India allowed the reopening of local stores from Saturday, more than a month after the country went into lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
It said retail shops could operate with 50% of staff and implement social distancing guidelines for customers.
However, large market places and malls will remain shut until May 3.
So far, the country has reported 24,506 cases of the coronavirus and 775 deaths.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has extended the nationwide lockdown till May 9, but switched to a so-called "smart lockdown" from Saturday that'll allow some industrial and commercial activities to begin under safety guidelines.
It'll mainly target tracking and tracing of positive cases, officials explained.
Pakistan has reported 11,940 cases of infections, including 253 deaths.
An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by 41 per cent through the middle of 2024 as the Gaza Strip's healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to a study published on Thursday.
The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) to protest its issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza.
Elon Musk urged Germans to vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an upcoming election in a conversation with its leader on his social media platform X that highlighted the US billionaire's growing ambition to sway European politics.
Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west were still burning uncontained on Thursday, but a brief respite from the fierce winds that have fanned the flames for two days allowed crews to slow their explosive spread.
The UAE has taken political critic Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi into custody on Thursday after being extradited from Lebanon at the request of Emirati authorities.