Sydney, Vietnam Impose Tighter COVID-19 Lockdowns
Voice of America
More stringent COVID-19 containment measures were being imposed in Sydney, Australia, starting Saturday, as cases of infections continued to rise in the third week of a citywide lockdown.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters Saturday the new restrictions would take effect at midnight local time Saturday and remain in effect until the end of July. Officials ordered the shutdown of building sites and non-essential retail businesses, restrictions that also apply to Sydney’s surrounding communities in New South Wales.
Specialists work on the facade of a damaged apartment building following a drone attack in Moscow, March 11, 2025.
Local officials and navy personnel attend a joint Iranian, Russian and Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12, 2025. (Iranian Army Office via AFP) Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 11, 2025.
FILE - A man injured in an explosion at an M23 rally is evacuated from the scene in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 27, 2025. The Angolan government said on March 12, 2025, that the M23 rebels and the DRC government will enter direct peace talks.
FILE - A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2025.
In this image taken from video on March 12, 2025, observers and security officers look over the aftermath of a car bomb explosion the previous day at a hotel in the central Somali city of Beledweyne. Beledweyne, Somalia
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he arrives for Mauritius' 57th National Day celebrations at the Champ De Mars, Port Louis, Mauritius, March 12, 2025. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and his Mauritius counterpart Navin Ramgoolam pay homage after laying a wreath at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden during his State visit, in Pamplemousses, Mauritius, March 11, 2025. FILE - Sailors walk on the deck of the INS Imphal, a stealth guided-missile destroyer, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Dec. 22, 2023.
Police officers guard the Palace of the Republic after Bosnian prosecutors ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, March 12, 2025. FILE - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Dec. 29, 2023.
FILE - Georgia's jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili appears via video link during a court hearing regarding anti-government protests in 2007, in Tbilisi, Oct. 27, 2023.
In this photo released by Syrian state news agency SANA, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, sign a deal in Damascus, Syria, March 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)
FILE - Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam delivers his statement during a joint press conference with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on March 10, 2025.
Passengers who were rescued from a train after it was attacked by separatist militants, walk with their belongings at the Railway Station in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 12, 2025. A passenger who was rescued from a train after it was attacked by separatist militants receives medical aid at the Mach Railway Station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025. Passengers rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents, receive water bottles upon their arrival at a railway station in Quetta, Pakistan, March 12, 2025. Balochistan province, Pakistan
FILE - Visitors wearing face masks stand near a display showing an electronic map of China at the PT Expo in Beijing, June 4, 2023. The annual expo showcases Chinese and foreign technology firms. FILE - A Unitree H1 robot is displayed at a Unitree booth at the CES tech show Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas.
In this photo released by Syrian state news agency SANA, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, shakes hands with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in Damascus, Syria, March 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)