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Shoppers wear masks as they walk around a shopping precinct in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. Masks have been made mandatory in shopping centers, on public transport, in entertainment venues such as a cinema, and fines will come into effect on Monday as the state government responds to the COVID-19 outbreak on Sydney's northern beaches, which is suspected to have also caused new cases in neighboring Victoria state. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The Latest: Australia moves up vaccination start to February

Jan. 6, 2021 11:38 PM EST

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is advancing the start of its coronavirus vaccination program to mid-February, with plans to inoculate 15% of the population by late March. The government had argued there was no reason for an emergency rollout that cut short usual regulatory processes as has occurred in the...

Dozens of citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

AP PHOTOS: Epiphany celebrations marked by pandemic

Jan. 6, 2021 12:17 PM EST

KALOFER, Bulgaria (AP) — Christians on Wednesday marked Epiphany in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, which constrained celebrations in many places but didn't stop some defying warnings to keep to traditions. Orthodox Christians celebrate Jesus’ baptism during Epiphany. In Bulgaria, thousands...

Citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Some Orthodox Christians ignore COVID warnings on Epiphany

Jan. 6, 2021 9:54 AM EST

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers in Bulgaria on Wednesday ignored warnings issued by health authorities to abstain from mass gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic and kept instead to their centuries-old Epiphany traditions. Young men plunged into the icy waters of...

FILE - In this Friday, June 13, 2014, file photo, a Serbian flag is seen on a gas pipe on the first section of the Gazprom South Stream natural gas pipeline near the village of Sajkas, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Belgrade, Serbia. Defying U.S. calls to reduce its dependency on energy supplies from Russia, Serbia has on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 officially launched a new gas link that will bring additional Russian gas to the Balkan country via Bulgaria and Turkey. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

Serbia opens pipeline for Russian gas, ignores US opposition

Jan. 1, 2021 12:06 PM EST

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Defying U.S. calls to reduce its dependency on energy supplies from Russia, Serbia on Friday officially launched a new gas link that will bring additional Russian gas to the Balkan country via Bulgaria and Turkey. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended a ceremony Friday for the...

A boy wears masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as he looks at a holiday display on a mild day Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in a park in Lenexa, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Latest: Japan sharply tightens ban on foreign visitors

Dec. 26, 2020 9:01 PM EST

TOKYO — Japan’s government will temporarily ban entry of all nonresident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant that has spread across Britain. The entry ban will start Monday and last through Jan. 31 for the time being, the Foreign...

A demonstrator wears a face shield with a red handprint, mimicking blood, to protest Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Protesters also called for the immediate start of COVID-19 vaccinations. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

The Latest: Brazil is latest to ban flights from Britain

Dec. 23, 2020 11:09 PM EST

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil has become the latest country to bar flights from the United Kingdom in a bid to prevent contagion from a new strain of the coronavirus. The government announced in an extra edition of the country’s official gazette released late Wednesday that it is temporarily prohibiting...

A woman pulls a suitcase past the Christmas tree on the concourse of Waterloo Station in central London, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Millions of people in England have learned they must cancel their Christmas get-togethers and holiday shopping trips. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that holiday gatherings can’t go ahead and non-essential shops must close in London and much of southern England. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

Dec. 20, 2020 10:32 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) — A growing list of European Union nations and Canada barred travel from the U.K. on Sunday and others were considering similar action, in a bid to block a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England from spreading to the continent. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,...

People participate in a demonstration in Montreal, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, protesting measures implemented by the Quebec government to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Latest: Tenn. governor enacts new virus restrictions

Dec. 20, 2020 9:11 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced new social gathering restrictions while still refusing to implement a mask mandate despite pleas from front-line healthcare workers in a state experiencing the highest new cases per capita in the country. Instead of a mask mandate, the Republican on...

Bulgaria to expel Russian diplomat suspected of spying

Dec. 18, 2020 12:46 PM EST

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria's foreign ministry said on Friday that a Russian diplomat had 72 hours to leave the country after prosecutors accused him of spying and gathering military information including the number of U.S. troops deployed to Bulgaria for military drills. Foreign Minister Ekaterina...

FILE - In this May 3, 2020, file photo, the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building in Washington. As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide, the Supreme Court late Wednesday, Nov. 25, temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. The court’s action won’t have any immediate impact since the two groups that sued as a result of the restrictions, the Catholic church and Orthodox Jewish synagogues, are no longer subject to them. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The Latest: Coronavirus vaccine provided to US Supreme Court

Dec. 17, 2020 9:00 PM EST

WASHINGTON — The justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are being provided with doses of the coronavirus vaccine. That is according to a letter by Capitol Physician Brian Monahan, which says the court, along with Congress and executive branch agencies are being given a limited supply of doses “for...

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