Buckingham Palace confirmed Friday that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will not be returning to royal duties, and Harry will give up his honorary military titles — a decision that makes formal, and final, the couple’s split from the royal family. When Harry and Meghan stepped away from full-time royal life in early 2020, […]
Millions of people in the United States are facing frigid, stormy weather, although the number of people without power in the southwestern state of Texas dropped below a half million on Thursday for the first time in four days. Electricity in Texas, the country’s second-biggest state, was restored to about 2.5 million people. The head […]
Former Japanese athlete Seiko Hashimoto has become the new president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee after Yoshiro Mori resigned following sexist remarks about women. Hashimoto, a 56-year-old lawmaker in Japan’s ruling party, participated in seven Summer and Winter Olympics as a skater and a cyclist. She was named president of […]
Artworks owned by the late artist Christo and his wife, Jean-Claude, a duo famed for wrapping landmarks in fabric, sold for $9.6 million at auction on Wednesday. The 28 lots under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Paris included drawings for the couple’s “The Umbrellas (Joint project for Japan and USA),” two spectacular installations by the […]
South Africa has held its annual International Public Arts Festival (IPAF), despite the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures. Turnout was low but those attending welcomed the street festival, held Feb. 10-14, as a chance to get out of the house. Scores of people attended the IPAF’s opening in Cape Town this month – even […]
Yoshiro Mori’s replacement as president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is expected to be named very quickly. The 83-year-old former prime minister was forced to step down last week after making demeaning remarks about women. Basically, he said they talk too much. There is pressure to name a woman to replace Mori. But don’t […]
Black Americans attend church more regularly than Americans overall, and pray more often. Most attend churches that are predominantly Black, yet many would like those congregations to become racially diverse. There is broad respect for Black churches’ historical role in seeking racial equality, coupled with a widespread perception they have lost influence in recent decades. […]
South Africa has held (Feb 10-14) its annual International Public Art Festival (IPAF), despite the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures. Turnout was low but those attending welcomed the street festival as a chance to get out of the house. Vinicius Assis reports from Cape Town. Produced by: Jason Godman Camera: Vinicius Assis details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal […]
Spanish rapper Pablo Hasél was arrested Tuesday after a 24-hour standoff between him and his free speech supporters on one side and Catalan anti-riot police on the other. Along with more than 50 supporters, Hásel barricaded himself in rectorate building of Lleida University, located some 160 kilometers west of Barcelona, to resist reporting to serve […]
“Our Big Chief told us he doesn’t want us out there this Mardi Gras because of COVID,” Aaron “Flagboy Giz” Hartley told VOA. “He said it wasn’t safe for our members or for the public watching us.” Until this year, Hartley took part in a festive New Orleans tradition dating back to the 1800s, the […]
More than 150 million people in the central and southern United States were under winter storm warnings or advisories Monday, with record-breaking cold temperatures gripping the nation from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. The south-central state of Texas may be takin g the worst of the winter weather. Hit by ice […]
To every sport, there’s a season, a spot on the calendar that fans mark for the big event. World Series, October. College hoops, March. Indy 500, Memorial Day. For dog owners, it’s right around Valentine’s Day. That’s when they normally cuddle up on the couch with their precious pooch to watch the Super Bowl of […]
The line between politics and entertainment is increasingly blurred in America, where a former reality TV star recently served as president and entertainment has become more political. The content people choose to watch and listen to reflects a politically divided country, and as VOA’s Elizabeth Lee shows, the division often cuts across families. Produced by: […]
Larry the cat, a four-legged inhabitant of London’s 10 Downing St., is marking a decade as Britain’s mouse-catcher in chief on Monday. The tabby cat was recruited by then-Prime Minister David Cameron to deal with a pack of rats seen scuttling close to the British leader’s official residence and entered Downing Street on Feb. […]
The search for three climbers, who went missing on Pakistan’s K2 mountain earlier this month, has found no trace of them. Iceland’s John Snorri, 47, Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr, 33, and Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, 45, lost contact with base camp on February 5 during their ascent of what global mountaineers describe as the killer […]
Archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old brewery that could produce thousands of liters of beer in the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos, Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said. The site in Egypt’s Sohag Governorate likely dates back to the reign of King Narmer around 3,100 BC, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Dr. Matthew […]
Diamond cloning is said to be a vocation, an artform and a rare skill. New York artist John Hatleberg creates precise reproductions of famous diamonds, but one copy became his life’s work – the Blue Diamond of the French Crown. Vladimir Lenski has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Aleksandr Barash and Natalia Latukhina […]
As 17-year-old Darius Jackson watched TV, listening in rapt attention to 22-year-old Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden last month, he was struck by the “powerful words” of the young Black woman. It was a “defining moment in history,” said Jackson, who is a […]
After Navy veteran Maxwell Moore returned home to Los Angeles following numerous tours to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, the local Veterans Affairs office urged him to find a hobby to help him deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder. His therapy eventually turned into a business, as reporter Angelina Bagdasaryan found in this story […]
Plugged In-Myanmar Democracy in Peril The United States is levying new sanctions on Myanmar’s military following its takeover of the country’s government on February 1, placing Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and ending a nearly 10-year experiment in democracy. Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren examines the situation with Derek Mitchell, former U.S. ambassador to […]
“Ailey,” a documentary about the life and creative spirit of iconic African American dancer, director and choreographer Alvin Ailey, weaves an immersive portrait of Ailey as a creative genius and a complex individual, who emoted his life experience through movement. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with the filmmaker […]
Chick Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died. He was 79. Corea died Tuesday of a rare form of cancer, his team posted on his website. His death was confirmed by Corea’s web and […]
