Private space operations continue to expand. Plus, Europe’s space agency continues its quest for diversity, and a French astronaut makes good — sort of — on a promise to his crewmates. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
Britain’s Prince William and Prince Harry unveiled a statue to their late mother Princess Diana in a ceremony Thursday at London’s Kensington Palace, on what would have been her 60th birthday. It’s the first time the brothers have met each other since the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, in April.Prince Harry flew to London last week from the United States, where he moved with his American wife, Meghan Markle, and their son Archie, after quitting royal duties last year. Meghan gave birth to a daughter, Lilibet Diana, last month.William, …
The South African pharmaceutical company Aspen has begun production of hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine for African countries. To speed up the process, the company is getting a large funding boost from the U.S. government. Speaking during a virtual press briefing Thursday, Mark Marchick, a top executive for the U.S. International Development Financial Corporation, said Aspen would receive about $712 million to produce vaccine for people in Africa. “Our consortium of development financing institutions would provide a direct loan to Aspen, among other things, …
The World Health Organization says the recent decline in the number of new coronavirus infections throughout Europe “has come to an end.”Hans Kluge, the director of the U.N. health agency’s Europe region, said Thursday during a news briefing in Copenhagen that the number of cases in the area’s 53 countries rose 10 percent last week. Kluge attributed the rise to “increased mixing, travel, gatherings, and easing of social restrictions,” which he said is taking place amid “a rapidly evolving situation” — the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus, …
American comedian Bill Cosby issued his first statement Wednesday after being freed from prison by the state of Pennsylvania Supreme Court, saying he has never changed his story and has always maintained his innocence. On his Twitter account, Cosby went on to say, “Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law.” In 2018, Cosby received a sentence of three to 10 years based on testimony he gave in 2005 in …
Amid rising caseloads of coronavirus infections as it emerges from a strict COVID lockdown, Cambodia is pinning its hopes on a vaccination rollout that will help the nation reach herd immunity, even as the nation confronts unique challenges that could hamper that effort.Daily case numbers reached a record high of 1,130 Wednesday, far more than reported in April, when severe lockdowns, bans on alcohol sales and travel between provinces were imposed.Cambodia, though, like most developing countries, faces a range of problems not typically associated with wealthier countries in the West, …
The Golden Globes, American film awards at the heart of a lively controversy in recent months over their representativeness, announced Wednesday that they would change their rules to allow foreign language films to compete in the generalist categories and films of animation. These criticisms prompted the NBC broadcaster to cancel the ceremony scheduled for next year, to allow time for the Golden Globes to improve its ethnic and cultural diversity as well as its transparency. Many had particularly criticized this year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA in English) which awards these …
A judge has shot down Britney Spears’ request to have her father removed from her conservatorship — at least for now.New court documents that were filed by the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday show that the judge has denied the request by Spears’ attorney, Samuel Ingham III, to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole conservator. These documents are not in direct response to last week’s hearing, where Spears gave an explosive testimony; though Spears delivered a powerful 24-minute statement, the judge cannot make any ruling based on …
Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as “America’s Dad,” ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby.Cosby, 83, flashed the V-for-victory sign to a helicopter overhead as he trudged into his suburban Philadelphia home after serving nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence for drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand in 2004.The former “Cosby …