As New Zealand began easing month-long lockdown restrictions, burger and coffee takeaway joints in the country witnessed a massive rush.
Long queues of cars were seen outside McDonald's outlets in Auckland and Wellington from the early hours of Tuesday, with many spotted heading to the beaches.
Around 400,000 people returned to work after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the easing of lockdown restrictions from "Level 4" to "Level 3".
She said the shutdown had effectively eliminated the coronavirus in the country, but stressed it would be weeks before all movement restrictions were lifted.
"It's an ongoing battle," Ardern said at a televised news conference. "There is no one point in time that this mission ends. We are in the next phase of the battle and we are not done."
"No one wants a second wave in New Zealand and we must guard against that," she added.
So far, the country has recorded 1,472 cases and 19 deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that a new deal to secure the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas could be reached within days, indicating that a 60-day ceasefire is likely.
Six Secret Service agents on duty during 2024 assassination attempt against US President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.
Authorities retrieved from Pakistan's mountains the bullet-ridden bodies of nine passengers kidnapped by armed men in a spate of bus attacks in the troubled southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said on Friday.
An Israeli strike hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza on Thursday, killing 16 including children and wounding more people, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no result expected soon.
Russian drones and missiles bore down on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Thursday, with officials reporting two deaths, 13 injured and fires in apartment and non-residential buildings as Washington resumed weapons delivery to the war-torn country.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is urging passenger transport operators to fully comply with regulations across all services — including chartered, tourist and international buses.