The United States on Monday welcomed the Taliban’s declaration of a nationwide cease-fire in Afghanistan over this week’s Eid-al-Fitr festival, reiterating Washington’s call for the Islamist insurgency and Afghan leaders to negotiate an end to the “senseless violence.”Addressing a routine news conference, State Department spokesman Ned Price also denounced Saturday’s bombing of a girls’ school in the Afghan capital, Kabul.“The circumstances of the bombing over the weekend, they are not yet crystal clear. … There are some indications that this may have been attributable to ISIS and not the Taliban,” Price said using an acronym for Islamic State.“We’re still looking into what or who is responsible, but I would note that ISIS has been responsible for similar attacks on Shia communities in Kabul in the past,” he said.FILE – Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani speaks at the Parliament in Kabul, Oct. 21, 2020.On Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered his national security forces to observe a cease-fire during the three-day Eid festival, which marks the end of Ramadan this week.The move came a day after the Taliban announced that its leadership has directed insurgent fighters “to halt all offensive operations against the enemy” to enable Afghans to peacefully celebrate Eid.“We call on the Taliban and Afghan leaders to engage seriously in the ongoing peace process to ensure the Afghan people enjoy a future free of terrorism and of senseless violence,” Price told reporters in Washington.Afghanistan has experienced a spike in fighting in recent weeks, and observers see the temporary truce as a big relief for war-weary Afghans.The Taliban have previously halted their hostilities during the Eid holiday but ignored calls for extending the truce and resumed fighting immediately after the three-day festivities.The withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign troops is an outcome of a peace-building agreement Washington signed with the Taliban in February 2020 to close 20 years of the Afghan war, America’s longest.However, the ensuing U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at encouraging the Taliban and the Afghan government to negotiate a power-sharing deal that would permanently end the country’s long war have not succeeded.The so-called intra-Afghan negotiations have been deadlocked for months. U.S. officials hope to accelerate the stalled peace process after the Eid festival.But the Taliban have ruled out progress in the talks until Washington meets the group’s remaining demands in line with the U.S.-Taliban deal. Those demands include the release of around 7,000 Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails and the removal of United Nations and U.S. sanctions on top insurgent leaders.Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani meets with Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2021.Meanwhile, neighboring Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, on Monday visited Kabul to reaffirm his country’s support for the Afghan peace process in a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Britain’s chief of defense staff also attended the meeting.Islamabad has long been accused of harboring Taliban leaders, but in recent years, Washington and other Western powers have hailed Pakistan’s efforts in bringing the insurgents to the negotiating table with U.S. interlocutors and rival Afghan groups.Bajwa “reiterated that a peaceful Afghanistan means a peaceful region in general and a peaceful Pakistan in particular,” a post-meeting Pakistani military statement said. “We will always support (an) ‘Afghan-led, Afghan-owned’ peace process based on mutual consensus of all stakeholders,” he said.
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In Afghanistan’s capital Monday relatives mourned the more than 60 people killed in Saturday’s bomb attack on a girl’s school in the western part of the city.  Lima Niazi Reports from Kabul where mourners said they want an end to the violence. 
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The World Health Organization said Monday that a variant of the coronavirus circulating in India is of global concern.
 
“We classify it as a variant of concern at a global level,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told a briefing. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.”
 
India’s daily COVID statistics are down slightly but remain high. The health ministry said Monday there were 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths caused by the coronavirus in the previous 24-hour period. Public health experts say they believe the new cases and deaths are undercounted.WHO Says Global COVID-19 Cases Plateauing, Declining in Many AreasBut director-general says many areas still facing rising cases; cites vaccine inequities 
India has 22.6 million COVID cases so far, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Only the U.S. has more infections, accounting for 32.7 million of the world’s 158.3 million COVID cases, the center reported.  
 
There is growing concern in India about a fungal infection affecting COVID patients and people who have recovered from the disease. Mucormycosis is caused by mold and can affect a person’s facial structure and in some cases cause blindness. COVID patients with diabetes are particularly susceptible to mucormycosis, medical experts said.
 
Nepal, struggling to combat an outbreak of the pandemic, is running short of oxygen and oxygen tanks. The Himalayan country has asked Mount Everest climbers and guides not to abandon their oxygen cylinders on the mountain and instead bring them back down so that medical facilities can fill them to give to COVID patients.  
 
Kul Bahadur Gurung, a senior official with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told Reuters, “We appeal to climbers and Sherpas [Himalayan people living around Nepal and Tibet, well known for climbing mountains] to bring back their empty bottles wherever possible as they can be refilled and used for the treatment of the coronavirus patients who are in dire needs.”  
 
A Nepal health ministry official said the country needs 25,000 oxygen tanks immediately, speaking to Reuters.
 EU summit, U.S. criticism
 
On the second day of a summit in Portugal on Saturday, the European Union approved a contract extension with Pfizer-BioNTech to provide up to 1.8 billion additional doses of its vaccine through 2023.
 
Pfizer has already provided the EU with 600 million doses, as required in the initial contract.
 
Also at the summit, the U.S. faced mounting criticism from EU leaders over President Joe Biden’s surprise endorsement last week of lifting COVID-19 vaccine patents to make more doses available to poorer countries.
 
“We don’t think, in the short term, that it’s the magic bullet,” said EU Council President Charles Michel.
 
Michel and other EU leaders said the U.S. should, instead, start boosting vaccine exports to have maximum impact on the global pandemic.
 
“I’m very clearly urging the U.S. to put an end to the ban on exports of vaccines and on components of vaccines that are preventing them being produced,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
 
The U.S., like Britain, has limited exports of domestically developed vaccines so it can inoculate its population first. The EU has become the world’s leading vaccine provider, distributing about 200 million doses to the 27-nation bloc and roughly an equal number to nearly 90 countries around the world.
 
