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 ($1.27 billion). The annual Sunday Times Rich List calculated that the wealth of the 81-year-old musician and his wife, Nancy Shevell, had grown by 50 million…
World No. 1 PGA golfer arrested outside event
Kosovar’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 has the story. Camera: Vladimir Badikov …
Take a stroll through the US president’s backyard
General public gets to visit White House grounds in spring and fall …
Old 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, is on display at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. For VOA News, Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story. Videographer: Hakim Shammo; Video editor: Cristina Caicedo Smit…
Miniature 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 most prestigious competition among pure-bred canines in the United States. Sage, the finalist representing 21 breeds classified as non-sporting dogs, triumphed over more than 2,500…
Alice 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 of the short story, has died at the age of 92, her publisher said on Tuesday. Munro died at her home in Port Hope, Ontario,…
Iranian 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 colleagues. Rasoulof, who was sentenced to jail on national security charges, and whose latest movie will compete at this month’s Cannes film festival, said he…
‘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 surge to an uncertain season in theaters. The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built on the rebooted “Apes” trilogy of the 2010s…
Cannes film festival set to unfurl against backdrop of wars, protests, potential strikes
‘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 summer movie season that’s very much to be determined for Hollywood. The Universal Pictures release opened on a weekend that Marvel has regularly dominated with…
Prada 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 to the brand’s ethos and developing new artisanal talent to ease the luxury group through a generational shift in its workforce. Prada CEO Andrea Guerra,…
Vatican 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 event that is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome and has already brought months of headaches to Romans. Pope Francis presided over…
Fans follow Taylor Swift to Europe for more affordable Eras Tour tickets
london — Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her U.S. concert tour last year or didn’t want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe. The pop star is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour in Paris…
Switzerland’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 feel-good celebration of European diversity, this year’s contest has been thrust into the political spotlight with calls for Israel to be excluded over its military…
Dutch 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 over the participation of Israel. Competition organizer European Broadcasting Union said Swedish police were investigating “a complaint made by a female member of the production…
Haitians 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 brown bottles, twirling in unison as they sing in Haitian Creole: “We don’t care if they hate us, because they can’t bury us.” Shunned publicly…
Liam, 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 joins the top 10 baby names list for the first time. The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in…
President 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 to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration held in the East Room of the White House. “It matters to…
Torchbearers 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 day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony. It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country…
TikTok sues US to block potential ban
Heavy 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. …
Heavy 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 this past weekend, according to organizers of Southeast Asia’s largest annual heavy metal music festival. Featuring 55 bands, the event is held in Jakarta, the…
Met 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 went for silver leaves in a second-skin goddess gown and Zendaya was all vamp and fantasy. Both are co-chairs of the annual fundraiser at The…
‘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 summer movie season that’s very much to be determined for Hollywood. The Universal Pictures release opened on a weekend that Marvel has regularly dominated with…
In photos: Orthodox Easter throughout the world
Madonna’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 multitude of her fans. It was the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective, which kicked off in October in London. The “Queen…
Chinese 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 other subculture. Right after that, a well-known rapper, GAI, missed a gig on a popular singing competition despite a successful first appearance. Speculation went wild:…