CHASING ICE FOR INJURIES? FRESH THE LIGHT RESEARCH SUGGESTS FACES ALONG AN IT MAY NOT HELP. AND

ENGLISH Weekend PAGE 12 | WELL NOVEL SHORE IDEAS IN THE BACK PAGE | TRAVEL WORLD OPPOSING VISIONS ON OF SOLO A REVIVAL FOR PLAYS PRIVACY LEAD TO WAR GUITAR BETWEEN TECH TITANS LONG WRITTEN OUT OF THE FRENCH CANON PAGE 14 | PAGE 6 | BUSINESS WEEKEND PAGE 18 | THEATER

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INTERNATIONAL EDITION | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, APRIL 30 - MAY 2, 2021 The wind New wave and solar in India is boom is here alarmingly different

NEW DELHI

Farhad Manjoo Scientists try to work out whether variants add to severity of outbreak

OPINION BY JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, SHALINI VENUGOPAL Just one word, Benjamin: Solar. AND APOORVA MANDAVILLI Well, actually, one more: Wind. The sun, the air and the chemistry to At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a huge facil- bottle their limitless power — it’s look- ity in the middle of India’s capital, 37 ing more and more as if these consti- fully vaccinated doctors came down tute the world’s next great technolog- with Covid-19 in April. ical advance, a leap as life-changing for The infections left most with mild many of us as was aviation, the inter- symptoms, but it added to their growing net or, of course, plastics. fears that the virus behind India’s cata- Faster than many thought possible, strophic second wave is different. The and despite long doubt about renew- doctors wondered whether a more con- able energy’s practicality, a momen- tagious variant that dodges the immune tous transformation is now well under- system could be fueling the epidemic in way. We are moving the world’s hardest-hit nation. The world from a global econ- So far the evidence is inconclusive, is adopting omy fueled primari- and researchers caution that other fac- ly by climate-warm- tors could explain the viciousness of the renewable ing fossil fuels to one outbreak, which has overwhelmed New sources of in which we will PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADRIANA LOUREIRO FERNANDEZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Delhi so quickly that hospitals are en- power much cleanly pluck most A shell of a house near Guarero, Venezuela. Residents say the town was destroyed as criminals fought over smuggling routes. The fighting subsided after insurgents took control. tirely overrun and crematories burn faster than of our energy out of nonstop. Still, the presence of the vari- experts had water, wind and the ant could complicate the taming of In- imagined fire in the sky. dia’s Covid-19 disaster. possible. People who study “The current wave of Covid has a dif- energy markets say ferent clinical behavior,” said Dr. Sujay economics alone Shad, a senior cardiac surgeon at Sir ensures our eventu- Terrorists who bring stability Ganga Ram Hospital, where two of the al transition to clean fuels, but that doctors needed supplemental oxygen to policy choices by the governments can GUARERO, VENEZUELA recover. “It’s affecting young adults. It’s speed it up. Last October, the Interna- affecting families. It’s a new thing alto- tional Energy Agency declared solar gether. Two-month-old babies are get- power to be the cheapest new form of ting infected.” electricity in many places around the As Venezuela falls apart, India’s outbreak has worsened even world, and in particularly favorable further — the authorities on Thursday locations, solar is now “the cheapest some residents find life reported more than 3,600 daily deaths. source of electricity in history,” the is better under insurgents That brought the official total to nearly agency said. 205,000 people lost, though experts be- It can be difficult to muster much BY ANATOLY KURMANAEV lieve the true figure is much higher. optimism about humanity’s capacity to Daily new infections remained in record address climate change, and I have They bring drinking water to residents territory, surging to nearly 380,000. argued before that it is wisest to look in the arid scrublands, teach farming As supplies run dangerously low and toward the future with a pessimistic workshops and offer medical checkups. hospitals are forced to turn away the eye, if only to encourage urgent action They mediate land disputes, fine cattle sick, scientists are trying to determine toward collective problem-solving. (We rustlers, settle divorces, investigate what role variants of the virus might be are more likely to do something to crimes and punish thieves. playing. They are working with precious solve our problems if we’re frank about They’re not police officers, civil ser- Left, selling gas in Paraguaipoa, a town in an impoverished region that borders Colombia. Right, at home in Paraguaipoa, which is little data. India, like many other coun- how bad things might get.) vants or members of the Venezuelan controlled by armed groups. By some estimates, Colombian rebels now operate in more than half of Venezuela’s territory. tries, has not built up a robust system to There are lots of reasons to cast government, which has all but disap- track viruses. doubt on the clean-energy future. Wind peared from Venezuela’s part of the India’s worries have focused on a MANJOO, PAGE 10 Guajira Peninsula, an impoverished re- ion for carrying out bombings and kid- seizing upon the nation’s undoing to es- drug gangs and long complaining of be- homegrown variant called B.1.617. The gion in the north that borders Colombia. nappings over decades of violence. tablish mini-states of their own. ing abandoned by their government — public, the popular press and many doc- The New York Times publishes opinion Quite the opposite: They belong to Venezuela’s economic collapse has so And far from fleeing in fear or de- have welcomed the terrorist group for tors have concluded that it is responsi- from a wide range of perspectives in one of Latin America’s most notorious thoroughly gutted the country that in- manding to be rescued by the authori- the kind of protection and basic services ble for the severity of the second wave. hopes of promoting constructive debate rebel groups, considered terrorists by surgents have embedded themselves ties, many residents here in Venezuela’s the state is failing to provide. Researchers outside India say the about consequential questions. the United States and the European Un- across large stretches of its territory, borderlands — hungry, hunted by local VENEZUELA, PAGE 4 INDIA, PAGE 4

