Thai American soccer player dazzles on the pitch
Women’s soccer in the U.S. has been on the rise, bringing more girls than ever into the fold. Thai American Madison Casteen embraced soccer at a young age and aims
Read MoreAuthor: Svitart
India determined to end World Cup title drought
NEW DELHI — In the ever-growing Twenty20 cricket landscape, India boasts the richest and most-watched league in the world. Yet all that investment and attention hasn’t translated into international success for
Read MoreJudge in Tennessee blocks effort to put Elvis Presley’s former home Graceland up for sale
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday blocked the auction of Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley, by a company that claimed his estate failed to repay a loan
Read MoreWhite House chef duo has dished up culinary diplomacy at state dinners for nearly a decade
Washington — A house-cured smoked salmon, red grapefruit, avocado and cucumber starter. Dry-aged rib eye beef in a sesame sabayon sauce. Salted caramel pistachio cake under a layer of matcha ganache.
Read More‘The Apprentice,’ about a young Donald Trump, premieres in Cannes
CANNES, France — While Donald Trump’s hush money trial entered its sixth week in New York, an origin story for the Republican presidential candidate premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on
Read MoreCannes film follows Egypt feminists on brink of adulthood
Cannes, France — Filmmakers Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir spent so much time following an all-girl theatre troupe in a remote Egyptian village that at one point someone tried to
Read MoreCalifornia Disneyland character, parade performers vote to join labor union
Anaheim, California — Disneyland performers who help bring Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and other beloved characters to life at the Southern California resort chose to unionize following a three-day vote culminating Saturday.
Read MoreYoung women in Rio favela hope to overcome poverty, to play in ’27 World Cup
RIO DE JANEIRO — A 20-minute drive separates the historic Maracana Stadium from the Complexo do Alemao, the biggest complex of favelas in Rio de Janeiro and one of the most
Read MoreOnce a center of Islamic learning, historic Mali city mourns lack of visitors
DJENNE, Mali — Kola Bah used to earn a living as a tour guide in Mali’s historic city of Djenné, once a center of Islamic learning known for the sprawling mud-brick
Read MoreFilm director Rasoulof fled Iran on foot, newspaper says
London — Film director Mohammad Rasoulof made an “exhausting and extremely dangerous” walk across a mountainous borderland to avoid being jailed in Iran on national security charges, he told The Guardian
Read MoreMexico City taco stand earns Michelin star
MEXICO CITY — Newly minted Michelin-starred chef Arturo Rivera Martínez stood over an insanely hot grill Wednesday at the first Mexican taco stand ever to get a coveted star from the
Read MoreVatican moves to adapt to hoaxes, Internet
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Friday overhauled its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena that have marked church history, putting
Read MoreDabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies
new york — Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains such asd the chauvinist boss in “9 to 5” and the nasty TV director in “Tootsie,” has
Read MoreAnnual rich list says Paul McCartney is Britain’s 1st billionaire musician
LONDON — Paul McCartney is a billionaire Beatle. According to figures released Friday, the former member of the Fab Four is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds
Read MoreKosovar’s sculptures transform roof of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gigantic metal sculptures made by Kosovo-born artist Petrit Halilaj adorn the rooftop of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in an ode to a childhood affected by war. Garentina Kraja
Read MoreTake a stroll through the US president’s backyard
General public gets to visit White House grounds in spring and fall …
Read MoreOld Hollywood glamour sizzles at National Portrait Gallery exhibit
He captured the most famous faces in 1930s and early ’40s cinema — Garbo, Crawford, Bogart and Gable. Now the work of George Hurrell, one of Hollywood’s greatest portrait photographers,
Read MoreMiniature poodle Sage fetches top prize at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
NEW YORK — A sprightly miniature poodle named Sage was crowned “Best in Show” on Tuesday at the 148th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, winning the grand prize in the
Read MoreAlice Munro, Canadian Nobel Prize-winning author, dies at 92
ottawa — Nobel Prize-winning Canadian writer Alice Munro, whose exquisitely crafted tales of the loves, ambitions and travails of small-town women in her native land made her a globally acclaimed master
Read MoreIranian director Rasoulof urges film world to support colleagues
cannes, france — Film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who has secretly fled Iran for an undisclosed location in Europe, urged the world film community on Tuesday to provide “strong support” to his
Read More‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ reigns at the box office with $56.5 million opening
LOS ANGELES — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed
Read More‘The Fall Guy’ gives Hollywood muted summer kickoff with $28.5M opening
New York — “The Fall Guy,” the Ryan Gosling-led, action-comedy ode to stunt performers, opened below expectations with $28.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, providing a lukewarm start to a
Read MorePrada focuses generational transition on Italian artisans
TORGIANO, Italy — The Prada Group is expanding its production footprint in Italy, including dozens of new jobs at its knitwear factory in Umbria, leaning into “Made in Italy” as integral
Read MoreVatican and Rome begin dash to 2025 Jubilee with papal bull, construction
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican crossed a key milestone Thursday in the runup to its 2025 Jubilee with the promulgation of the official decree establishing the Holy Year. It’s a once-every-quarter-century
Read MoreSwitzerland’s Nemo wins 68th Eurovision contest
MALMO, Sweden — Switzerland on Saturday won Eurovision 2024 in the Swedish host city Malmo, beating runner-up Croatia, after having been among bookmakers’ top-three to win the competition. Billed as a
Read MoreDutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before final
MALMO, Sweden — The Netherlands’ contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday’s final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests
Read MoreHaitians seeking solace from unrelenting gang violence turn to Vodou
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Vodou faithful sing, their voices rising above the gunfire erupting miles away as frantic drumbeats drown out their troubles. They pause to swig rum out of small
Read MoreLiam, Olivia still the most popular US baby names
WASHINGTON — Liam and Olivia have for a fifth year together topped the list of baby names for brand new boys and girls born in the U.S. in 2023. And Mateo
Read MorePresident Biden cheers Las Vegas Aces and women’s basketball
washington — President Joe Biden welcomed the reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to the White House on Thursday, celebrating what he called a “banner year” for women’s basketball. “It matters
Read MoreTorchbearers in Marseille kick off Olympic flame’s journey across France
MARSEILLE, France — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France’s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city’s most emblematic sites, a
Read MoreHeavy metal music finds a home in Indonesia
Heavy metal music is controversial in some conservative societies but quite popular in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. As VOA’s Dave Grunebaum reports, heavy metal has a home in Indonesia.
Read MoreHeavy metal music has a home in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia — The sounds from guitars strumming and drums beating sears through the air. Crowds dance in circles while thumping their heads back and forth. Some 38,000 fans attended Hammersonic
Read MoreMet Gala in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among stars
New York — It’s Met Gala time and the fashion parade of A-listers Monday included a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet surrounded by foliage. Jennifer Lopez
Read More‘The Fall Guy’ gives Hollywood a muted kickoff with $28.5M
New York — “The Fall Guy,” the Ryan Gosling-led, action-comedy ode to stunt performers, opened below expectations with $28.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, providing a lukewarm start to a
Read MoreMadonna’s biggest-ever concert transforms Rio beach into a massive dance floor
RIO DE JANEIRO — Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro’s vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a
Read MoreChinese hip-hop performers seek a voice that reflects their lives
CHENGDU, China — In 2018, the censors who oversee Chinese media issued a directive to the nation’s entertainment industry: Don’t feature artists with tattoos and those who represent hip-hop or any
Read MoreKentucky Derby could be a wet one
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY — Twenty horses stampeding toward the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe some showers that dampen the Churchill Downs dirt strip.
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