Bollywood could take years to recover from lockdowns

Shamim Mwanaisha was bitten by the coding bug while helping her son, a young pilot, with his lessons. She went on to start the Supersonic Aviators club in her home to help children, especially girls, develop their interests in aviation, astronomy, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Mwanaisha has taken the club's activities online to work around Uganda's strict COVID lockdown.

The tightest restrictions will remain in place in the country's largest city, Auckland, however. Meanwhile, a new Vietnamese school year has started with most students still in a virtual classroom. DW has the latest.

The premier of Australia's most populous state New South Wales says "quite confidently" that vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy lockdown on October 11.

Elated Sydneysiders defied grey skies and drizzle to celebrate the end of almost four months of lockdown in Australia's largest city, with many embracing a return to cafes and hairdressers. Sydney's more than five million residents have been subjected to a 106-day lockdown, designed to limit the march of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Australia's second-largest city is expected to come out of lockdown despite an increase in infections. Meanwhile, Latvia is diving into a month-long lockdown.

Melbourne reopened Friday after enduring one of the world's most prolonged series of lockdowns, with relieved residents of Australia's second-biggest city heading to bars, restaurants and for much-needed hair cuts.

Poultry farmers have been ordered to keep flocks indoors in a bid to stop the contagious avian disease spreading. Europe has seen over 100 outbreaks of bird flu in recent months.

The lockdown starting Monday is expected to last 10 days and a vaccine mandate is set to start in February. Data shows the seven-day incidence rate in the country at around 1,000 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Austrians went back into lockdown after fierce protests over the weekend, for a period of at least 10 days and potentially 20. Elswhere, German logged its highest seven-day incidence of the pandemic. DW has the latest.

Protesters in the Solomon Islands called on the prime minister to resign as riots took place for a second day. Australia said it would send a peacekeeping force to the Pacific nation seized by inter-island tension.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday for a video showing his staffers joking about reports of a party in Downing Street during the COVID lockdown, saying he was furious but that he had been assured there was no party.

India was recently gripped by a controversy involving the family of one of its most famous actors, Shahrukh Khan. In October 2021, Khan's son was arrested for alleged narcotics consumption. But according to his lawyer, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. Many Indians believe the arrest was in fact orchestrated by India's Hindu nationalist government as a way of targeting the actor. In recent years, the government has become increasingly hostile towards some members of the country's powerful film industry. Our correspondents report.