And for dessert in space, a nice almond tart

who in 1961 was the first to reach space, mont, a physical chemistry professor at Thanks to top chefs, meals squeezed puréed beef and chocolate the University of Paris-Saclay, have cre- sauce from tubes like those used for ated some dishes specifically for Mr. like beef bourguignon are toothpaste. The food for John Glenn, Pesquet. The two run the university’s on the menu in Earth orbit who 10 months later became the first French Center of Culinary Innovation American in orbit, was not any tastier. and cooked some meals for Mr. Pes- BY KENNETH CHANG He swallowed some apple sauce. quet’s first trip to the space station in Nowadays, astronauts get to share 2016. (Mr. Pesquet and Mr. Marx had A French astronaut who leaves Earth the culinary creations of their countries, met by chance at a judo conference a few these days does not leave French food and the world’s space agencies are years earlier. Both are black belts.) behind. showing that while life in space is hectic, Mr. Pesquet, a former Air France pi- Here are some of the foods that Thom- an astronaut should at least be able to lot, also asked Servair, a catering com- as Pesquet, a French astronaut who took enjoy a quality meal now and then. pany for Air France and other airlines, off on a SpaceX rocket to the Interna- That’s why Mr. Pesquet and his crew- to devise some dishes for him. tional Space Station on April 23, will en- mates aboard the station will get to dine “I’ve enjoyed their food for a long joy during his six-month stay in orbit: on dishes prepared by three separate time,” he said. lobster, beef bourguignon, cod with French culinary institutions. “Obvi- Mr. Pesquet will not be dining on lob- black rice, potato cakes with wild mush- ously, all my colleagues are expecting ster and beef bourguignon every day. rooms and almond tarts with cara- good food,” he said. These meticulously prepared dishes are melized pears. Alain Ducasse, a chef who operates intended for celebrations of special oc- “There’s a lot of expectations when renowned restaurants around the casions like birthdays, with enough you send a Frenchman into space,” Mr. world, including Benoit in New York, servings for Mr. Pesquet to share. Wordplay, every day. Pesquet said during a European Space has collaborated for years with the SPACE FOOD, PAGE 2 Agency news conference in March. “I’m French space agency to create menu The New York Times Crossword is the upside to downtime. It’s the smart way to fill the breaks in your day. Start playing. a terrible cook myself, but it’s OK if peo- SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES items available to astronauts aboard the MOON LANDING’S ‘THIRD MAN’ DIES ple are doing it for me.” A balsamic vinegar reduction was added space station. Lt. Col. Michael Collins joined the nytimes.com/solvenow Space cuisine has come a long way to a salmon dish developed for a French In addition, another Michelin-starred Apollo 11 mission and became the since Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet astronaut astronaut by the chef Alain Ducasse. chef, Thierry Marx, and Raphaël Hau- loneliest man in history. PAGE 2

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