Pope Francis said that he supports the temporary suspension of vaccine patents, according to news reports. He added that market forces, as they relate to vaccines, must not predominate.
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Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli lost a confidence vote in parliament Monday, ending his attempt to show he has enough support in office. According to parliament speaker Agni Sapkota, out of 232 lawmakers present, Oli received support from only 93 lawmakers, while 124 voted against him. A new rival faction within his governing party voted to abstain. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari is expected to ask Oli to lead a caretaker government while parties in parliament form a new government. Oli wanted a vote of confidence Monday in an attempt to show he had enough support to stay in power.Oli’s moderate communist party split from former Maoist rebels in March following differences over their power-sharing deal, erasing their governing majority. The head of the main Maoist group, who goes by his nom de guerre of Prachanda, has accused Oli of sidelining party leaders, ignoring collective decision-making, and undermining the role of parliament. “He has created instability and is behind the crisis the country is facing now,” Prachanda said.  “He does not have the confidence of parliament any more.”Oli has been criticized by opponents and on social media for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic and asking citizens to “wash the virus down” their throats by drinking a mixture of hot water, guava leaves, and turmeric powder.  A patient receives oxygen as he waits outside the passage of a hospital due to a lack of free beds inside the hospital for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, as the second major coronavirus wave surges in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 10, 2021.Oli’s loss comes at a time when the country is battling a serious surge in infections.   On Monday, the country reported a new 24-hour tally of 9,127 infection. The total now stands at 403,794, with 3,859 deaths, according to government data.
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China says it will create a “line of separation” atop Mount Everest to keep climbers from Nepal from possibly spreading COVID-19 among climbers climbing from Chinese-controlled Tibet.21 Chinese climbers will scale the world’s highest peak sometime this year to establish the dividing line, according to State-run Xinhua News Agency. However, it is unclear how the climbers will mark the line, especially at the peak, which is a small, narrow area where only a handful of climbers can spend just a few minutes at a time to enjoy the view, the report said.Mount Everest straddles the border between China and Nepal, with the mountain’s north slope on the Chinese side and the south slope on the Nepalese side. While Beijing has banned foreign climbers since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Nepalese government has begun issuing climbing permits in an effort to revitalize tourism revenue.But Nepal is currently mired in a surge of new coronavirus infections and deaths in recent weeks, mirroring the catastrophic deadly wave in neighboring India. According to the latest government data, Nepal reported 8,777 COVID cases Sunday, 30 times higher than numbers recorded in April Reuters reported. The country has so far reported a total caseload of 394,667 cases and 3,720 deaths.
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India’s daily COVID statistics are down slightly but remain high. The health ministry said Monday there were 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths caused by the coronavirus in the previous 24-hour period. Public health experts say they believe the new cases and deaths are undercounted. India has 22.6 million COVID cases so far, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Only the U.S. has more infections, accounting for 32.7 million of the world’s 158.3 million COVID cases, the center reported.The highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India is reported to have been detected in Bangladesh, France, Thailand, U.K. and the U.S. state of Connecticut.There is growing concern in India about a fungal infection affecting COVID patients and people who have recovered from the disease. Mucormycosis is caused by mold and can affect a person’s facial structure and in some cases cause blindness. COVID patients with diabetes are particularly susceptible to mucormycosis, medical experts said. Nepal, struggling to combat an outbreak of the pandemic, is running short of oxygen and oxygen tanks. The Himalayan country has asked Mount Everest climbers and guides not to abandon their oxygen cylinders on the mountain and instead bring them back down so that medical facilities can fill them to give to COVID patients.  Kul Bahadur Gurung, a senior official with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told Reuters, “We appeal to climbers and Sherpas [Himalayan people living around Nepal and Tibet and well known for climbing mountains] to bring back their empty bottles wherever possible as they can be refilled and used for the treatment of the coronavirus patients who are in dire needs.”Nepalese paramedics treat a COVID-19 patient outside an emergency ward of a government run hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 7, 2021.A Nepal health ministry official said the country needs 25,000 oxygen tanks immediately, speaking to Reuters. EU summit, US criticism On the second day of a summit in Portugal on Saturday, the European Union approved a contract extension with Pfizer-BioNTech to provide up to 1.8 billion additional doses of its vaccine through 2023. Pfizer has already provided the EU with 600 million doses, as required in the initial contract. Also at the summit, the U.S. faced mounting criticism from EU leaders over President Joe Biden’s surprise endorsement last week of lifting COVID-19 vaccine patents to make more doses available to poorer countries. “We don’t think, in the short term, that it’s the magic bullet,” said EU Council President Charles Michel. Michel and other EU leaders said the U.S. should, instead, start boosting vaccine exports to have maximum impact on the global pandemic. “I’m very clearly urging the U.S. to put an end to the ban on exports of vaccines and on components of vaccines that are preventing them being produced,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. The U.S., like Britain, has limited exports of domestically developed vaccines so it can inoculate its population first. The EU has become the world’s leading vaccine provider, distributing about 200 million doses to the 27-nation bloc and roughly an equal number to nearly 90 countries around the world. Pope Francis said that he supports the temporary suspension of vaccine patents, according to news reports. He added that market forces, as they relate to vaccines, must not predominate. 
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The Taliban have announced a nationwide cease-fire in Afghanistan that will take effect when the three-day annual Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr begins Thursday, marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.  
 
The announcement follows a spike in attacks by the Islamist insurgent group against government forces across many Afghan provinces. It also comes a day after multiple blasts outside a girls school in Kabul killed more than 60 people, mostly students. 
 
The Taliban said Sunday its leadership has instructed all insurgent fighters “to halt all offensive operations against the enemy” across the country to enable Afghans to celebrate the festivities in a “peaceful and secure atmosphere.”  
 
Insurgent fighters have been instructed to break the cease-fire only for self-defense and not to visit enemy areas or host Afghan security forces during the three-day Eid celebrations.  
 
The Taliban have previously declared nationwide Eid cease-fires but resumed fighting immediately after the festivities.  
 
There was no immediate reaction from the Afghan government, but it was expected to reciprocate as it has in the past.  
 A U.S. flag is lowered as American and Afghan soldiers attend a handover ceremony from the U.S. Army to the Afghan National Army, at Camp Anthonic, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, May 2, 2021.Troop exit praised  
 
In a separate statement issued hours earlier in connection with the Eid holidays, Taliban chief Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada praised the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan. 
 
“We consider the withdrawal of forces by America and other foreign countries a good step and strongly urge that all parts of the Doha agreement be implemented,” Akhundzada said. 
 
He was referring to the February 2020 landmark peace-building pact the United States negotiated with the insurgents in Qatar’s capital, Doha, to pull all U.S. and coalition troops from the country to close America’s longest war, now in its 20th year. 
 
“Unfortunately, the American side has so far violated the signed agreement repeatedly and caused enormous human and material loss to civilians,” Akhundzada alleged.  
 
The insurgent leader again urged the U.S. to deliver on its pledges and secure the release of an estimated 7,000 Taliban prisoners who remain in Afghan jails. He also demanded the removal of United Nations and U.S. sanctions on Taliban members in line with the deal.  
 
The foreign military drawdown was supposed to be concluded by May 1, but U.S. President Joe Biden missed the deadline, citing logistical reasons and announcing last month that all U.S. troops would be out by September 11. That would be the 20th anniversary of the terrorist strikes against the U.S. 
 
The Taliban denounced the delay and threatened to break their cease-fire with international forces that has been in place since the signing of the deal. U.S. commanders say the troop drawdown has been under way smoothly.  
 
