Six new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Bahrain, with the total number of cases reaching 23.
The country's ministry informed that the six Bahraini nationals have been transferred to the specific medical centres, for isolation and treatment, adding that they all arrived from Iran.
Authorities have also announced the closure of public and private schools, including kindergartens, for two weeks starting from Wednesday in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.
It comes after Bahrain suspended flights from Dubai and Sharjah and announced special screenings for all air passengers.
Meanwhile, Kuwait's health ministry said 13 more cases have been confirmed, bringing the total number to 25.
According to the health ministry, the infections occurred in people returning from Iran, where the official records showed the death toll hit 19.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 'temporary ceasefire' on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after an airstrike and ground fighting sent tensions between the South Asian neighbours soaring, killing more than a dozen civilians.
Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Fresh fighting broke out on Wednesday along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing more than a dozen civilians and troops to shatter a fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens.
Toxic gas and a locked door that barred access to a roof were responsible for most of the deaths in a devastating fire in a Bangladesh garment factory and an adjoining chemical warehouse, a fire official said on Wednesday.
Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who was imprisoned while fighting one-party autocracy and ran five times unsuccessfully for the presidency, has died at the age of 80, sources close to him said on Wednesday.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the expansion of nature reserves in Abu Dhabi to cover 20 per cent of the emirate’s total land area.