Hindu and South Asian communities around the world are celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, and that includes right here in Salem.

Voting has begun in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the final phase of an election to choose a local government.

A float in Sunday’s upcoming India Day Parade in New York City that celebrates a Hindu temple built over a razed mosque in India is being criticized as anti-Muslim.

Ever since Bangladesh's prime minister was forced to step down and fled the country, her supporters and associates have faced retaliatory attacks.

Authorities say at least 116 people died in a stampede when a crowd at a religious gathering in northern India rushed to leave a makeshift tent.

Oxford University has agreed to return a 500-year-old bronze sculpture of a Hindu saint to India.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken office for a third consecutive term.

Narendra Modi has been sworn in for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister, relying on his coalition partners after his failed to win a parliamentary majority in a surprise outcome.

India’s bruised and battered opposition was largely written off in the lead-up to its national election as too weak to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist governing party.

The world’s largest election could also be one of its most consequential.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exercised near-total control over Indian politics since coming to power 10 years ago, with one exception: He has failed to win over the country’s wealthier southern region.

Thousands of people have attended a rally by an alliance of India’s opposition parties that criticized the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of stifling opponents and undermining democracy ahead of a national election next month.

Holi is the Hindu festival of colors, which is celebrated to mark the start of spring in India, Nepal and the diaspora.

India has announced its 6-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

An unknown number of sacred statues of Hindu deities were stolen and smuggled abroad in the past.

Millions of Indians are celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, with a Guinness World Record number of bright earthen oil lamps as concerns about air pollution soared in the South Asian country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has replaced the name India with a Sanskrit word in dinner invitations sent to guests attending this week’s Group of 20 summit, in a move that reflects his Hindu nationalist party’s efforts to eliminate what it sees as colonial-era names.

India’s splintered opposition parties have decided to contest the 2024 national elections in their bid to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and prevent his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party from achieving a third straight win.

Kashmir’s top pro-India politician says the disputed region lacks democracy four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party stripped its statehood.

Global negotiators have agreed to craft a draft treaty to end plastic pollution.

The United Nations says India is on track to become the world’s most populous nation, surpassing China by 2.9 million people by mid-2023.

Syed Mohammad Munir Abidi is convinced India is no longer the same country it once was for its minority Muslim citizens.

India's population will surpass China's by the middle of this year.

Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people fell into the muddy water when the well's cover collapsed.

Days after seven Hindus were killed in a village in disputed Kashmir, hundreds of residents staged protests across the region's Hindu-dominated areas.

Two children have been killed and five other civilians wounded in a blast in a village in Indian-controlled Kashmir a day after assailants sprayed bullets toward homes, killing at least four.

Welcome to the new Lone Star State, where cricket matches, a Hindu temple and Indian grocery stores sit in close proximity to Christian churches, cattle ranches and Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys empire.

Indians across the country are celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival that symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.

Assailants have fatally shot a Hindu bank manager and a worker from India in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

A group of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders is asking Starbucks to stop charging extra for vegan milk alternatives.

Authorities in India have used bulldozers to raze a number of Muslim-owned shops in New Delhi before the Supreme Court halted the demolitions.

Muslim students in a southern Indian state have found themselves at the center of a debate over hijab bans in schools.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has a commanding lead in crucial state polls, despite criticism of his government’s handling of the pandemic, soaring unemployment and farmer protests.

A court in India has sentenced to death 38 people for a series of bomb blasts in 2008 that left more than 50 dead in Gujarat state, which has a history of violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

Police in India have arrested a man alleged to be behind the offering for sale of prominent Muslim women through a fake online auction, in a case that has sparked outrage across the country.

A lawsuit in which workers accuse a Hindu organization of human trafficking for luring them from India to build a temple in New Jersey for as little as $1.20 a day has widened to four other states.

Florida’s major theme parks are adjusting face mask policies after the CDC loosened its recommendations as more people get vaccinated for the coronavirus.

A lawsuit says workers from marginalized communities in India were lured to New Jersey and forced to work more than 12 hours per day at ultra-low wages to help build a Hindu temple.

For British IT consultant Yogen Shah, India’s COVID-19 crisis is deeply personal.

A tiny, lush-green Indian village surrounded by rice paddy fields was beaming with joy Wednesday hours before its descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office and becomes the U.S. vice president. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)THULASENDRAPURAM – With chants of “Long live Kamala Harris,” fireworks and prayers, residents of a tiny Indian village celebrated her inauguration as U.S. vice president. The villagers chanted “Long live Kamala Harris” while holding portraits of her and blasted off fireworks the moment she took the oath. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Harris becoming U.S. vice president a “historic occasion. Harris made history Wednesday as the first Black, South Asian and female U.S. vice president and what made her special for the village is is her Indian heritage.