Washington also has alleged that the insurgent group has not lived up to its commitment to ease violence and engage in a “genuine peace process” with Afghan rivals. 
 
The Taliban have intensified battlefield attacks since the foreign troop withdrawal started, inflicting heavy casualties on Afghan government forces and capturing new territory. 
 
The Afghan army chief said Saturday that his forces had “killed and injured 1,000″ Taliban fighters in the past week. 
 
Afghan adversaries often issue inflated casualty tolls for the other side, which are impossible to verify from independent sources. 
 
U.S. officials have blamed the Taliban for the latest rise in violence and called on all warring parties to reduce hostilities and resume stalled peace talks, known as intra-Afghan negotiations. 
 
The peace process, which stemmed from the U.S.-Taliban deal, started in Doha last September but has mostly been deadlocked, with the Afghan rivals accusing each other of delaying and trying to subvert the dialogue. 
 
“We prioritize negotiations and understanding. … However, the Kabul administration has repeatedly tried to sabotage the ongoing political process through various means and continues to engage in such activity,” Akhundzada said Sunday. 
 
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected the accusations while responding to the statement by the Taliban chief. 
 
“If the Taliban are sincere in what they say, then they must stop killing Afghan civilians and return to the negotiation table to discuss peace,” Mohammad Ameri told VOA. 
 Afghan men prepare victims’ coffins for a mass funeral ceremony after yesterday’s explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 9, 2021.Bombing death toll soars 
 
Meanwhile, officials and victims’ families told media that the death toll had risen to at least 63 from Saturday’s multiple blasts outside a girls school in Kabul’s western Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, mostly populated by ethnic Hazara Shiite Muslims. 
 
More than 150 people sustained injuries, some critically wounded. 
 
The victims were mostly schoolgirls leaving for home after finishing classes. 
 
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said attackers detonated a car bomb and two improvised explosive devices during the evening rush hour. 
 
No one has taken responsibility for the carnage in Dasht-e-Barchi, which has experienced such incidents before, claimed by Islamic State. 
 
Afghan officials accused the Taliban of plotting the attack on the girls school. It was one of the deadliest in Kabul in recent months. The insurgent group denied involvement, saying it condemns any violence against Afghan civilians. 
 
In a video message released Sunday, Ghani again pointed a finger at the Taliban, saying the insurgents “should know that they will not achieve their evil goals through war.” He said the Taliban “will be crushed” by Afghan security forces. 
 
The president declared Tuesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the Kabul attack and other recent bombings against civilians. 
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MALE, Maldives — Maldives police said Sunday they arrested a person believed to be the prime suspect in an explosion that critically wounded the country’s former president and which was blamed on Muslim extremists. Police said they now have three of four suspects in custody. Thursday’s blast targeted Mohamed Nasheed, currently the speaker of parliament, who is recovering in a hospital after multiple surgeries.  Nasheed has been an outspoken critic of religious extremism in the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, where preaching and practicing other faiths are banned by law. He has been criticized by religious hard-liners for his closeness to the West and liberal policies. Nasheed, 53, remains in the hospital after initial life-saving surgeries to his head, chest, abdomen and limbs. A relative tweeted early Sunday that Nasheed had been able to have long conversations with some family members. Police said they believe the 25-year-old suspect is the same person whose pictures were released Saturday to seek public assistance identifying him. He was caught after a tip from the public. The fourth suspect remains at large.  Police released security camera footage Sunday which they said showed the suspect pacing at the entrance of a small restaurant, then walking out to a road and apparently detonating the bomb that targeted Nasheed. Three men who were leaving the restaurant are then seen running back inside in fear. A map with the suspect’s alleged escape route was also released to the press, with police cameras capturing the suspect running and walking through different roads in the capital island, Male. Police said he went inside a mosque briefly, then met up with an accomplice near a public park. Police forces raided his home on the Hulhumale island near the capital earlier Sunday and arrested him. Officials blamed Islamic extremists for the attack, although investigators still don’t know which group was responsible. Two of Nasheed’s bodyguards and two apparent bystanders, including a British citizen, were also wounded by what police say was a homemade explosive device containing ball bearings attached to a motorbike parked near the ex-president’s car. Shrapnel from the blast damaged Nasheed’s intestines and liver, and a piece of shrapnel broke his rib, coming less than a centimeter (0.4 inches) from his heart, hospital officials said. Officers from the Australian Federal Police were assisting with the investigation, following a request from the Maldives. A British investigator was also set to arrive in the Indian Ocean archipelago on Sunday. Nasheed was the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, serving from 2008 to 2012, when he resigned amid protests. He was defeated in the subsequent presidential election and was ineligible for the 2018 race due to a prison sentence, but has remained an influential political figure. He has championed global efforts to fight climate change, particularly warning that rising seas caused by global warming threaten the archipelago nation’s low-lying islands. The Maldives is known for its luxury resorts but has experienced occasional violent attacks. In 2007, a blast in a park in the capital wounded 12 foreign tourists and was also blamed on religious extremists. The Maldives has one of the highest per capita numbers of militants who fought in Syria and Iraq alongside the Islamic State group. Authorities announced in January that eight people arrested in November were found to have been planning to attack a school and were in the process of building bombs in a boat at sea. Police said the suspects conducted military training on uninhabited islands and recruited children.
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The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency Sunday praised the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country, as officials in Kabul raised the death toll to more than 60 from the previous day’s multiple blasts outside a girls’ school in the capital. 
 
“We consider the withdrawal of forces by America and other foreign countries a good step and strongly urge that all parts of the Doha agreement be implemented,” said Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.  FILE – In this undated photo taken at an unknown location, the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, poses for a portrait.The Taliban chief was referring to the February 2020 landmark peace-building pact the United States negotiated with the insurgents in Qatar’s capital, Doha, to pull all U.S. and coalition troops from the country to close America’s longest war, now in its 20th year. 
 
“Unfortunately, the American side has so far violated the signed agreement repeatedly and caused enormous human and material loss to civilians,” Akhundzada alleged in a statement he issued in connection with the annual Muslim festival of Eid starting this week. 
 
The foreign military drawdown was supposed to be concluded by May 1 in line with the deal, but U.S. President Joe Biden missed the deadline, citing logistical reasons and announcing last month that all U.S. troops would be out by September 11. That would be the 20th anniversary of the terrorist strikes against the U.S.  
 
The Taliban denounced the delay and threatened to break their cease-fire with international forces that has been in place since the signing of the deal. U.S. commanders say the troop drawdown has been under way smoothly. Washington also alleges the insurgent group has not lived up to its commitment to ease violence and engage in a “genuine peace process” with Afghan rivals.  
 
