US fast-food chain McDonald's temporarily shut two stores in Sydney today after a number of its outlets received suspicious envelopes containing white powder, police said.
A police statement said the substance had been taken to police laboratories for examination.
Ambulance officers have provided precautionary treatment to a number of employees, the police said.
Anthrax hoaxes and scares have cropped up across the globe since several letters contaminated with spores of the deadly organism were discovered in the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
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A British citizen was recently charged in Australia for an incident in which he allegedly sent a neighbour washing powder in a letter.