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Thousands of people around France are spending the Easter holiday lining up for COVID-19 shots as the government tries to speed up vaccinations amid a new surge of infections. In Lyon, a soccer team opened its stadium for the holiday weekend as a mass vaccination center and provided 200 volunteers to help medical workers. But as Europe faced its second Easter Sunday in a row under the cloud of the pandemic, some French cities pushed back against President Emmanuel Macron’s insistence on vaccinating through the long holiday weekend. Spain, Italy and Germany kept some vaccination centers but others closed for the holiday.

Baylor opened the Final Four with a blowout, beating Houston 78-59. Gonzaga then beat UCLA 93-90 in overtime on one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history. The Bears made a mockery of the first semifinal of the night, with five players in double figures and 11 3-pointers. Their defense stole the show, shutting down the Cougars while building a 25-point halftime lead. Baylor will face Gonzaga on Monday night after Jalen Suggs took one dribble after crossing half court and buried a 3 to give the Zags a shot at becoming the first undefeated team since Indiana in 1976.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Landslides and flash floods from torrential rains in eastern Indonesia killed at least 41 people and displaced thousands, the country's disaster relief agency said Sunday. More than two dozen others were still missing. Mud tumbled down…

An Associated Press survey of Division I athletic directors found that nearly 73% believe allowing athletes to be compensated for use of their name, image or likeness will decrease the number of schools that have a chance to be competitive in college sports. Nearly 28% said many fewer schools would be competitive. Most of those surveyed were from smaller schools and not in the Power Five conferences. One participant says NIL rights are a game changer for college athletics. Others say the concerns are overblown.

Pope Francis has used his traditional Easter address to denounce as “scandalous” that warfare continues to rage and military arsenals are fattened around the world as the coronavirus pandemic causes social and economic suffering. Francis tempered his world affairs speech on Easter Sunday with wishes of joy along with accounts of pain from the globe’s many armed conflicts and other sources of violence. He also appealed anew to the international community to overcome delays in distributing COVID-19 vaccines and to ensure supplies reach the poorest countries. For the second Easter in a row, the pope read his address from inside St. Peter's Basilica instead of outdoors to discourage crowds in St. Peter's Square. 

A senior Jordanian official says that his country has foiled a “malicious plot.” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke at a news conference Sunday, a day after a half brother of King Abdullah was placed under house arrest. Safadi said Jordanian intelligence had intercepted certain communications at what he called the “zero hour.” He says it then "was clear they moved from design and planning into action.” He says some 14-16 people are under arrest.

KUKES, Albania (AP) — Hate Ora has been weaving carpets and rugs for more than half a century, since learning the craft as a child by sneaking into her aunt's workshop. Ora, 64, is now teaching the methods she picked…

Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar have taken to the streets holding painted eggs, in a nod to the Easter holiday. On Sunday in the biggest city of Yangon, one group marched chanting and singing protest songs and cradling eggs bearing the slogan “Spring Revolution.” Pope Francis in his Easter Sunday address prayed for the “young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully." Myanmar’s military has violently cracked down on protesters and others in opposition since the Feb. 1 coup. The independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says the civilian death toll has reached 557.

Two months into his job, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is forging a fresh path for his Cabinet role and in his life that could bridge gaps with Republicans when it comes to President Joe Biden’s agenda. He's been caught on Twitter biking home from work. He's made a pitch for Biden's massive public works plan at the popular SXSW conference in Texas. And he keeps up a dizzying pace of media interviews to sway the public. Biden has tasked Buttigieg and four other Cabinet members with selling the administration’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure and climate proposal. The plan offers big stakes for Buttigieg at the department.

Christianity’s most joyous feast day is being celebrated worldwide with faithful sitting far apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings for the second Easter Sunday. From Protestant churches in South Korea to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, worshippers were subject to restrictions conditioned by the pandemic. In Jerusalem, air travel restrictions and quarantine regulations prevented foreign pilgrims from flocking to religious sites during Holy Week even though Israel has launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns. At the Vatican, the 200 or so faithful who were allowed to attend Easter Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica looked lost in the cavernous cathedral. 

Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics just two years after she was diagnosed with leukemia. She swam a qualifying time of 57.77 seconds in winning the 100-meter butterfly at Japan's national championships. She resumed training about a year ago but had said her goal was only to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The 20-year-old would have been among the favorites in several Olympic races if she had not fallen ill. She won six gold medals in 2018 at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, which included the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, and the 50 and 100-meter butterfly. She also won gold in two relays, and added two silvers.

Shohei Ohtani’s quest to regain his reputation as a stellar two-way player gets a big test when he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against the White Sox. The right-handed Ohtani had 10 impressive starts on the mound as a rookie in 2018 before needing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He hasn’t been on the mound since except for two ineffective appearances last season. Also around the big leagues, Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez is off to a good start with two homers in two games, and MLB is facing fallout from its decision to pull July's All-Star Game from Atlanta's Truist Park to protest a new voting law.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Silence has replaced the low hum of conversation and the clink of glasses that pervaded the sidewalk cafes across Athens. Their chairs and tables, once occupied throughout the day and deep into the night, stand stacked…

Many foreigners who power the economy in the tiny, oil-rich sheikhdom of Kuwait are struggling to get coronavirus vaccines. The expats make up 70% of the population in the country, yet Kuwait is unlike other Gulf Arab states that have administered doses to masses of foreign workers in a race to reach herd immunity. Kuwait has come under fire for its blatant choice to vaccinate its own people first. Legions of laborers from Asia, Africa and elsewhere who prop up the country are still waiting for their first doses, despite bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

Yermín Mercedes finally made an out, but not before becoming the first player since at least 1900 to begin a season with eight straight hits. The 28-year-old rookie for the Chicago White Sox got hits his first three times up Saturday night against the Angels before a flyout. On Friday night, Mercedes became the second player in the modern era to get five hits in his first career start, and the first to go 5 for 5. The previous best start to a season was by Cincinnati’s Chris Stynes, who began 1997 with seven consecutive hits. Mercedes was supposed to have the night off, but manager Tony La Russa said he earned his way into the lineup.

UCLA challenged top-seeded Gonzaga for 45 minutes and came up just short. After Johnny Juzang thought he had forced a second overtime with a putback to tie the score at 90 with 3.3 seconds left, Jalen Suggs made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Bruins home. Instead of slowing things down and relying on defense as they had throughout their incredible tourney run, the Bruins traded baskets with Gonzaga. And it was almost enough. Juzang led the Bruins with 29 points.

Several Oscar hopefuls will reunite at Sunday’s Screen Actor Guild Awards, albeit in the same virtual, socially-distanced way that most gatherings have happened in the last year. Normally held in Los Angeles, this year’s ceremony will be a stripped down, hourlong affair that aims to deliver its annual celebration of the best film and television actors through pre-taped segments. The show will feature more of the SAG Awards’ signature opening “I Am an Actor” segments in which stars describe what their craft means to them. The show will air live on TNT and TBS at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Gonzaga has given fans the NCAA championship game they wanted with a shot for the ages. Jalen Suggs banked in a shot from near midcourt at the buzzer, giving the heavily favored Zags a 93-90 overtime victory against upstart UCLA. Gonzaga, the No. 1 overall seed, will play second-seeded Baylor for the title Monday night. Those teams were 1-2 in The Associated Press Top 25 most of the season. The Bears manhandled Houston 78-59 in the other national semifinal.

Rock Your World won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby by 4 1/4 lengths over 4-5 favorite Medina Spirit, preventing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert from earning his 10th win in the West Coast’s prep for the Kentucky Derby. Rock Your World was ridden by Umberto Rispoli. The colt ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.17 and paid $12.40, $4.60 and $3.40 at 5-1 odds. It was Rock Your World's dirt debut after he won his first two starts on turf for trainer John Sadler. Rock Your World earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on May 1.

Omar Narváez singled with one out in the eighth inning, ending a no-hit bid by José Berríos and the Minnesota Twins bullpen in a game where Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes also pitched six hitless innings. Berríos dazzled over six hitless innings Saturday, and Taylor Rogers struck out the side in the seventh. Right-hander Tyler Duffey entered for the eighth, struck out Jackie Bradley Jr., walked Lorenzo Cain and allowed Narváez’s line-drive single to right. It was the first time pitchers matched each other over six hitless innings since the San Francisco Giants’ Jake Peavy and the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom did it on Aug. 2, 2014. Both bids ended in the seventh.