The Taliban have intensified battlefield attacks since the foreign troop withdrawal started, inflicting heavy casualties on Afghan government forces and capturing new territory.  
 
The Afghan army chief said on Saturday his forces had also “killed and injured 1,000″ Taliban fighters in the past week.  
 
Afghan adversaries often issue inflated casualty tolls for the other side, which are impossible to verify from independent sources.  
 
U.S. officials have blamed the Taliban for the latest rise in violence and called on all warring parties to reduce hostilities and resume stalled peace talks, known as intra-Afghan negotiations. 
 
The peace process, which stemmed from the U.S.-Taliban deal, started in Doha last September, has mostly been deadlocked, with both Afghan rivals accusing the other of delaying and trying to subvert the dialogue.  
 
“We prioritize negotiations and understanding… However, the Kabul administration has repeatedly tried to sabotage the ongoing political process through various means and continues to engage in such activity,” Akhundzada said Sunday. 
 
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected the accusations while responding to the statement by the Taliban chief. 
 
“If the Taliban are sincere in what they say, then they must stop killing Afghan civilians and return to the negotiation table to discuss peace,” Mohammad Ameri told VOA.   A young man try to identify dead bodies at a hospital after a bomb explosion near a school west of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 8, 2021.Meanwhile, officials and victims’ families told media that the death toll had risen to at least 63 from Saturday’s multiple blasts outside a girls’ school in Kabul’s western Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, mostly populated by ethnic Hazara Shi’ite Muslims. 
 
More than 150 people had sustained injuries and doctors were said to be struggling to save the lives of some of those critically wounded. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 4 MB480p | 5 MB540p | 8 MB720p | 16 MB1080p | 32 MBOriginal | 33 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio 
The victims were mostly schoolgirls leaving for home after finishing classes. 
 
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said attackers detonated a car bomb and two improvised explosive devices during the evening rush hour.  
 
No one has taken responsibility for the carnage in Dasht-e-Barchi, which has previously experienced such incidents. Past attacks were claimed by Islamic State. 
 
Afghan officials accused the Taliban of plotting the attack on the girls’ school. It was one of the deadliest in Kabul in recent months. The insurgent group denied involvement, saying it condemns any violence against Afghan civilians.   
 
In a video message released Sunday, Ghani against pointed a finger at the Taliban, saying the insurgents “should know that they will not achieve their evil goals through war.” He said the Taliban “will be crushed” by Afghan security forces.   
 
The president declared Tuesday as a national day of mourning for the victims of the Kabul attack and other recent bombings against civilians.  
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The death toll from a powerful bomb blast near a girls’ school in the Afghan capital Kabul has risen to more than 60, with more than 100 others injured.  The Saturday evening bombing occurred in the city’s Shi’ite Muslim majority neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi.  Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said mostly young students were among the victims.  Witnesses said the carnage outraged area residents, who even attacked the ambulances, hampering rescue efforts because they were so upset with the government for failing to provide better security. It was not immediately known whether the blast was caused by a planted device or a suicide bomber. A young man try to identify dead bodies at a hospital after a bomb explosion near a school west of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 8, 2021.No one immediately took responsibility for the deadly attack. A spokesman for the Taliban insurgent group denied involvement, saying they condemn any attacks against Afghan civilians. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called the horrific attack according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. He said, “Those responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable.” 
 
The United Nations office in Kabul condemned the attack as an “atrocity” and expressed its “deep revulsion” at it. The UN family in #Afghanistan expresses its deep revulsion at today’s blasts in Dasht-I-Barchi #Kabul. An atrocity. Many civilians killed & injured. Our heartfelt condolences are with the victim’s families & we wish a speedy recovery to those hurt.— UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) May 8, 2021The acting U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Ross Wilson, denounced as “abhorrent” Saturday’s terrorist attack. 
 
“With scores murdered, this unforgivable attack on children is as assault on Afghanistan’s future, which cannot stand. My deepest condolences to the students & families who have suffered,” Wilson tweeted. This terrorist attack on a Kabul girls’ school is abhorrent. With scores murdered, this unforgivable attack on children is as assault on Afghanistan’s future, which cannot stand. My deepest condolences to the students & families who have suffered.— Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson (@USAmbKabul) May 8, 2021The area in Kabul where Saturday’s bombing occurred has suffered deadly attacks previously, and most of them were claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group. 
 
Last year, gunmen assaulted the maternity ward of the main hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least 24 women, children and babies.  
 
“An attack near a school in a Shia area of Kabul. Kids among the dead. This is beyond evil,” tweeted Michael Kugelman, deputy Asia program director at Washington’s Wilson Center research group. 
 
“Targeting suggests ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] was behind it, though if so, it may not claim responsibility as that increases the likelihood that its Taliban rival will be blamed,” Kugelman said, using an acronym for Islamic State. 
 
“Incompetence at Afghan intelligence services: couldn’t they predict this when a hospital, schools and wedding halls have already been targeted in Barchi?” asked Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan government adviser and analyst. 
 
The violence comes a week after the remaining U.S. and NATO troops began exiting Afghanistan, with a mission to complete the drawdown by September 11.  
 