India is second in the world in total reported coronavirus cases behind the U.S., but daily infections have been on the decline since the middle of September. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)NEW DELHI – India has reported 41,100 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the country’s overall tally since the pandemic began to 8.79 million. India is second in the world in total reported cases behind the U.S., but daily infections have been on the decline since the middle of September. Sri Lankan prisons are filled with more than 26,000 inmates in facilities meant to hold 10,000. Sri Lanka has confirmed a total of 16,582 cases, including 53 deaths.

Authorities in New Delhi have banned firecrackers and are appealing to people to celebrate the Hindu festival of lights at home. Coronavirus infections have been rising in the capital and authorities are worried large festival crowds will worsen the virus situation. India has confirmed more than 8.7 million cases of coronavirus infection, second-most in the world, and more than 128,600 fatalities. India's Hindu festivals draw tens of thousands of people, packed in temples, shopping districts and family gatherings exchanging gifts. For India’s nearly 70 million traders, who employ about 400 million people, an upturn could not come fast enough.

Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker reported more than 50.2 million COVID-19 cases globally as of Sunday. Coronavirus cases and deaths also continue to soar in the U.S., as they are in many countries. Health officials also reported 1,038 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total so far to nearly 122,000. Globally, there have been nearly 50 million positive cases and more than 1.2 million deaths from COVID-19. With those adjustments and the latest reported cases, the statewide case total reached 53,671 with 1,104 deaths.

India's confirmed coronavirus caseload surpassed 8 million on Thursday with daily infections dipping to the lowest level this week, as concerns grew over a major Hindu festival season and winter setting in. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)NEW DELHI – India’s confirmed coronavirus caseload surpassed 8 million on Thursday with daily infections dipping to the lowest level this week, as concerns grew over a major Hindu festival season and winter setting in. India’s trajectory is moving toward the worst-hit country, the United States, which has over 8.8 million cases. India saw a steep rise in cases in July and added more than 2 million in August and another 3 million in September. India, with a population of 1.4 billion, aims to provide a coronavirus vaccine to 250 million people by July 2021.

Health experts worry the festivals can set off a whole new cascade of infections, further testing and straining Indias battered health care system. The Hindu festival season is traditionally laced with an unmatched fanfare and extravaganza, with socializing being the hallmark of the celebration. Nearly 1 billion Indians will soon celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, and the country’s biggest. India's testing rate has remained constant but it is relying heavily on antigen tests, which are faster but less accurate than traditional RT-PCR tests. Kerala’s story has alarmed health experts who fear similar problems in the runup to Diwali that could reverse the gains.

(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)MELBOURNE – Authorities in Sri Lanka on Saturday closed at least two fishery harbors and many stalls after a surge of 609 cases linked to the country's main fish market. Health authorities on Wednesday temporarily closed the fish market on Colombo's outskirts after 49 traders tested positive for the coronavirus. Sri Lanka has had 14 deaths from the coronavirus. Eleven of the new cases were tied to international arrivals, including passengers from the United States, the Philippines and India. — India reported 53,370 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall tally past 7.8. million.

(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)NEW DELHI – 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. India added fewer than 60,000 new cases for a fifth day Friday, with the 54,366 new cases taking the overall tally past 7.7 million. It has the second-most cases in the world behind the U.S., though cases have declined in recent weeks. — South Korea recorded its highest increase in coronavirus cases in more than 40 days on Friday as more infections were reported at hospitals and nursing homes.

An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused, including senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, in the case. Last year, India’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of building a Hindu temple on the disputed site. The Supreme Court also ruled that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegal and ordered that the separate trial in the mosque demolition case be completed expeditiously. The four acquitted BJP leaders — L.K. “When the Supreme Court said that the demolition of the mosque was an unlawful act, how can a lower court set free the accused?” he said.

The old palace courtyard packed with hundreds of thousands of people each year during the Indrajatra festival is deserted, the temples are locked and all public celebrations are banned by the government to curb the coronavirus. Many in this Himalayan nation believe they would anger the gods by shunning the rituals — which would cause catastrophe. Even violent clashes broke out between police and devotees defying government orders during a separate chariot festival south of Kathmandu. During the festival, Kumari, a girl revered as the living goddess, is taken around the core part of Kathmandu in a chariot pulled by devotees. “We have disappointed the gods and we need to keep the gods happy so we all can be happy and prosper," he said.

