Some of London’s biggest West End shows, including “Hamilton” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” won’t reopen until next year, producers announced Wednesday, as arts bodies warned that Britain faces a “cultural catastrophe” because of the coronavirus pandemic. Producer Cameron Mackintosh, his producing partners and his Delfont Mackintosh Theatres group …
your ad hereBoy Who Sang of Being Young Black Man Signs Recording Contract
Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old who grabbed attention on social media with his passionate performance about being a young black man in today’s world, has signed a deal with Warner Records. The song’s official release on Friday coincides with Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. VOA Correspondent …
your ad hereUS Insurers Eye Legionnaires’ Disease Safeguards as Buildings Reopen From Lockdowns
Commercial insurers are scrutinizing building managers’ efforts to avoid outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease as they reopen movie theaters, gyms, schools and offices that had been closed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources told Reuters. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe, sometimes lethal form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella …
your ad hereHumanitarian Air Service Could Run Out of Money
The U.N.’s World Food Program says its humanitarian air service could stop at the end of July without more funds to keep operating. The service transports food, health supplies and other necessities to millions of poor, vulnerable people around the world. The thousands of aid workers flown to emergency …
your ad hereEuropeans Working with US to Restructure WHO, Top Official Says
European governments are working with the United States on plans to overhaul the World Health Organization, a top health official for a European country said, signaling that Europe shares some of the concerns that led Washington to say it would quit.The European health official, who spoke on condition of anonymity …
your ad hereTwitter Labels Trump’s Tweet as ‘Manipulated Media’
Twitter Inc added a ‘manipulated media’ label on a video posted on U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter feed on Thursday that showed a doctored news clip with a mis-spelled banner flashing “Terrified todler runs from racist baby.”The original video, which went viral on social media in 2019, showed a black …
your ad hereAustralia Says it Has Been Target of ‘State-Based’ Cyberattacks
A “sophisticated state-based cyber actor” has been attempting to hack a wide range of Australian organizations for months and had stepped up its efforts recently, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.The attacks have targeted all levels of the government, political organizations, essential service providers and operators of other critical …
your ad hereMystery Fossil Found in Antarctica is Giant Egg, Scientists Say
Researchers say they have determined a mystery fossil discovered in Antarctica in 2011 is a large egg, possibly laid by an ancient aquatic reptile.Science publication Inverse reports that since the fossil was discovered, researchers referred to it as the “thing,” because they could not classify it. They compared it to …
your ad hereDame Vera Lynn, Britain’s World War Two ‘Forces’ Sweetheart,’ Dies at 103
Dame Vera Lynn, the woman whose voice boosted British spirits during the darkest days of World War Two, has died at 103.Her family did not give a cause of death when it announced her passing Thursday in East Sussex.Along with Winston Churchill’s, Lynn’s was the most recognized and renowned British …
your ad hereSocial Media Companies Battle Evolving Threat Ahead of 2020 Election
Top social media companies Google, Facebook and Twitter told U.S. lawmakers Thursday that foreign interference on their platforms has evolved significantly since the 2016 presidential election.The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence heard how these companies are adapting their approaches to combating disinformation as COVID-19, Black Lives Matter protests and …
your ad hereWHO Aiming for 2 Billion Doses of COVID Vaccine by End of 2021
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist said Thursday the agency hopes there will be about two billion doses of a vaccine against COVID-19 by the end of next year that would be reserved for “priority populations.”Speaking at a virtual news conference in Geneva, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan told reporters, “It’s a …
your ad hereRussia Lifts Ban on Telegram Messaging App
The Russian government has lifted a ban on Telegram two years after it announced attempts to restrict access to the encrypted instant-messaging app, the country’s communications regulator said Thursday.“As agreed with the Prosecutor General’s office, Roskomnadzor withdraws the demand to restrict access to the Telegram messenger,” the federal communications watchdog …
your ad hereFilms Offer Window into Police Brutality, Racial Injustice in US
The death of George Floyd while in police custody has sparked protests across the country and abroad about police brutality against African Americans. Acclaimed films have shone a light on racial injustice against African Americans since the 1960s. VOA’s Penelope Poulou looks at some of these works. …
your ad hereFresh Scandal Tests Spain’s Monarchy
Inside the Zarzuela Palace, the spacious residence of King Felipe VI of Spain, there is a corridor dedicated to cartoons about the royal family.Most of the light-hearted jokes are by Spanish media but there is also one from France’s Le Monde.Conspicuous by its absence is the Spanish satirical magazine El …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Sparks Technology Innovation
Engineers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, are developing new technology for health care workers on the front lines of fighting the spread of COVID-19. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports from Chicago, an unexpected benefit of the current pandemic is technological innovation that could have a lasting impact.Camera: Kane Farabaugh …
your ad hereLockheed Martin Orion Spacecraft Completes Successful Test
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin says it has successfully completed a crucial test of the Orion spacecraft it is building for the NASA space agency to eventually return astronauts to the moon.The company released video Thursday of its most recent test conducted earlier this month at the company’s Waterton Canyon facility …
your ad hereNew Zealand Confirms Third New Coronavirus Case
New Zealand on Thursday reported its third confirmed coronavirus case this week, a development that has prompted the government to further restrict its quarantine rules for those entering the country after it had declared local transmission of the virus eradicated.All three cases involve people who flew to New Zealand from …
your ad here‘That 70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Charged in 3 Rapes
“That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson was charged with the rapes of three women in the early 2000s, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday, the culmination of a three-year investigation that resulted in a rare arrest of a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era. The three counts of rape by …
your ad hereVirtual Global Pride Event to Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Community
In place of crowded and festive in-person parades and celebrations, national pride networks have organized a virtual 24-hour international FILE – People attend the annual Pride in London parade, in London, Britain, July 6, 2019.For Oliva, Global Pride will be a time to reflect and be grateful for the efforts …
your ad hereSolar Obiter Spacecraft Makes Closest Approach to Sun So Far
The joint Europe and U.S. Solar Orbiter spacecraft has made its first close approach to the Sun, getting as close as 77 million kilometers and taking the closest images of the sun ever captured.The collaboration between the the U.S. space agency, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), began in …
your ad hereNetflix CEO to Donate $120M to Historically Black Colleges
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities. The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the …
your ad hereExplainer: Viral Load
How does a virus make some people sicker than others? …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Vs Climate Change
COVID lockdowns are clearing the air around the world, but the emissions reductions may only be temporary. …
your ad hereHigh Court Decision Spotlights GOP Divide Over LGBT Rights
Democrats flooded Twitter and email inboxes this week with praise for the watershed Supreme Court decision shielding gay, lesbian and transgender people from job discrimination. Republicans — not so much. The court’s 6-3 ruling came just two days after an event that played out in the opposite direction. Freshman …
your ad hereNY Governor Approves Plan to Proceed with US Open in August
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced the U.S. Open tennis tournament is on schedule to be held this year in Queens, N.Y. from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 without spectators due to health concerns associated with the coronavirus. Cuomo said the United States Tennis Association (USTA) “will take extraordinary precautions to protect players …
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