The foreign troop withdrawal also has seen a spike in fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents. Fern Robinson contributed to this report. 
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Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centers recorded 157.7 million global COVID-19 cases early Sunday, with 3.3 million deaths.  India reported Sunday that it had counted more than 403,000 new infections and more than 4,000 deaths in the previous 24 hours.  Experts say the tolls are likely undercounted.   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not imposed a nationwide lockdown to help stop the spread of the coronavirus despite calls from politicians and public health officials. Some local governments have imposed lockdowns for their jurisdictions. More Contagious Variant Abets India’s COVID-19 Surge, WHO SaysIndia sets record for deaths in one day as more states impose more stringent lockdown measures New Delhi has announced that it is extending its lockdown that began April 20 to May 17.  The Indian capital also announced that Metro service will be suspended, starting Monday. The southern state of Tamil Nadu said it would shift from a partial to full lockdown after neighboring Karnataka state extended its full lockdown Friday. In an interview Saturday with AFP, Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, warned that “the epidemiological features that we see in India today do indicate that it’s an extremely rapidly spreading variant.” Swaminathan said the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, was clearly a contributing factor to the catastrophe in India, her homeland.  “There have been many accelerators that are fed into this,” the 62-year-old pediatrician and clinical scientist said, stressing that “a more rapidly spreading virus is one of them.” She added, however, that large gatherings and a lapse in mask-wearing also played a role. The B.1.617 variant was first discovered in India last October. The U.S. and Britain consider it a “variant of concern,” which indicates it is more dangerous than the original virus. In addition to the number of cases and deaths, Swaminathan said another danger is the increasing likelihood of variants that could outwit vaccines. “Variants which accumulate a lot of mutations may ultimately become resistant to the current vaccines that we have,” she said. EU Calls on US, Others to Export Their COVID-19 Vaccines EC head Ursula von der Leyen says discussions about waiving intellectual property rights won’t produce a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the near termEU summit, US criticism On the second day of a European Union Summit in Portugal on Saturday, the EU approved a contract extension with Pfizer-BioNTech to provide up to 1.8 billion additional doses of its vaccine through 2023. Pfizer-BioNTech has already provided the EU with 600 million doses, as required in the initial contract. Also at the EU summit, the U.S. faced mounting criticism from EU leaders over U.S. President Joe Biden’s surprise endorsement earlier this week of lifting COVID-19 vaccine patents to make more doses available to poorer countries. “We don’t think, in the short term, that it’s the magic bullet,” said EU Council President Charles Michel. Michel and other EU leaders said the U.S. should, instead, start boosting U.S. vaccine exports to have maximum impact on the global pandemic. “I’m very clearly urging the U.S. to put an end to the ban on exports of vaccines and on components of vaccines that are preventing them being produced,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. The U.S., like Britain, has limited exports of domestically developed vaccines so it can vaccinate its population first. The EU has become the world’s leading vaccine provider, distributing about 200 million doses to the 27-nation bloc and roughly an equal number to nearly 90 countries around the world. Pope Francis said that he supports the temporary suspension of vaccine patents, according to news reports. He added that market forces, as it relates to the vaccines, must not predominate. WHO Approves Chinese COVID Vaccine for Emergency Use Worldwide Vaccine was developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine The World Health Organization Friday approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China for emergency use worldwide. The vaccine, from China’s state-owned drugmaker, Sinopharm, is the first vaccine manufactured by a non-Western country to be endorsed by WHO. WHO’s decision allows the Sinopharm vaccine to be included in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, an initiative to distribute vaccines to mainly low-income countries. North American numbers In Washington, the White House COVID-19 Response Team said Friday its focus is on meeting President Biden’s new goal of fully vaccinating 160 million Americans by July 4, as infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of Saturday, 151,315,505 people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 112,626,771 have been fully vaccinated. At the team’s briefing, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that to help meet Biden’s goal, the government will make walk-up, no-appointment shots available at 20,000 pharmacies around the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also be shipping vaccines from high-volume vaccination centers around the country to smaller community-based sites, where they are more in demand.
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A powerful bomb blast Saturday near a girls’ school in Kabul, Afghanistan, has killed at least 30 people and injured more than 50 others.
 
The evening bombing occurred in the city’s Shi’ite Muslim majority neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi.  
 
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said mostly young students were among the victims. He feared the death toll could increase. Arian said that at least 52 injured people had been transported to local hospitals.
 
Witnesses said the carnage outraged area residents, who even attacked the ambulances, hampering rescue efforts because they were so upset with the government for failing to provide better security.  
 
It was not immediately known whether the blast was caused by a planted device or a suicide bomber.  
 
No one immediately took responsibility for the deadly attack. A spokesman for the Taliban insurgent group denied involvement, saying they condemn any attacks against Afghan civilians.
 
The United Nations office in Kabul condemned the attack as an “atrocity” and expressed its “deep revulsion at it.The UN family in #Afghanistan expresses its deep revulsion at today’s blasts in Dasht-I-Barchi #Kabul. An atrocity. Many civilians killed & injured. Our heartfelt condolences are with the victim’s families & we wish a speedy recovery to those hurt.— UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) May 8, 2021Acting U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Ross Wilson, denounced as “abhorrent” Saturday’s terrorist attack.
 
“With scores murdered, this unforgivable attack on children is as assault on Afghanistan’s future, which cannot stand. My deepest condolences to the students & families who have suffered,” Wilson tweeted.This terrorist attack on a Kabul girls’ school is abhorrent. With scores murdered, this unforgivable attack on children is as assault on Afghanistan’s future, which cannot stand. My deepest condolences to the students & families who have suffered.— Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson (@USAmbKabul) May 8, 2021The area in Kabul where Saturday’s bombing occurred has suffered deadly attacks previously, and most of them were claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group.
 
Last year, gunmen assaulted the maternity ward of the main hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least 24 women, children and babies.  
 
“An attack near a school in a Shia area of Kabul. Kids among the dead. This is beyond evil,” tweeted Michael Kugelman, deputy Asia program director at Washington’s Wilson Center research group.
 
“Targeting suggests ISIS was behind it, though if so, it may not claim responsibility as that increases the likelihood that its Taliban rival will be blamed,” Kugelman said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
 
“Incompetence at Afghan intelligence services: couldn’t they predict this when a hospital, schools and wedding halls have already been targeted in Barchi?” asked Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan government adviser and analyst.
 
The violence comes a week after the remaining U.S. and NATO troops began exiting Afghanistan, with a mission to complete the drawdown by September 11.  
 
