US President Donald Trump has backed off from imposing a lockdown in the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of coronavirus.
"A quarantine will not be necessary," he said on Twitter, adding that restricting non-essential domestic travel for 14 days will be adequate.
His earlier decision to implement a travel ban was faced with resistance, with several governing bodies claiming it would cause chaos.
"If you started walling off areas all across the country it would be totally bizarre, counter-productive, anti-American," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN.
Meanwhile,Trump also appeared to soften his previous plans to reopen US economy by mid-April. "We'll see what happens," he said.
So far, the country has recorded more than 2,200 deaths and more than 122,000 positive cases.
Twenty people who were aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence and diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing on Tuesday remain in intensive care. Others are being treated for spinal cord and brain injuries.
A two-storey restaurant building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain's Balearic Islands.
Israeli forces killed 35 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.
Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi is set to be buried in the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, four days after he was killed in a helicopter crash along with foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other people.
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least six people and wounded at least 11 on Thursday, local authorities said.
Broadcasting every weekday, Georgia Tolley goes beyond the headlines to speak to government ministers, decision makers, analysts and local experts to find out how the news will impact those of us living in the UAE.
Dubai Duty Free executive vice chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin, announced that he will be stepping down from his role after 55 years in the travel retail industry and 41 years of leadership at Dubai Duty Free. Colm joined the Business Breakfast to reflect on his epic career.
78% of AI users are now bringing their own AI tools to work, but what does this mean for employers? Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader, Modern Work and Surface Devices, Microsoft CEMA tells us more.