The United States on Thursday urged China not to restrict access and movement for journalists reporting on next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China this week said it was concerned about a lack of transparency from organizers of the Feb. 4-20 Games. “We urge PRC officials not to limit freedom…

A documentary about the impact of climate change in Africa is a highlight of the annual French film festival in Los Angeles this year. The festival, “City of Light, City of Angels,” draws filmmakers from Paris and fans from Los Angeles. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the documentary “Marcher sur L’eau” (released in English as “Above…

Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges. In a lengthy social media post that disappeared quickly, Peng Shuai wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice…

Indian police have detained or arrested at least a dozen Muslims for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s cricket match victory October 24 over archrival India in the T20 World Cup.   Those arrested include a Muslim teacher in the western state of Rajasthan who was fired from her job for writing “We won” on her WhatsApp status following Pakistan’s crushing victory against India last week in Dubai. Authorities at a government hospital in Indian-administered…

The Tour du Faso, a 10-day bicycle race through the conflict-stricken West African country of Burkina Faso, began in the southern city of Banfora on October 29. One Burkinabe rider hopes to build on his Summer Olympics performance and secure victory despite security concerns.  Paul Daumont is one of eighty cyclists taking part in this year’s Tour du Faso, Burkina Faso’s answer to the world-famous Tour de France bicycle race.  …

South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Wednesday with “The Promise,” a novel about one white family’s reckoning with South Africa’s racist history.  Galgut had been British bookmakers’ runaway favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize with his story of a troubled Afrikaner family and its broken promise to…

Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves posted a dominating 7-0 victory over the host Houston Astros to clinch the best-of-seven 2021 World Series by a 3 games to 2 margin.  Atlanta pitcher Max Fried pitched six strong innings, giving up only four hits while striking out six Houston batters, with ace relievers Tyler Matzek and Will…

Local media in Miami reported that rock star Jon Bon Jovi was forced to cancel a concert Saturday minutes before taking the stage after testing positive for COVID-19. A Miami television station said a spokesman for the fully vaccinated singer told the audience Saturday evening that Bon Jovi had tested positive after he and members…

A wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be more than 1,000 years old has turned up in southern Mexico, officials said on Friday, part of archeological work accompanying the construction of a major new tourist train. The extremely rare canoe was found almost completely intact, submerged in a freshwater pool known…

Among the once-taboo professions emerging from Somalia’s decades of conflict and Islamic extremism is the world of arts, and a 21-year-old female painter has faced more opposition than most. A rare woman artist in the highly conservative Horn of Africa nation, Sana Ashraf Sharif Muhsin lives and works amid the rubble of her uncle’s building…

Jay-Z added another title to a resume that includes rapper, songwriter, Grammy winner, billionaire business mogul, and global icon — Hall of Famer. The self-proclaimed “greatest rapper alive” was inducted Saturday night as part of an eclectic 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class that included Foo Fighters, Carole King, Tina Turner, The Go-Gos…

Candyman, the latest film by Jordan Peele and director Nia da Costa, is a remake of the 1992 original of the same title, by Bernard Rose. The reimagined Candyman addresses the racial divide, gentrification, and police brutality in Chicago. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more. …

Afghan artists and activists say the Taliban have replaced their murals with their logo and slogans, making it impossible for them to continue working in Afghanistan. VOA’s Yalda Baktash has more. Roshan Noorzai contributed. …

Efforts by Chinese diplomats to stop cultural events deemed critical of the government in Beijing have met with mixed results in Europe, succeeding in Germany but being rebuffed by a city government in Italy. The incident in Germany concerned a new book, Xi Jinping — The Most Powerful Man in the World, by two veteran…

Hong Kong lawmakers passed an amendment to the Film Censorship Bill Wednesday that will allow authorities to ban films past or present that are seen as a threat to national security. People found guilty of producing such films can land punishments of up to three years in jail and a fine of $128,000. Back in…

Actor Alec Baldwin fired a vintage Colt pistol loaded with a live lead round in the accidental fatal shooting last week of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of his movie “Rust,” authorities said on Wednesday. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies held a briefing six days after Baldwin…

Chinese organizers have confirmed participants in next year’s Winter Olympics will be strictly isolated from the general population and could face expulsion for violating COVID-19 restrictions.  Vice mayor and Beijing 2022 organizing committee official Zhang Jiandong told reporters Wednesday that those taking part in the games beginning Feb. 4 must remain in a “closed loop”…

Nothing says Halloween like a visit to a pumpkin patch where selections range from cute to specimens so gigantic, they arrive by truck. Titi Tran has this report from Orange County, California. Camera:    Titi Mary Tran …

The niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Princess Mako, married a commoner Tuesday, relinquishing her royal status following a heavily scrutinized, controversial four-year engagement. The Japanese Imperial Household Agency issued a statement announcing the marriage of Mako to Kei Komuro, both 30 years old. The couple broke with tradition by foregoing the usual rituals and ceremonies…

Production of the movie that Alec Baldwin was making when he shot and killed a cinematographer last week has been officially halted, but producers of the Western described the move as “a pause rather than an end.”  In an email to crew members, the movie’s production team confirmed that work on “Rust” has been suspended…

“Belfast”, a film drama by acclaimed actor and director Kenneth Branagh, chronicles the beginnings, in 1969, of the thirty-year political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Penelope Poulou reports. …

In a decision with potential ramifications across European museums, France is displaying 26 looted colonial-era artifacts for one last time before returning them home to Benin.  The wooden anthropomorphic statues, royal thrones and sacred altars were pilfered by the French army in the 19th century from Western Africa.  President Emmanuel Macron suggested that France now…

Calls were growing Sunday to ban the use of firearms in movie-making, as Hollywood struggled to come to terms with Alec Baldwin’s fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. A memorial service will be held Sunday for 42-year-old Hutchins, who was struck in the chest when Baldwin fired a prop gun during the filming of…

The South Korean television show, Squid Game, has become Netflix’s biggest series launch ever, topping 111 million viewers globally. Karina Bafradzhian examines the phenomenon of the Squid Game. Camera: David Gogokhia …

Eleven Picasso paintings and other works that helped turn Las Vegas into an unlikely destination for art were sold at auction on Saturday for more than $100 million. The Sotheby’s auction was held at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, where the works had been on display for years, and took place two days before…

Led by an unlikely hero, the Atlanta Braves are heading back to a place that used to be so familiar to them. The World Series. Eddie Rosario capped a remarkable National League Championship Series with a three-run homer, sending the Braves to the biggest stage of all with a 4-2 victory over the defending champion…

Somali filmmaker Khadar Ahmed won the top prize at the FESPACO film festival in Burkina Faso on Saturday for “The Gravedigger’s Wife,” which he wrote and directed.  The 40-year-old was not at the ceremony to receive the Golden Stallion award, but his work bested 16 other African films for the top prize. The films in…

Alec Baldwin was handed what was described as a safe “cold gun” on the set of his movie “Rust,” but the prop gun contained live rounds when it was fired, according to details of the police investigation into the fatal shooting released on Friday. The shot hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, and director…