The foreign troop withdrawal also has seen a spike in fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents. 
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India’s health ministry Saturday reported more than 401,000 new COVID infections and nearly 4,200 deaths in the previous 24-hour period. Public health experts believe the staggering statistics in India are likely higher and the surge of cases may not reach its peak until the end of May. India’s main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter Friday to implement a national lockdown, accelerate the vaccination campaign and increase tracking of the virus and its mutations. “Allowing the uncontrollable spread of the virus in our country will be devastating not only for our people but also for the rest of the world,” Gandhi said. Britain has declared a COVID variant from India as a “variant of concern.” Pope Francis said that he supports the temporary suspension of vaccine patents, according to news reports. He added that market forces, as it relates to the vaccines, must not predominate.  WHO Approves Chinese COVID Vaccine for Emergency Use Worldwide Vaccine was developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm The World Health Organization Friday approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China for emergency use worldwide. The vaccine, from China’s state-owned drugmaker, Sinopharm, is the first vaccine manufactured by a non-Western country to be endorsed by WHO. Friday’s move was also the first time the global public health group granted emergency approval to a Chinese vaccine for an infectious disease.  The Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has already been administered to hundreds of millions of people in China and in other parts of the world, along with a second Chinese vaccine. WHO’s decision allows the Sinopharm vaccine to be included in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, an initiative to distribute vaccines to mainly low-income countries. WHO has said it could decide on China’s second main vaccine, made by Sinovac Biotech, as early as next week. In Washington, the White House COVID-19 Response Team said Friday its focus is on meeting U.S. President Joe Biden’s new goal of fully vaccinating 160 million Americans by July 4, as infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline.  White House COVID Team Focuses on VaccinationsGovernment response focused on July 4 goal of 70% of Americans receiving at least one shot At the team’s briefing, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that by the end of the day, 110 million Americans would have been fully vaccinated and 150 million Americans, or 57%, would have had at least one shot.     Zients said that to help meet Biden’s goal, the government will make walk-up, no-appointment shots available at 20,000 pharmacies around the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also be shipping vaccines from high-volume vaccination centers around the country to smaller community-based sites, where they are more in demand. In Mexico City, health officials announced that the occupancy rate in public hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 care is 16%, the lowest rate since the pandemic began. The rate is a marked change from January, when COVID-19 infections peaked in the city. Spain is relaxing nationwide coronavirus pandemic measures this weekend; however, regional restrictions will remain in place in certain areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 3.2 million lives around the world, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The U.S. has suffered the most deaths, with nearly 581,000. Brazil is rapidly catching up with the U.S. death toll, with more than 419,000 deaths, followed by India, with more than 238,000 deaths. There have been 157 million global infections, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. remains the location with the most infections, with more than 32.6 million, followed by India, with 21.8 million infections, and Brazil, with 15 million.
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Pakistan on Saturday began a nine-day shutdown affecting travel and tourist hotspots in a bid to prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.Already battling a third wave of infections and increasingly nervous about the crisis across the border in India, the government has imposed the most severe restrictions since a one-month lockdown in April last year.”These measures have been necessitated by the extremely dangerous situation which has been created in the region with the spread of virulent mutations of the virus,” tweeted planning minister Asad Umar, who has been leading the government response to the outbreak.Eid, which comes at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, usually sees the mass movement of people around the country and tourist spots crowded with Pakistanis.Last year the country saw a spike in cases in the weeks after the celebrations.Businesses, hotels and restaurants as well as markets and parks will be closed, while public transport between provinces and within cities has been halted.The military has been mobilized to monitor the restrictions.Mosques, however, which have been packed each night throughout Ramadan — with few people wearing masks — will remain open. Authorities fear curbs on places of worship could ignite confrontation in the deeply conservative Islamic republic.Impoverished Pakistan has recorded more than 850,000 infections and 18,600 deaths, but with limited testing and a ramshackle healthcare sector, many fear the true extent of the disease is much worse.Health officials have warned that hospitals are operating at close to capacity and they have rushed to increase the number of intensive care beds.International flights have been slashed and border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan closed, except for trade.Flights and land crossings with neighboring India — reeling from a devastating outbreak with hundreds of thousands of new cases a day — were closed before the pandemic because of political tensions.Pakistan, which has so far vaccinated only a fraction of its population, received its first batch of 1.2 million AstraZeneca doses Saturday under the delayed COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme. 
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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan began on Friday a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia to boost historically close relations between the two longtime allied nations.The visit was taking place at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who personally received Khan and his high-powered delegation at the Jeddah airport.Pakistani officials said that the crown prince, often referred to by his initials, MBS, and Khan later held delegation-level talks that Pakistan’s military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa joined. Bajwa was already in Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral defense cooperation.#PICTURES: Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman receives #Pakistan Prime Minister in the Royal Court at Al-Salam Palace in #Jeddahpic.twitter.com/aJJarfAmy9— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) May 7, 2021Khan’s media team said he and the crown prince later oversaw the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas such as the economy, trade, energy investment and the media.The two sides also sealed agreements to fight climate change and drug smuggling and facilitate recruitment of the Pakistani workforce, officials said.Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Khan’s special envoy to the Middle East and a top Pakistani religious scholar, told reporters on the eve of the visit that the leaders of the two Muslim nations would also discuss Islamophobia, Palestine, and Pakistan’s long-running territorial dispute with rival India over Kashmir.Pakistan has traditionally relied on Saudi financial assistance to support its struggling economy. Riyadh gave Islamabad a $3 billion loan and a $3.2 billion oil credit facility in late 2018.Last year, the Pakistani government publicly criticized the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of 57 Muslim countries led by Saudi Arabia, for its inaction over alleged human rights violations by New Delhi in the India-ruled part of Kashmir. The rare criticism prompted the Saudi government to withdraw the oil credit facility and push Pakistan to repay the loan. Pakistan’s bilateral annual trade with Saudi Arabia stands at around $4 billion, mostly consisting of Saudi oil imports. More than 2 million Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia, sending around $6 billion annually in remittances to their cash-strapped South Asian nation.Khan’s office said the prime minister will also meet the secretary-general of the OIC, Yousef Al-Othaimeen, during the visit and will also interact with the Pakistani diaspora in Jeddah.Syed Muhammad Ali, director of nuclear and strategic affairs at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies, a think tank in Islamabad, said the resumption of the Saudi financial assistance would be a key outcome for Pakistan.“Any Saudi consideration of delayed payment for Pakistan’s oil import will help reduce pressure on Khan’s government to prepare the upcoming budget faced with difficulties due to COVID-19 and rising inflation,” Ali said.Michael Kugelman, deputy Asia program director at Washington’s Wilson Center think tank, said the presence of the Pakistani military chief in Khan’s meetings with the Saudi leadership “attests to the importance of the visit.” “It’s a significant visit as it’s meant to mark the final step of a reset set in motion after a rare spat last year,” Kugelman said. “The relationship isn’t as stable as it used to be, but there’s still plenty of shared goals to keep it on a level plain.” Pakistan has maintained close defense ties with Saudi Arabia and has deployed around 2,000 troops to the kingdom to undertake security and training missions there.Pakistan’s retired military chief General Raheel Sharif is currently the head of a 41-nation Saudi-formed Islamic Military Alliance to fight terrorism.
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A former TOLO NEWS anchor in Afghanistan was gunned down on Thursday, another reminder of the risks journalists face in the country. VOA’s Azizullah Popal, Hikmat Sorosh and Jalal Mirzad has more from Afghanistan in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.Produced by: Bezhan Hamdard 
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The U.N. children’s fund fears the ferocious second wave of COVID-19 in India could spread like wildfire across South Asia and increase multiple health and protection risks for millions of children across the region. India recorded more than 414,000 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, the highest number in a single day, including more than 3,900 deaths. As cases continue to surge, the U.N. children’s fund says the coronavirus is sickening and killing a growing number of children and infants.   Along with the serious health impacts, UNICEF warns that children are facing a multitude of physical, mental, social and economic risks. UNICEF representative in India, Yasmin Ali Haque, says children are losing parents and caregivers to the virus. This is leaving many destitute and without anyone to care for them. “While there is not enough data yet, we can see that illegal adoption pleas have surfaced on social media, making these orphans vulnerable to trafficking and abuse,” Haque said. “Children are facing mental health issues and are at greater risk of violence, as lockdowns shut them off from their vital support networks.”   Health facilities in India are overwhelmed treating COVID-19 patients. As a result, other health needs are suffering. Haque says children are missing out on life-saving routine immunization and treatment for pneumonia and other diseases. She says there are reports of pregnant women who are unable to find the help they need to give birth. This, she says, could mean the difference between life and death in a country with 27 million births and 30 million pregnancies every year. “With half of the children under five in India being malnourished, the present COVID-19 crisis could further impact child nutrition and service delivery across the country,” Haque said. “Schools across India have remained closed, and remote learning is also disrupted in several states.”   Haque says UNICEF is helping the Indian government maintain critical services for the most vulnerable children and that greater efforts are needed to safeguard the well-being of COVID-19 orphans whose numbers are growing. She says steps must be taken to get children back to a safe school environment. The country representative says UNICEF has sent lifesaving supplies to India, including oxygen concentrators, testing kits and other essential equipment. She says her agency needs $71 million to deliver additional supplies the country desperately needs. 
 
