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A Hindu priest wearing a face shield applies vermilion paste on the forehead of a child during Durga Puja festival in Gauhati, India, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Weeks after India fully opened up from a harsh lockdown and began to modestly turn a corner by cutting new infections by near half, a Hindu festival season is raising fears that the disease could spoil the hard-won gains. Health experts worry the festivals can set off a whole new cascade of infections, further testing and straining India’s battered health care system. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

India's festive season spawns fears of renewed virus surge

Oct. 25, 2020 3:19 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Just weeks after India fully opened up from a harsh lockdown and began to modestly turn a corner by cutting new coronavirus infections by near half, a Hindu festival season is raising fears that a fresh surge could spoil the hard-won gains. “I’d be very worried about what we...

FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2020, file photo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper attend a news conference at the U.S. State Department in Washington. Just a week before November's election, Pompeo and Esper will visit India for meetings focused largely on countering China's growing global influence. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Pompeo, Esper to push Trump's anti-China message in India

Oct. 25, 2020 2:55 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a week before November's election, two of President Donald Trump's top national security aides will visit India for meetings focused largely on countering China's growing global influence. As the bitter race between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden winds down, the talks this...

A woman, right, has a meal, inside a restaurant's outdoor tent Thursday Oct. 22, 2020, in Kew Gardens in the Queens borough of New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is easing restrictions slightly in some coronavirus hot spots in New York City, but adding them in areas along the Pennsylvania border as the state recorded more than 2,000 new infections in a single day for the first time since mid-May. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The Latest: Mexico's Chihuahua border state back in lockdown

Oct. 23, 2020 9:26 PM EDT

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s northern border state of Chihuahua returned to the highest level of alert and lockdown Friday after coronavirus cases jumped there and hospitals began to fill up. The Chihuahua state government declared the return to the “red” level of alert Friday, which closes...

Members of the festival organizing team at the Kali Bari Hindu temple pray via live transmission on the first day of Durga Puja celebrations in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Most of the festival festivities are being scaled down following the health officials warning about the potential for the coronavirus to spread during the religious festival season, which is marked by huge gatherings in temples and shopping districts. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Asia Today: Vaccine promise is election issue in India state

Oct. 23, 2020 7:28 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — A promise of free COVID-19 vaccination has become an issue in key state elections in India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the promise when releasing the ruling Hindu nationalist party’s manifesto for elections that begin in Bihar state next week. Every Bihar resident...

A health officer collecting swab samples from rail commuters to test for COVID-19 drinks water during a break at a railway station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

The Latest: Sri Lanka orders more curfews over virus cluster

Oct. 21, 2020 11:49 PM EDT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Authorities in Sri Lanka have closed the country’s main fish market and widened the curfew in many parts of the island nation following a surge of coronavirus infections related to a new cluster centered on a garment factory. The government imposed a curfew Thursday in parts of...

A worker wearing protective mask to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus pulls a plastic container full of debris washed ashore after tropical storm Saudel, locally called Pepito, hit the country on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine weather agency said Saudel continues to move out of the Philippines and is heading towards Vietnam. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Asia Today: Philippines allows foreign travel to resume

Oct. 21, 2020 9:29 AM EDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines on Wednesday lifted a ban on non-essential foreign trips by Filipinos, but the immigration bureau said the move did not immediately spark large numbers of departures for tourism and leisure. The government has gradually eased travel restrictions to bolster the...

Military personnel enter the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. A number of fishing crew who flew into New Zealand on chartered planes have the coronavirus. The crew members have been in quarantine at the Christchurch hotel since they arrived, and tested positive during routine testing, officials said. The news could deal a blow to New Zealand’s efforts to restart its fishing industry, which has struggled to find local workers to crew fishing vessels. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The Latest: Imported workers test positive in New Zealand

Oct. 20, 2020 10:27 PM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Eighteen fishing crewmen who last week flew to New Zealand from Moscow have tested positive for the coronavirus, underscoring the difficulty New Zealand faces in trying to import needed workers while remaining virtually virus free. A total of 235 crew from Russia and Ukraine were...

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, file photo, a woman walks past the Amnesty International India headquarters in Bangalore, India. The U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, urged India’s government to do more to protect the rights of human rights defenders, who have come under mounting pressure in recent months in the world’s largest democracy. Last month, advocacy group Amnesty International halted its operation in India, citing reprisals by the government and the freezing of its bank accounts by Indian authorities. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

UN urges India government to better protect rights defenders

Oct. 20, 2020 12:52 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday urged India’s government to do more to protect human rights defenders, who have come under mounting pressure in recent months in the world’s largest democracy. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's office pointed to three...

People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus pass by a statue with a face mask at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. South Korea's daily coronavirus tally has dropped below 50 for the first time in more than two weeks despite reports of small-scale local infections. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The Latest: S. Korea increases hospital, nursing home tests

Oct. 18, 2020 10:16 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 76 new cases of the coronavirus as officials begin testing tens of thousands of employees at hospitals and nursing homes to prevent transmissions at live-in facilities. The figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Monday brought...

A woman takes a selfie as visitors wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus gather near a giant cat structure on display at a commercial office building in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Asia Today: Melbourne eases lockdown as cases decline

Oct. 18, 2020 10:21 AM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has loosened lockdown restrictions as new and active COVID-19 continue to decline. From midnight Sunday, Melbourne residents will no longer face limits on the time they can spend away from their homes for education or...

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