The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee reportedly will resign after making sexist remarks about women that were disclosed to media. Japan’s Kyodo news agency and other news outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported Thursday that Yoshiro Mori would step down on Friday after concluding he could not let the ensuing controversy continue. […]
The Oscars ceremony, delayed until April 25 due to the coronavirus pandemic that has rocked the entire film industry, will be broadcast live from “multiple sites,” including Hollywood, the Academy announced on Wednesday. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, which still places restrictions on the Los Angeles area, “the Academy is determined to present an Oscar ceremony […]
Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner and Iron Maiden lead this year’s nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a female-heavy list of 16 acts that includes for the first time The Go-Go’s, Mary J. Blige and Dionne Warwick. Artists are eligible for a nomination 25 years after the release of their first official […]
Deep into this pandemic winter, it can be hard to remember what a refuge gardens were last spring and summer. In those frightening early days of COVID-19, victory gardens and household vegetable plots sprang up all over. Seed companies reported shortages. Hardware stores saw a run on garden tools. Millions found comfort, release and a […]
As the world grappled with COVID-19, a recession and a racial reckoning, the ultrawealthy gave to a broader set of causes than ever before — bestowing multimillion-dollar gifts on food pantries, historically Black colleges and universities and organizations that serve the poor and the homeless, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual rankings of the […]
Super Bowl 2021 in now history – and it also made history for a number of reasons. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Camera: Yuriy Zakrevskiy details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
America’s latest first lady is breaking with tradition as the first presidential spouse to keep her job while in the White House. Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, is an English professor at a community college near Washington. “I think in particular, the fact that she is in a profession that is seen […]
U.S. rhythm and blues singer Mary Wilson, who rose to fame as a member of the legendary female singing trio The Supremes in the 1960s, has died at the age of 76. Her friend, publicist Jay Schwartz, said Wilson died suddenly Monday at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilson founded The […]
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board meets Tuesday to vote on a probable cause for the helicopter crash that killed basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in California last year. The NTSB has said there was no sign of mechanical failure on the helicopter, and that the crash is believed to be an […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 Sunday to win a Super Bowl title and complete the National Football League’s season without any games being canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. The usual spectacle surrounding one of the most watched television events of the year was toned down, and the site of the […]
Christopher Plummer, the dashing, award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer died Friday morning at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his […]
Donald Trump has resigned from the Screen Actors Guild after the union threatened to expel him for his role in the Capitol riot in January. In a letter dated Thursday and addressed to SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, Trump said he was resigning from the union that he had been a member of since 1989. “I no […]
On frozen lakes and snow-covered fields in Canada’s wilds, magnificent geometric formations have suddenly appeared — the work of a retired headmaster stomping around in snowshoes to beat back pandemic blues. “I start with a shape — a hexagon, a square or a triangle — and draw lines through it or intersecting circles,” Kim Asmussen […]
Pope Francis Thursday said his thoughts are with musicians and those who work in the music industry whose livelihood has been all but eliminated by restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video message he delivered to an international conference on music, Pope Francis said he knows musicians have seen their […]
An outcry by Hindu nationalists and criminal complaints for allegedly hurting Hindus’ religious sentiment has prompted the director of a new Amazon television political drama to delete scenes that allegedly mocked Hindi deities and a dialogue with derisive references to lower castes. The show, Tandav, released last month here, was widely expected to win many […]
After three years of negotiations with the late controversial art collector Douglas Latchford and his family, more than 100 Cambodian artifacts will be returned to Cambodia, according to the government. How Latchford, a British art collector and co-author of three books on Cambodian art and antiques, built his collection was a topic of art world […]
American pop star Rihanna tweeted about ongoing farmers’ protests in India this week, sparking attention from other big names on social media and anger from the Indian government. “Why aren’t we talking about this?!” Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, with a link to a CNN article about ongoing protests. The tweet, which has been […]
India’s Top Court Puts Controversial Farm Laws on Hold Protest leaders adamant that they will not negotiate with court-appointed panel saying all its members are ‘pro-government’ and reiterating that laws must be repealed Indian newspapers have reported that journalists reporting along the Singhu border near Delhi have been arrested or prevented from entering secured areas […]
Hollywood period drama “Mank” got a leading six nominations on Wednesday for the 2021 Golden Globe awards in film, while television shows “The Crown” and “The Mandalorian” will be among those competing for best series. Streaming service Netflix Inc dominated the nominations in both film, with 22 nods, and television (20) after a year in […]
Whether anyone will be attending the Golden Globes in person remains uncertain and improbable. But nominations to the 78th Globes will be announced Wednesday, nevertheless. Hollywood’s strange and largely virtual awards season lacks the usual kind of buzz and red-carpet glamour that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association annually feasts on. More than perhaps any other […]
While many U.S. professional football games this season have been played in empty stadiums because of the coronavirus pandemic, the February 7 Super Bowl will be played in front of 25,000 fans. It will be the lowest attended National Football League championship game of all time. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where the Kansas […]
Rocker Marilyn Manson was dropped by his record label on Monday after actor Evan Rachel Wood accused her ex-fiancé of sexual and other physical abuse, alleging she was “manipulated into submission” during their relationship. Manson called the allegations “horrible distortions of reality.” Wood, who stars on HBO’s “Westworld,” had spoken frequently in recent years about […]
Tony Bennett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease but it hasn’t quieted his legendary voice. The singer’s wife and son reveal in the latest edition of AARP The Magazine that Bennett was first diagnosed with the irreversible neurological disorder in 2016. The magazine says he endures “increasingly rarer moments of clarity and awareness.” Still, he […]