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Top US defense officials say that less than one week into the pullout of American troops from Afghanistan, the drawdown is going according to plan. But as VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports, challenges remain.
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Top U.S. defense and military officials are holding out hope the Afghan government will be able to withstand the latest Taliban military offensive, launched days ago as U.S. and coalition troops began leaving the country.Provincial officials from across Afghanistan have warned of mounting losses in a series of attacks, some with heavy casualties, since the United States officially began its withdrawal on May 1. But the Pentagon insisted Thursday that the withdrawal was “going according to plan,” with no surprises.”It’s not a foregone conclusion, in my professional military estimate, that the Taliban automatically win and Kabul falls,” General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.”I’m a personal witness … that the Afghan security forces can fight,” Milley, who had previously served in Afghanistan, added. “We’ve been supporting them, for sure, but they’ve been leading the fight.”Speaking alongside Milley, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also voiced some confidence in the ability of the Afghan military.”We’ve seen an instance of that, in Lashkar Gah [in Helmand province], the Afghan security forces conducting a counterattack and performing fairly well,” Austin told reporters. “We’re hopeful that the Afghan security forces will play the major role in stopping the Taliban.”Taliban offensiveAccording to local Afghan officials and some aid workers on the ground, however, the Taliban offensive has been relentless.Provincial officials in the country’s southern Kandahar province reported Thursday that Taliban fighters had captured the strategic Dahla Dam following fierce fighting that forced hundreds of families to flee the area.On social media, meanwhile, Taliban accounts celebrated the capture of a key district in Baghlan province, in the country’s north.تحرير قاعدة عسكرية للعدو في مديرية بغلان المركزية pic.twitter.com/bQ0HbRxUIk— الإمارة الإسلامية (@alemara_ar) May 6, 2021And some of the heaviest fighting has taken place in Helmand province where, despite launching a successful counterattack, Afghan forces needed U.S. airstrikes Wednesday to keep advancing Taliban fighters at bay.US Airstrikes Target Taliban as Fighting Intensifies US official confirms airstrikes are being used to repel Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province “What we’re seeing unfold is what we expected to unfold,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “Our focus is on making sure that we can retrograde our resources, our troops, our allies in a safe and orderly and responsible fashion.”U.S. military officials also argued that contrary to some claims, the pace and intensity of Taliban attacks against Afghan security forces — on average 80 to 120 attacks per day — is no different from what it has been for most of the past year.Afghan capabilitiesAfghan defense officials have, likewise, taken to social media to tout their successes, often posting grainy video of airstrikes by the Afghan Air Force targeting Taliban positions.8 Taliban including 3 of their key #commanders and senior members were killed in outskirts of Lashkar Gah city, #Helmand province as a result an airstrike today. Also, shadow deputy #governor of Taliban for Helmand with 2 other terrorists were wounded as a result of the strike. pic.twitter.com/lKqfYnvK5W— Ministry of Defense, Afghanistan (@MoDAfghanistan) May 6, 2021″Currently, ANSDF [Afghan National Security and Defense Forces] 100% independently plan, command and control, and conduct the military operations,” Ministry of Defense deputy spokesman Fawad Aman told VOA’s Afghan Service on Wednesday.”There is no support and physical presence of foreign troops in the battlefields,” he added.Still, some U.S. officials and outside experts warn that the withdrawal of 2,500 to 3,500 U.S. forces and almost 7,000 coalition troops, along with tens of thousands of contractors, will put the capabilities of the Afghan security forces to the test.”The level of violence may be increasing, but that’s a call to the Afghan national security forces that they must take the place of the coalition forces and the NATO forces,” retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told VOA’s Afghan Service.”We will continue to train them. We will continue to equip them,” Kimmitt said. “However, it is unlikely that unless there is a significant change in the levels of violence that the Americans will turn around their withdrawal.”‘Key test’ awaitsYet just how the U.S. will help the Afghan military, and the Afghan Air Force, remains unclear.”Maintaining logistic support to the Afghan Air Force is a key test that we have to sort out,” Milley, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, told reporters Thursday, suggesting some contractors could return to Afghanistan after the withdrawal is complete.”A lot of that’s going to be dependent on the conditions of the security conditions on the ground,” he said. “The intent is to keep the Afghan Air Force in the air and to provide them with continued maintenance support.”A key U.S. government watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said in a report last week that the Afghan Air Force could be grounded within months without the current level of contractor support.VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report.
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The speaker of parliament in Maldives, former President Mohamed Nasheed, was injured in a blast Thursday outside his family home, police said in a statement. “Following an explosion … Speaker of Parliament President Mohamed Nasheed has sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at ADK Hospital,” the statement said. A spokesman for Nasheed’s governing Maldivian Democratic Party told Reuters he had suffered shrapnel injuries in the attack, adding that his condition was stable. President Ibu Solih said an investigation into the explosion was under way. Images from state TV channel PSM showed security services at the scene of the incident in the capital Male. A foreign tourist was also injured, the channel reported. “Strongly condemn the attack on Speaker of Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed this evening,” Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said in a tweet. “Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society. My thoughts and prayers are with President Nasheed and others injured in this attack, as well as their families.” Nasheed, who became Maldives’ first democratically elected president in 2008, has remained an influential figure since leaving office in 2012. He is president of the governing party and, after a period in exile, has served as parliament speaker since 2019. While no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, the archipelago has been known in the past for political unrest and Islamist militant violence. In 2015, former President Abdulla Yameen escaped unharmed after an explosion on his speedboat, while a 2007 blast blamed on Islamist militants targeted foreign tourists and injured 12 people.  
 
