Major League Baseball announced Friday it was moving this summer’s All-Star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park, a response to Georgia enacting a new law last month restricting voting rights.MLB had awarded the game to Atlanta in May 2019 and the game was scheduled for July 13 as part of baseball’s midsummer break that includes the…
Basketball Film ‘Boogie’ Defies Asian-American Stereotypes
“Boogie,” a recent film by Chinese American filmmaker Eddie Huang, addresses stereotypes Asian people face in the United States. Lead actor Taylor Takahashi spoke with VOA’s Penelope Poulou about his film character and Asian representation in the film. Camera: Penelope Poulou Producer: Penelope Poulou …
‘Boogie’ Tells Story of Being Asian in America
“Boogie,” a recent film by Chinese American filmmaker Eddie Huang, addresses stereotypes Asian people face in the United States. Lead actor Taylor Takahashi spoke with VOA’s Penelope Poulou about his film character and Asian representation in the film. Camera: Penelope Poulou Producer: Penelope Poulou …
‘Boogie’ Film Gives View of How It Feels to be Asian in America
“Boogie,” a recent film by Chinese American filmmaker Eddie Huang, addresses stereotypes Asian people face in the United States. Lead actor Taylor Takahashi spoke with VOA’s Penelope Poulou about his film character and Asian representation in the film. Camera: Penelope Poulou Producer: Penelope Poulou …
Pope Celebrates Surprise Holy Thursday with Ousted Cardinal
Pope Francis celebrated a surprise Holy Thursday Mass with the cardinal he fired last year, extending an extraordinary gesture to Cardinal Angelo Becciu by celebrating the liturgy that commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his apostles before his crucifixion.News of the celebration in Becciu’s private chapel was confirmed by Becciu’s private secretary. In addition, a longtime…
Florist’s Business Blossoms for Easter Holiday
Easter is one of the busier holidays for local florists in the United States, with families ordering spring blooms for their gatherings with loved ones. Esha Sarai speaks with a flower farmer and florist in Marshall, North Carolina about their best-selling products this time of year.Camera: Esha Sarai Produced by: Esha Sarai …
Afghan Women Pyrography Artists Challenge Male Counterparts in the Arts Industry
A group of female artists in Afghanistan’s central province of Bamyan has recently opened a small pyrography and engraving studio to promote fine arts in the region. VOA’s Zafar Bamiyani has more from Bamyan in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Zafar Bamiyani Producer: Zafar Bamiyani …
Traveling Kenyan Music Producer Gives Hope to Rural Artists
A Kenyan music producer is taking his work to remote villages to record up-and-coming artists on location to offer something new and different for Kenya’s competitive music industry.Producer Presta George imagined how difficult it must be for village artists to get their songs on the radio, let alone become famous.And that’s where George found his…
Why Diverse Children’s Books Matter to America’s Future
The United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country. With whites expected to account for less than 50-percent of the population by 2045, there’s a push to make books for children as diverse as the nation itself. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, experts say the success level of future American adults could be at stake.Camera:…
US Olympics Committee Sets Rules for Protests at US Olympic Trials
Athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic trials can protest, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday, including kneeling or raising a clenched fist on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem. In a detailed document, the USOPC outlined a wide range of ways athletes can advocate for racial and…
Indians Gather for Holi Celebrations as Virus Cases Surge
Hindus threw colored powder and sprayed water in massive Holi celebrations Monday despite many Indian states restricting gatherings to try to contain a coronavirus resurgence rippling across the country. Holi marks the advent of spring and is widely celebrated throughout Hindu-majority India. Most years, millions of people throw colored powder at each other in…
Eddie Murphy Inducted into NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame
Eddie Murphy was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame at the organization’s show that highlighted works by entertainers and athletes of color. After Murphy accepted his induction award Saturday night, the actor-comedian said he was “very moved” by the honor. He was presented the award by his longtime friend and “Coming 2 America”…
Cities Worldwide Dim Lights to Mark Earth Hour
Cities around the world were turning off their lights Saturday for Earth Hour, with this year’s event highlighting the link between the destruction of nature and increasing outbreaks of diseases such as COVID-19.In London, the Houses of Parliament, London Eye Ferris wheel, Shard skyscraper and neon signs of Piccadilly Circus were among the landmarks flicking…
Beloved Children’s Author Beverly Cleary Dies at 104
Beverly Cleary, the celebrated children’s author whose memories of her Oregon childhood were shared with millions through the likes of Ramona and Beezus Quimby and Henry Huggins, has died. She was 104.Cleary’s publisher HarperCollins announced Friday that the author died Thursday in Northern California, where she had lived since the 1960s. No cause of death…
‘Lonesome Dove’ Author McMurtry Dies at 84
