Two blasts against minibuses carrying civilians kill at least seven people near the Jinnah Hospital in Kabul. The government says that the number of deaths is expected to increase due to the seriousness of those wounded. No group claims responsibility for the attacks. (TOLO)
Mongolia reports a record 1,792 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 73,869. (Xinhua News Agency)
Saudi Arabia bans foreign travellers for the second consecutive year for the Hajj pilgrimage, only allowing a maximum of 60,000 citizens and residents between the ages of 18 and 65 who have been vaccinated and are free of chronic diseases to take part in it. (Reuters)
President Félix Tshisekedi says that hospitals in the country's capital, Kinshasa, are "overwhelmed" by COVID-19 patients amid an increase in the number of cases as the country faces its third wave of the pandemic. (Reuters)
Due to a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Moscow's MayorSergei Sobyanin announces that enterprises that do not normally work on weekends remain closed for the next week. In addition, food courts and children's play areas in shopping centers are to close for a week beginning tomorrow, and restaurants and bars must limit their service to takeout from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (France 24)
The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide surpasses 175 million. (Voice of America)
Dozens of protesters in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja are arrested or injured after police fired tear gas at the crowds. The protests, coinciding with a public holiday marking Nigeria's transition to democracy, were organized to protest PresidentMuhammadu Buhari's Twitter ban and numerous other issues plaguing his administration, with protestors calling for his resignation. (Al Jazeera English)
Violent clashes between the youth and the police break out in the Tunisian capital of Tunis during the evening, following protests over the Tuesday killing of a police detainee. (France 24)