Singapore will do away with requirements to wear masks indoors starting August 29, as the country sees its COVID-19 situation stabilise further, the health minister said on Wednesday.
For the first time in more than two years, people in the Southeast Asian city-state will no longer be required to wear masks indoors except on public transport and in high-risk settings like healthcare facilities.
The health ministry also updated rules for non-vaccinated travellers, dropping a 7-day quarantine requirement starting next week.
Singapore, which is a major Asian financial and travel hub, lifted most pandemic curbs, including travel restrictions, earlier this year.
About 70 per cent of the city-state's 5.5 million population has already contracted COVID-19, Ong Ye Kung, the health minister said in a news conference, adding that the re-infection rate is so far "very low".
Singapore has vaccinated more than 90 per cent of its population and has among the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world.
Kuwait International Airport has suffered "significant damage" to its radar system after being targeted by multiple drone attacks, according to a statement from Kuwait's General Authority of Civil Aviation.
Russia launched a barrage of drones in waves of attacks on Ukraine, killing four people and damaging gas production facilities, port infrastructure, residential buildings and a maternity hospital, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
The Philippines and China have resumed high-level talks this week over the disputed South China Sea, exploring preliminary steps toward oil and gas cooperation while addressing energy and fertiliser supply issues amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, the Philippine foreign ministry said.
Yemen's Houthis confirmed on Saturday they had launched an attack on Israel for the first time during the current Israeli-US war against Iran, marking their entry to the conflict and raising the prospects of a broader regional confrontation.