Prince William speaks to Indian-origin family, backs vaccine

London: Britain’s Prince William has become the latest member of the royal family to encourage people to take vaccine shots, saying it was a “really, really important” way to combat the pandemic. William, the 38-year-old Duke of Cambridge, addressed the issue during a video call with London-based Indian-origin Modha family who spoke about getting over any anxiety around the jabs. The second in line to the British throne echoed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s views on the importance of being vaccinated and also warned against believing misinformation. PTI

Spacewalking astronauts prep station for new solar wings

Cape Canaveral (US): Spacewalking astronauts ventured out on Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year. NASA’s Kate Rubins and Victor Glover emerged from the orbiting lab lugging 8-foot (2.5-m) duffle-style bags stuffed with hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts. The astronauts headed with their unusually large load to the far port side of the station, careful not to bump into anything. That’s where the station’s oldest and most degraded solar wings are located. AP

Racist attacks in New York flayed

New York: A crowd gathered in New York City to denounce an uptick in attacks on people of Asian descent in the city and across the country. Hundreds of people rallied at Foley Square in lower Manhattan, not far from where an Asian man was critically injured on Thursday in what the police said was an unprovoked stabbing by another man. — AP