Novelist Larry McMurtry, who wrote of complex relationships in novels such as “The Last Picture Show” and “Terms of Endearment,” and then helped redefine the American Old West with the epic “Lonesome Dove,” has died at 84, The New York Times reported Friday.McMurtry’s death was confirmed by family spokeswoman Amanda Lundberg, who did not specify…
Popular Haitian Rapper Arrested Then Released by Haiti National Police
Popular Haitian Rapper Izolan, is a free man after being arrested Wednesday night at the Toussaint Louverture international Airport in Port-au-Prince by agents of the anti-drug trafficking branch of the Haitian National Police. News of the arrest went viral on Twitter and Instagram after lawyer and opposition leader Andre Michel alerted his followers. La DCPJ vient de procéder illégalement à l’arrestation de Jean Léonard…
Waves, Smiles but No Cheers as Olympic Torch Relay Kicks Off Under Pandemic Shadow
With waves, smiles and streamers, but no cheers, the Olympic torch relay kicked off Thursday, beginning a four-month countdown to the postponed 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, the first ever organized during a deadly pandemic. Casting a pall over celebrations already scaled back because of coronavirus measures, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles…
Cameroon Record Seller Keeps Vinyl Alive With Unique Collection
Cameroonian music lover Paul Tchana opened a tiny record shop in the early 80s and built a collection of more than 5,000 original vinyl records. When compact discs arrived, his little record store struggled but eventually became a kind of museum, with customers going there to learn about music history. Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this…
Documentary ‘Allen v Farrow’ Sparks Conversation About Sexual Abuse in #MeToo Era
Allen v Farrow, a four-part documentary by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, focuses on Dylan Farrow’s accusation that her famous filmmaker father, Woody Allen, sexually abused her. Allen denounces the allegations. The film is the latest in a series of exposés on sexual abuse by powerful men against women in the #MeToo era. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with the filmmakers and has this story. Camera: Penelope Poulou …
Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay Starts in Fukushima’s Shadow
The Olympic torch relay will start in Fukushima on Thursday, kicking off a four-month countdown to the Summer Games in Tokyo, delayed from 2020 and the first-ever organized during a global pandemic. Some 10,000 runners will take the torch across Japan’s 47 prefectures, including far-flung islands, starting from the site of the 2011 quake and tsunami that…
Lakers Great and Hall of Famer Baylor Dies Aged 86
Former Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers forward Elgin Baylor died of natural causes at the age of 86 on Monday, the NBA franchise announced.Baylor, the number one draft pick in 1958 and Rookie of the Year in 1959, spent 14 seasons with the Lakers. He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame and was considered…
Zimbabwe Musicians Find Alternative Ways to Earn a Living
Zimbabwe’s musicians have been struggling to make a living since the coronavirus pandemic prompted the government to ban concerts and other entertainment to prevent the spread of the virus. Some have even left their music behind and turned to farming. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mazowe, Zimbabwe.Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe …
Haiti Awaits FIFA Decision on Whether to Relocate Belize Match After Team Held Up at Gunpoint
Haiti Soccer Federation officials are awaiting the decision of FIFA, the international governing body for football, on whether a Haiti-Belize World Cup qualifier will be held Thursday in Port-au-Prince. Tessier Jeanty, communications director for the Haitian Soccer Federation (Federation Haitienne de Futbol, FHF), told VOA a FIFA security expert met with Haitian and Belize team officials Tuesday afternoon. The FIFA…
US Supreme Court Could Reimpose Boston Marathon Bomber Death Sentence
The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, presenting President Joe Biden with an early test of his opposition to capital punishment.The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration, which carried out executions of 13 federal inmates in its final six…
New French Dictionary Celebrates a Language That is no Longer Just French
French language lovers could celebrate International Francophonie Day on Saturday with a new online interactive dictionary. Rolled out by the French government, it reflects not only the language’s evolution but also the reality that most of today’s speakers are not French.Did you receive a “pourriel” or “throw a camel” today? If you are wondering what…
CDC Changes School Guidance, Allowing Desks to Be Closer
Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines.The revised recommendations represent a…
Tokyo Olympics Ready to Announce Ban on Fans from Abroad
Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics when they open in four months.The announcement is expected to come after “five-party” talks on Saturday with the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government…
Is It Time to Cancel Dr. Seuss Due to Racist Imagery?
More than 650-million copies of Dr. Seuss books have sold around the world since author Theodor Seuss Geisel published his first title in the 1930s. The prolific author of books like “The Cat in the Hat” is credited with helping millions of children learn to read. But this month, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it will…