A minister in South Africa has been ordered to go on "special leave" for two months for violating lockdown rules.
Images of communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams having lunch with a former official went viral on social media, as the country observed a 21-day nationwide lockdown.
Passing the order, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said one month will be unpaid.
"The president strongly believes that no one, including the minister, is above the law," Ramaphosa's spokeswoman, Khusela Diko, said.
"He says none of us should undermine our national effort to save lives in this very serious situation."
According to the lockdown rules, people are only allowed to step out of their home for buying essentials or for medical emergencies.
More than 17,000 people were arrested during the first few days of the lockdown, mostly for violating the rules.
At least one person was killed and 10 injured, including three children, in overnight drone attacks by Russia on Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday. Various attacks also damaged energy facilities in two regions, according to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuation of population.
A fourth US Army soldier, who together with three others went missing in Lithuania last week when their vehicle sank in a peat bog, has been found dead, US and Lithuanian officials said on Tuesday.
The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme (WFP).
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has expanded its global partnerships with leading autonomous driving technology providers, Uber, WeRide, and Baidu (Apollo Go), to deploy autonomous taxis in Dubai.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has offered his condolences to His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, on the death of his mother Sheikha Hessa bint Humaid bin Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi.
The UAE’s National Ambulance Service handled 22,903 cases across the country in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Guard Command.