Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has announced his willingness to restart the economy despite the coronavirus threat.
A day after firing his health minister over a rift surrounding lockdown measures, he called for the reopening of the country's borders.
The leader, however, conceded that he may be blamed it the health crisis worsened and that he doesn't have the power to relax lockdown measures already in place.
Bolsonaro said he had held talks Justice Minister Sergio Moro about the possibility of reopening land borders, particularly those with Uruguay and Paraguay, following a shutdown last month to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"Opening trade is a risk that I take, because if (the outbreak) gets worse, it will fall on my lap," he said.
So far, the country has 33,682 confirmed cases and 2,141 fatalities, with health experts claiming the cases haven't peaked yet.
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.