to discussions, but added: “The army will solve all the major challenges and will organise free and transparent elections.”

One of the world’s best-known human rights groups said Tuesday that Israel is guilty of the international crimes of apartheid and persecution because of discriminatory policies toward Palestinians within its own borders and in the occupied territories.

In a sweeping, 213-page report, the New York-based Human Rights Watch joins a growing number of commentators and rights Group who view the conflict not primarily as a land dispute but as a single regime in which Palestinians — who make up roughly half the population of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza — are systematically denied basic rights granted to Jews.

AP reports that Israel adamantly rejects that characterization, saying its Arab minority enjoys full civil rights. It views Gaza, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005, as a hostile entity ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas, and it considers the West Bank to be disputed territory subject to peace negotiations — which collapsed more than a decade ago.

Human Rights Watch focused its report on the definitions of apartheid and persecution used by the International Criminal Court, which launched a probe ito possible Israeli war crime last month.

Citing public statements by Israeli policies, HRW argued that Israel has “demonstrated an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians” in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, coupled with “systematic oppression” and “inhumane acts.”

“When these three elements occur together, they amount to

Nigeria has reinforced its border security to avoid the potential influx of Chadians following the death of Chad’s leader Idriss Deby, the defence minister said on Thursday.

Deby was killed on Monday in a battle against rebels who had invaded from the north, plunging the country into turmoil.

“When we heard of the death of the Chadian president…the government took action immediately. We beefed up security on our borders with Chad, not to allow the influx of Chadian refugees into Nigeria,” Reuters quoted Bashir Salihi Magashi, a retired army major, as said

Only Nigerians from Chad would be allowed into the country, he told reporters in the capital Abuja.

It is battling with mass kidnapping and killings linked to a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the country that has displaced thousands of people in recent years.

“We are on top of the situation and we believe that African countries and international organizations will soon come together to find solutions to the problem in Chad as expected of them.”

Deby’s son has taken over as president and the armed forces commander and dissolved the government and parliament as rebel forces threaten to march on the capital.

African National Congress (ANC) MP Jacqui Mofokeng has died following the death of her daughter Thato Mofokeng, on Wednesday. The justice committee and the ruling party described this as a double blow to the family. Thato died on Wednesday and Mofokeng passed away on Thursday.

ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina and chairperson of the justice committee in the National Assembly Bulelani Magwanishe on Thursday paid tribute to Mofokeng. Magwanishe said this was a sad loss for the national legislature.

“This is a double blow for the family. We are deeply saddened by this loss,” said Magwanishe.

Majodina’s office also described the death of Mofokeng as a loss to the party.

 “The office of the chief whip has today, Thursday, April 22, 2021, learned with great shock and the sadness of the passing of ANC MP Jacqueline Motlagomang Mofokeng, affectionately known as Jacqui, following the death of her daughter Thato Mofokeng yesterday, Wednesday, April 21, 2021,” read the statement from Majodina’s office.

Mofokeng, according to a local media, had previously served in the Gauteng provincial legislature as an MPL, before she was deployed in the National Assembly.

“For the ANC Caucus, this is a great loss. She was a dedicated member who served with dignity, humility and commitment, to strengthen the security cluster for the safety and protection of the lives of South Africans. Comrade Mofokeng committed herself to the work assigned to her until her last day, she died with her boots on,” said the ANC chief whip.

Japan’s prime minister announced on Thursday an ambitious new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, hours before he was to join a virtual climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Japan will strive by 2030 to cut its emissions by 46% from 2013 levels, up from its earlier goal of 26%, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, a target he announced in October. He said Japan would further try to push the reduction as high as 50%.

“It will not be easy,” Suga said. “To achieve the target, we will firmly implement concrete measures, while aiming to create a positive cycle that links the economy and environment and achieve strong growth.”

Japan’s target of no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 brought it into line with the European Union, which last year set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by the same date. China in September pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060.

Japan, one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters, according to AFP, has been under pressure from environmental groups and European countries to do more than its earlier 26% reduction target. Britain has pledged a 78% reduction by 2035.

Japan initially was to release its new 2030 target in time for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in November in Britain, and Thursday’s announcement was apparently to show its commitment to taking an active role in the global effort as an important U.S. ally.

Experts say Japan is under pressure to play a greater role as part of a multilateral effort led by the United States in environment and climate issues, where China is also expanding its influence.

Suga, during a visit to Washington last week, agreed to cooperate in leading global efforts to reduce carbon emissions by promoting clean energy technologies and implementing the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Progress toward reducing reliance on fossil fuels in Japan has been hindered by the prolonged closures of most of its nuclear plants after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.

Japan’s current energy plan, set in 2018, calls for 22-24% of its energy to come from renewables, 20-22% from nuclear power and 56% from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

Energy experts are discussing revisions to the plan for 2030 and 2050. The 2050 emissions-free target would require drastic changes and likely prompt calls for more nuclear plant restarts.

About 40% of Japan’s carbon emissions come from power companies, and they must use more renewable sources of energy while stepping up the development of technologies using hydrogen, ammonia and other carbon-free resources, experts say.

Suga said he will maximize the use of renewables and other non-carbon power sources, provide support for local decarbonizing efforts and encourage investment.

At least 22 patients died on Wednesday in a hospital in western India after a disruption to their oxygen supply caused by a leaking tank, the health minister said, as a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases soaks up supplies of the crucial gas.

The incident in the city of Nashik, one of India’s worst-hit areas, happened after the tank of gas leaked, said Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra, the richest state, where the city is located.

“Patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik have died,” Tope said in televised remarks.

“The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital.”

The world’s second most populous nation reported 295,041 new infections on Wednesday for the world’s highest daily rise, stretching its hospitals to breaking point, officials said.

Only the United States had a slightly higher one-day rise of 297,430 cases in January, though its tally has since fallen sharply. India’s 2,023 deaths were also its highest in the pandemic.

On Tuesday, hospitals in Delhi, the capital, said they had enough oxygen left for just another eight to 24 hours, while some private institutions had enough for only four or five.

The situation was so severe that some people had tried to loot an oxygen tanker, forcing authorities to beef up security, said the health minister of the neighbouring state of Haryana.

“From now, I’ve ordered police protection for all tankers,” Anil Vij told Reuters partner ANI.

Television showed images of people with empty oxygen cylinders crowding refilling facilities as they scrambled to save stricken relatives in hospital.

“We were completely blocked out of supplies yesterday but by the end of the day we received some and it is helping us today,” said Charu Sachdeva, an official at the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre in the capital.

In the northern city of Lucknow, one man said a hospital had asked him to arrange oxygen supplies for his uncle or take him away since it had run out.

Delhi, a city of 20 million people, recorded 28,395 new cases and 277 deaths on Tuesday, its highest tally since the pandemic began. Every third person tested for coronavirus proved positive.

About 80 of 142 hospitals in Delhi had no beds left for virus patients, government figures showed.

New Delhi businessman Saurabh Mittal said he called a hospital shown in a government database to have beds free, only to be told they were full up and could not take anyone.

“I told them there is online availability but they said the real-time data showed no beds,” said Mittal, who had been trying to arrange treatment for a virus sufferer.

India faces a coronavirus “storm” overwhelming its health system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address overnight, adding that authorities were working with states and private firms to deliver oxygen with “speed and sensitivity”.

Delhi, like large parts of India, let its guard down when the virus seemed to be under control, allowing big gatherings such as weddings and festivals as daily infections fell to fewer than 1,000 during the winter, health experts said.