Paris doctors warn of catastrophic overload of virus cases

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PARIS, France (AP) — Critical care doctors in Paris say surging coronavirus infections could soon overwhelm their ability to care for the sick in the French capital’s hospitals, possibly forcing them to choose which patients they have the resources to save.

The sobering warnings were delivered Sunday in newspaper opinions signed by dozens of Paris-region doctors. They came as French President Emmanuel Macron has been vigorously defending his decision not to completely lockdown France again as he did last year. Since January, Macron’s government has instead imposed a nationwide overnight curfew and followed that with a grab-bag of other restrictions.

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Modi’s party seeks big win as 2 key Indian states vote

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MAR 27, 2021 @ 1700 GMT | A woman takes the body temperature of a voter standing in a queue to cast her vote outside a polling booth during first phase of elections in West Bengal state in Medinipur, India, Saturday, March 27, 2021. Voting began Saturday in two key Indian states with sizeable minority Muslim populations posing a tough test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity amid a months-long farmers’ protest and the economy plunging with millions of people losing jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — Two Indian states with sizeable Muslim populations began voting in local elections Saturday in a test of strength for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist agenda is being challenged by months of farmer protests and a fresh wave of the pandemic.

Top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Modi, have campaigned heavily to win West Bengal for the first time and dislodge the state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, as well as retain power in northeastern Assam state.

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UK extends emergency coronavirus powers by 6 months

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MAR 25, 2021 @ 1900 GMT | People are silhouetted as they walk over Millennium Bridge during rainy weather, as the coronavirus lockdown continues in London, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo

LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) — British lawmakers agreed Thursday to prolong coronavirus emergency measures for six months, allowing the Conservative government to keep its unprecedented powers to restrict U.K. citizens’ everyday lives.

The House of Commons voted to extend the powers until September, and approved the government’s road map for gradually easing Britain’s strict coronavirus lockdown over the next three months.

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Part of Wright brothers’ 1st airplane on NASA’s Mars chopper

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MAR 24, 2021 @ 1500 GMT | FILE – This illustration made available by NASA depicts the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars which was attached to the bottom of the Perseverance rover, background left. It will be the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, United States (AP) — A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars. NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month.

Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet no sooner than April 8. It will mark a “Wright brothers’ moment,” noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Europe starts World Cup qualifying amid pause for pandemic

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MAR 22, 2021 @ 1700 GMT |Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after he scored a goal against Lyon during the French League One soccer match between Lyon and PSG in Decines, near Lyon, central France, Sunday, March 21, 2021. (AP Photo)

GENEVA (AP) — The 55 national soccer teams in Europe will start World Cup qualifying this week for the 2022 tournament in Qatar even as South America and Asia pause amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 10 European qualifying groups kick off Wednesday and will play 75 games in eight days. Some teams will play triple-headers in a schedule squeezed by the loss of dates in June because of the postponed European Championship.

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In French woods, rivals take aim at senator’s WWI research

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MAR 20, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | The statue of World War I hero Sgt. Alvin C. York stands on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The claim in Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s 2014 book about York, that a 1918 U.S. Army Signal Corps photo was mislabeled and actually shows York with three German officers he captured, has been disputed by rival researchers. (AP Photo)

HARRISBURG, United States (AP) — The World War I exploits of Sgt. Alvin C. York netted Gary Cooper a best actor Academy Award and Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano a degree, a book deal — and academic backlash.

Mastriano had a deep interest in York long before he led anti-mask protests last year, fought tirelessly to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s reelection loss and showed up outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.

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Europe pause of AstraZeneca sends ripple of doubt elsewhere

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MAR 19, 2021 @ 1500 GMT | FILE – In this March 5, 2021, file photo, a hospital security guard receives one of the country’s first coronavirus vaccinations using AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine provided through the global COVAX initiative, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic, especially in developing nations. (AP Photo)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries over the past week could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic, especially in developing nations.

As things stand, it’s either AstraZeneca or nothing for some poorer countries. The vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish drug maker is cheaper and easier to store than many others. It will make up nearly all of the doses shipped in the first half of the year by COVAX, a consortium meant to ensure low- and middle-income countries receive vaccines.

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Schools weigh whether to seat students closer together

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MAR 17, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | FILE – In this March 2, 2021, file photo, socially distanced, and with protective partitions, students work on an art project during class at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, Calif. U.S. guidelines that say students should be kept 6 feet apart in schools are receiving new scrutiny from federal health experts, state governments and education officials working to return as many children as possible to the classroom. (AP Photo)

BOSTON, United States (AP) — New evidence that it may be safe for schools to seat students 3 feet apart — half of the previous recommended distance — could offer a way to return more of the nation’s children to classrooms with limited space.

Even as more teachers receive vaccinations against COVID-19, social distancing guidelines have remained a major hurdle for districts across the U.S. Debate around the issue flared last week when a study suggested that masked students can be seated as close as 3 feet apart with no increased risk to them or teachers.

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EXPLAINER: Why countries are halting the AstraZeneca shots

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MAR 16, 2021 @ 1700 GMT | FILE – In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo, vials AstraZeneca vaccine ready to be used at the Wellcome Centre in London. In recent days, countries including Denmark, Ireland and Thailand have temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after reports that some people who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there’s no evidence that the shot was responsible. The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization say the data available do not suggest the vaccine caused the clots. Britain and several other countries have stuck with the vaccine. (AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) — At least a dozen countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain have now temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after reports last week that some people in Denmark and Norway who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there’s no evidence that the shot was responsible.

The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization say the data available don’t suggest the vaccine caused the clots and that people should continue to be immunized. Here’s a look at what we know — and what we don’t.

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London police tactics at vigil for slain woman draw scrutiny

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MAR 14, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | People gather, at the band stand in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard, after an official vigil was cancelled, in London, Saturday, March 13, 2021. A serving British police officer accused of the kidnap and murder of a woman in London has appeared in court for the first time. Wayne Couzens, 48, is charged with kidnapping and killing 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who went missing while walking home from a friend’s apartment in south London on March 3. (AP Photo)

LONDON, UK (AP) — London’s police department is under scrutiny for the way officers handled some participants at an unofficial vigil Saturday night for a London woman whose death led to murder charges against a fellow officer and spurred a national conversation about violence against women in the U.K.

Hundreds of people disregarded a judge’s ruling and police requests by gathering at Clapham Common in honor of Sarah Everard, 33, who last was seen alive near the south London park on March 3. Demonstrators said they wanted to draw attention to the fear and danger many women see as a daily part of British life.

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