The nation of 1.3 billion people is expected to become the pandemic's worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)NEW DELHI – India reported more than 83,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, showing some decline after reaching a record a week earlier. India is expected to become the world's worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where nearly 6.9 million people have been infected by the virus. But the past week has seen some improvement in India, with the numbers dropping after a record 97,894 new cases were reported on Sept. 16. The country has reported 3,315 cases, including 13 deaths.

(AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)HANOI – Vietnam will resume international commercial flights connecting the country to several Asian destinations starting Friday, after a monthslong shutdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Flights connecting the cities with Cambodia and Laos will resume next week. The flights, however, are reserved for Vietnamese nationals, diplomats, experts, managers, skilled workers, investors and their families. Vietnam shut down international flights on April 1. Vietnam has reported 1,059 cases of the coronavirus.

Hoping to avoid more economic damage, India is gradually relaxing restrictions and has announced that urban metro trains can resume service next Monday. India has been reporting the highest single-day caseload in the world for nearly three weeks. On Tuesday it recorded 69,921 new coronavirus infections. By May and June, cases began to gradually increase, with megacity Mumbai and the capital, New Delhi, faring the worst. On Tuesday, India held competitive college exams despite demands from students that they be postponed because of the pandemic.

(AP Photo/Channi Anand)NEW DELHI India reported 1,092 new fatalities from COVID-19 on Wednesday, its highest single-day total. ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak___HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:CANBERRA, Australia Australia has announced a deal to manufacture a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZenec. The school said several people who have tested positive as part of this cluster have been identified, including some who are N.C. State students. ___SANTA FE, N.M. -- Its too early to say whether a COVID-19 vaccine once available will be mandatory for certain people in New Mexico, but Gov. The governors administration has authority under a 2003 state law to issue vaccine orders during a declared public health emergency.

Indian-controlled Kashmir has remained on edge after New Delhi last summer scrapped the disputed regions semi-autonomy amid a near-total clampdown. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)SRINAGAR Indian-controlled Kashmir has remained on edge in the year since New Delhi scrapped the disputed regions semi-autonomy and imposed a near-total clampdown. Indian authorities detained and arrested thousands of young people as well as pro-freedom Kashmir leaders and pro-India politicians. In July, the government also eased rules for Indian soldiers to acquire land in Kashmir and build strategic settlements. Given that Kashmir is surrounded by three nuclear weapon states with huge conventional capabilities, Indian unilateralism in Kashmir is creating a deadly situation, said U.S.-based Kashmiri political anthropologist Mohammed Junaid.

(CNN) - Egypt is just months away from reopening the Baron Empain Palace after a $6 million restoration project on the historic Cairo building. The Baron Empain Palace, also known as "Le Palais Hindou" or the Hindu palace, was built by Belgian millionaire Baron Edward Empain in 1911, in the Heliopolis district of the Egyptian capital. Now, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has confirmed that restoration efforts, carried out by The Armed Forces Engineering Authority, are 85% complete. After the extensive restoration, which has cost to the tune of around $6 million (100 million Egyptian pounds), the palace is due to reopen in October, according to state news agency Al Ahram. "The colors of the faade of the Baron Empain palace are the same as the original ones," Hisham Samir, engineering adviser to the minister of antiquities, said in a statement published online.

Rob Stothard/Getty ImagesSRINAGAR, India - Hindu nationalists in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long dreamed of stripping Indian-controlled Kashmir -- named Jammu and Kashmir state -- of its decades-old special status. The "abrogation of Article 370" was also mentioned in the BJP election manifesto, released in April ahead of India's general elections. A long-held goalOn Monday, Modi's government finally moved to revoke Article 370, in what analysts say is part of a Hindu nationalist agenda. In the last five years, rallying cries for a Hindu state have been linked to lynchings and attacks on Muslims across the country. Kashmir is one of the most militarized parts of the world and there will be even further militarization in order to suppress violence and protests," Mander added.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images(CNN) - A Hindu priest was attacked in a Queens, New York, neighborhood this week, and a suspect was arrested in the case, a congresswoman said Saturday. "I commend the NYPD for making a swift arrest in this case and I'm confident that justice will be served. I stand with the Hindu community and wish the victim a full recovery," Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York, said in a statement. An NYPD spokesperson said the victim was taken to a hospital after being punched and hit with an object believed to be an umbrella. Investigators do not believe there is a hate crime component connected at this point, the second NYPD spokesperson said.