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Female journalists are regularly seen on camera in Pakistan, but the job can bring challenges. Umer Farooq from VOA Peshawar meets two women pushing back barriers. Bezhan Hamdard narrates the story.Producer: Bezhan Hamdard
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When oxygen supplies at Shri Ram Singh Hospital in New Delhi ran critically low a week ago, Dr. Gautam Singh, who runs the facility, hit the road at night to plead for oxygen from suppliers and also put out a desperate appeal on social media. Finally, a local official helped secure some cylinders to help alleviate the crisis.But after the nightmare of ensuring that his patients are not left gasping for oxygen, Singh has drastically cut back on the number of COVID-19 patients he takes into his facility even as the raging second wave of the pandemic has led to an acute shortage of hospital beds in the city.“We run the same race daily, we have to beg for oxygen but supplies are still very short. It breaks my heart to turn away people, they come in bad shape, but what can I do?” said Singh in a quivering voice. “We have the beds but not adequate oxygen and the sad part is we can keep only as many patients as we can support on oxygen as that is the only thing that lets us buy time to save them,” he added. Although his facility has 50 beds for COVID-19 patients, he said he now treats about 12 or 13 patients.From smaller hospitals like Singh’s to large ones, the desperate battle to ensure sufficient supplies of oxygen needed to treat COVID-19 patients whose oxygen levels run low is now in its second week.Relatives of a woman suffering from the COVID-19, carry an oxygen cylinder as she receives treatment in the emergency room of Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi, India, May 1, 2021.Sometimes they have lost the battle — patients have died when oxygen stocks ran critically low. “This is one of the biggest tragedies I have seen in my life. Patients are dying because we don’t have oxygen,” S.C. L. Gupta, medical director of Batra Hospital in New Delhi told local television channels after 12 patients died on Saturday, when delivery of the lifesaving gas was delayed by 90 minutes. It is one of the city’s most prestigious hospitals.Mukesh Bhardwaj cries next to his wife, who receives oxygen support outside a Gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Ghaziabad, India, May 3, 2021.The federal government denies reports of shortages and says the bottleneck is due to transportation from key production centers that lie in eastern and southern India to the worst affected parts of the country.”There is enough oxygen available in the country,” Lav Agarwal, a Health Ministry spokesman, said at a press conference on Monday.The government is using “oxygen express” trains to transport the lifesaving gas to some of the worst-hit parts of the country – two such trains arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday according to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. Officials say India has ramped up oxygen production and diverted all industrial oxygen for medical use. Two oxygen plants have also been installed at two of the largest government hospitals in New Delhi.A health worker checks oxygen cylinders stored next to a train at a railway station in Gauhati, India, May 6, 2021.But the situation on the ground continues to be grim and health experts say surging cases of COVID-19 could only exacerbate the crisis – on Thursday India reported its highest tally of 412, 262 cases so far.Courts have stepped in to direct the government to address the oxygen crisis — the Supreme Court has told the federal government to ensure that the capital city gets its full quota of 700 tons of oxygen and asked how it plans to deal with a third wave, which scientists have said is “inevitable.”Some judges have made strong comments — on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court that has been hearing urgent appeals by hospitals wanting oxygen told officials, “You can put your head in sand like an ostrich. We will not,” and asked “Are you living in ivory towers?”Funeral pyres of 25 COVID-19 victims burn at an open crematorium on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, May 5, 2021.On the same day a high court in Uttar Pradesh, one of the worst affected states in North India, said that “death of COVID-19 patients just for non-supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen.”Public health experts blame the situation on a lack of sufficient planning and complacency that the country would not be hit by a second wave after cases in a first wave were brought down to less than 15,000 earlier this year.“Some of these challenges were identified but not followed through after the first wave of the pandemic began to subside,” points out Chandrakant Lahariya, a public policy and health expert in New Delhi. “For example, plans were made to set up oxygen generation plants in 160 districts but most of those have not come up. The standard approach is that when the crisis is at hand you identify the problem, but soon after it is forgotten.”The government announced last month it will set up 500 oxygen production plants across the country.For doctors like Singh, it is a hard time but he is not giving up the fight. “Patients are going from door to door desperate for help. Hopefully we will again be able to serve more people as soon as supplies stabilize. Officials say the situation will improve,” he said. 
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India set another record in the current surge of new COVID-19 infections Thursday as officials warn that a third wave will sweep the country. The Health Ministry reported a single-day record 412,262 new confirmed coronavirus cases, including a record 3,980 deaths.  The South Asian nation’s total COVID-19  figures now stand at just over 21 million confirmed cases and 230,168 deaths. K. Vijay Raghavan, a senior government scientific adviser, warned Wednesday that a third wave of coronavirus infections would sweep the country as it struggles with the devastating effects of the current wave. “Phase 3 is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus,” Raghavan said at a news briefing in New Delhi. “But it is not clear on what timescale this Phase 3 will occur. … We should prepare for new waves.”  Beds are seen inside a Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) converted into a COVID-19 care facility in New Delhi, India, May 5, 2021.India’s crisis is aggravated by a critical lack of oxygen needed to treat critically ill patients, along with the raw materials needed to manufacture doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. While India is home to the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, only 2% of the country’s 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated, according to local reports.  The government has been ordered by the Supreme Court to submit a plan to meet oxygen needs in New Delhi hospitals by Thursday.   New ZealandElsewhere, New Zealand has suspended a “travel bubble” with the Australian state of New South Wales after a married couple in their 50s in the state capital, Sydney, tested positive for the virus.  Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s coronavirus response minister, announced Thursday that flights from New South Wales will be suspended for 48 hours while officials in the south Australian state investigate the infections, the first public transmission of the virus since April.   New Zealand and Australia opened a travel bubble last month that allows travelers from Australia to visit New Zealand without entering a mandatory coronavirus quarantine period.   Pfizer vaccine immunity 
In other developments, a new study has found the two-shot Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine provides strong immunity against two dangerous variants of the virus. A letter published in Wednesday’s edition of The New England Journal of Medicine found the Pfizer vaccine is about 90% effective against severe infection from the B.1.1.7 variant that was first identified in Britain, which is far more transmissible and is fueling a new wave of outbreak around the world.  The letter also said the Pfizer vaccine is about 75% effective against the B.1.351 variant first detected in South Africa.    
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Bodies piled up at a crematorium in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Wednesday, as relatives of coronavirus sufferers scrambled to refill life-saving oxygen cylinders. Flames rose from funeral pyres placed side by side as family members performed funeral rites. More with VOA’s Mariama Diallo. 
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