India will begin a staged easing of its lockdown measures from early June, despite a rise in the number of confirmed coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on Saturday.
Efforts to contain the disease saw the shutdown of virtually all economic activity in late March, putting hundreds of millions out of work almost overnight.
Millions of migrant workers fled home to their villages, many of them walking hundreds of kilometres and some dying on the way.
Prime Minister Narenda Modi conceded that much of the country had since "undergone tremendous suffering" in an open letter to the public on Saturday.
The end of the lockdown will be staged and will not immediately include some "containment zones" where high infection rates have been detected, according to the home ministry.
But elsewhere, places of religious worship, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls will be allowed to reopen as normal from June 8.
Schools and universities will resume classes after discussions with Indian state authorities, with a decision due in July.
The ministry said that international air travel, mass transit, cinemas, swimming pools and bars will remain closed for the time being.
Sport is still on hold, with the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament yet to resume after it was postponed last month, and political and religious events with "large congregations".
The nationwide evening curfew was also eased and will now begin two hours later at 9pm.
No movement in or out of containment zones will be allowed, with exceptions for medical emergencies and the supply of essential goods and services.
In these areas there will be "intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance and other clinical interventions," the ministry said.
The home ministry's announcement came even after the world's second-most populous country announced a fresh record in the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections, taking the total to almost 175,000 cases with nearly 5,000 deaths.
Government data released on Friday gave an indication of the preliminary toll of the lockdown on Asia's third-biggest economy, which grew at its slowest pace last quarter in at least two decades.
The period included only the very beginning of the national quarantine, and analysts say a massive slowdown has taken place since.
Mr Modi's government had already taken some steps to ease the economic pain of the lockdown.
Factory and farm operations were allowed to resume in areas with no or few cases, although many are finding problems sourcing workers.
Domestic flights also resumed earlier this month and some trains are running on India's vast rail network.
Earlier this month Mr Modi announced a $266 billion package - 10 per cent of the country's GDP - to revive the battered economy.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
