New Zealand reported two locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, just hours before authorities are due to announce whether a lockdown in Auckland will be extended.
Auckland's nearly 2 million residents were plunged into a snap three-day lockdown on Monday, after a family of three - two adults and a child - were diagnosed with COVID-19, with at least two determined to be the more transmissable UK variant.
The two latest cases are siblings studying at the same school as the child, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told members of a health select committee.
The Auckland lockdown is due to end at midnight on Wednesday and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to announce her decision at 1630 local time (0330 GMT). She is also expected to reveal whether the remainder of the country steps down a level on the country's COVID-response scale.
The Auckland lockdown was the first in the country for about six months, after a hard nationwide shutdown early in the pandemic appeared to have largely eliminated local transmission.
The fresh outbreak prompted neighbouring Australia to suspend an arrangement that allowed New Zealanders to enter Australia without serving a 14-day hotel quarantine period.
India is inspecting facilities of spice makers MDH and Everest for compliance with quality standards after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong and Singapore for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.
Israel is poised to send troops into Rafah, the Gazan city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, saying preparations were under way to evacuate war-displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there.
A Russian court on Wednesday ordered one of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu's deputies be kept in custody on suspicion of taking bribes, the highest-profile corruption case since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, a senior figure in the country's ruling party, met with Donald Trump on Tuesday, becoming the latest US ally seeking to establish ties with the Republican presidential candidate.
Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and injured six people in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on Wednesday, Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.