India reported 114,460 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, the lowest in two months, while the death toll increased by 2,677, as parts of the country prepared to ease movement restrictions.
India has the world's second-largest number of coronavirus infections after the United States with total cases at 28.8 million, according to health ministry data. The country has suffered 346,759 deaths.
A second wave of the coronavirus that has largely battered the rural interiors of the country is yet to abate but New Delhi and other cities are working towards allowing more businesses to operate and movement rules to be relaxed from Monday onwards.
The western state of Maharashtra, which suffered the most infections during the second wave, plans to start this week easing in stages a strict lockdown imposed in April.
Scientists have warned of a third wave of the coronavirus that could hit India later in the year, likely impacting children more.
While the country has ramped up its vaccination drive in the past few weeks after a slow start, a majority of its 1.3 billion people are expected to remain unvaccinated by the time a potential third wave hits.
The United Nations’ shipping agency on Thursday paused an evacuation effort to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out through the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.
At least 164 people were confirmed dead on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around Venezuela's capital Caracas, trapping people beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings and setting off powerful aftershocks.
The city mayor told busy Parisians to slow down on Thursday as large parts of Western Europe remained in the grip of a deadly heatwave that has claimed dozens of lives, disrupted power supplies, and shut schools and cultural landmarks.
President Donald Trump's administration has asked the US Congress on Wednesday for $87.6 billion in additional funding, most of it related to the Iran war, setting the stage for another fight with lawmakers already frustrated with the conflict.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 has struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.