Native American actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who declined the best-actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando during an Oscars protest in 1973, has died aged 75, the motion picture Academy said on Monday. Littlefeather, who the Hollywood Reporter said died at her home in California on Sunday surrounded by loved ones, was catapulted to…

Kim Kardashian has agreed to settle charges of unlawfully touting a crypto security and to pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement and interest, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday. The SEC said in a statement that reality television star and influencer Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to publish…

The remains of dozens of Indigenous Maori and Moriori people were officially received at New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington Sunday, completing a repatriation process from Austria, where the bones have resided for more than 130 years. The repatriation “powhiri,” or welcoming ceremony, in bitterly cold, wet conditions at Te Papa concluded when the remains…

The nearly 400-year-old-year Passion play performed by the people of the German alpine village of Oberammergau comes to a close after a nearly five-month run, with viewers saying this year was especially meaningful as the play was delayed by two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. Villagers kept their vow to perform the play every 10…

While European Union nations are still mulling a cap on gas prices, some businesses are more in a hurry for solutions to the continent’s energy crisis. In Brussels, the epicenter of the EU, restaurant owners have imagined how a future without gas and electricity would look like for gourmets. The guests at the dinner served…

This year’s Nobel Prize season approaches as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered decades of almost uninterrupted peace in Europe and raised the risks of a nuclear disaster. The secretive Nobel committees never hint who will win the prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, economics or peace. It’s anyone’s guess who might win the awards…

Irpin, a city in the Kyiv region, was under Russian occupation in March. Officials say over 70% of its infrastructure was damaged. When the Russians retreated, several residents started returning from abroad to help rebuild their city. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. …

The past and future of film mingle like a pair of moviegoers huddled in debate outside a movie theater at the New York Film Festival, which on Friday launches its 60th edition with the premiere of Noah Baumbach’s Don DeLillo adaptation “White Noise.”  In those six decades, the Lincoln Center festival has been arguably the…

Comedian Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, said he was going to leave the program after hosting it for seven years, indicating he wanted to dedicate more time to stand-up comedy. The 38-year-old comedian — who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to the United States in 2011 —…

A Spanish court on Tuesday formally ordered Colombian superstar Shakira to stand trial on accusations that she failed to pay $14.31 million in income taxes, a court document released on Tuesday showed. The ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer, 45, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, rejected in July a deal to settle the case,…

Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge is spurring young athletes to follow in his footsteps after breaking his own world record Sunday in Berlin.  Cheers erupted from the crowd Sunday at Nairobi’s Karura Forest as they watched Kipchoge race on TV. The watch party followed an amateur marathon organized by the Friends of Karura Forest to…

Rihanna will take center stage at February’s Super Bowl halftime show. The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple Music. Rihanna posted an image on Instagram of…

Haitian Italian designer Stella Jean returned to the Milan runway after a two-year hiatus with a tour de force that highlighted the talents of 10 new designers of color whose design history is tied to Italy. Jean pledged in 2020 not to return to Milan Fashion Week, which opened Wednesday, until she was not the…

This day, this match, had to come, of course, for Roger Federer, and for tennis, just as it inevitably must for every athlete in every sport. Federer bid adieu Friday night with one last contest before he heads into retirement at age 41 after a superlative career that included 20 Grand Slam titles and a…

A movie portraying an all-female warrior unit that centuries ago defended the West African kingdom of Dahomey, what is today the country of Benin, is drawing both praise and criticism. VOA’s Penelope Poulou reports, “The Woman King” has an all-black and mostly female cast, a first for a major Hollywood motion picture. But some critics…

Australia is investigating claims by First Nations groups that mining and manufacturing industries are threatening significant cultural sites.    Indigenous settlement of Australia dates back an estimated 65,000 years. This vast history is documented in ancient songs, stories, dance and art, but development threatens part of the culture. The federal government has appointed an independent investigator…

President Joe Biden met Friday with family members of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan, the first face-to-face encounter that the president has had with the relatives. In a statement after the meetings, which were held separately, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden stressed to the families…

A federal jury on Wednesday convicted R. Kelly of several child pornography and sex abuse charges in his hometown of Chicago, delivering another legal blow to a singer who used to be one of the biggest R&B stars in the world. Kelly, 55, was found guilty on three counts of child pornography and three counts…

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Monday honored a range of talent for their work in television. …

Emmy Awards host Kenan Thompson and the ceremony’s producers are promising a feel-good event — a phrase not applicable to several of the top nominated shows. The best drama contenders include the violently dystopian “Squid Game,” bleak workplace satire “Severance” and “Succession,” about a powerful and cutthroat family. Even comedy nominee “Ted Lasso,” the defending…

Carlos Alcaraz used his combination of moxie and maturity to beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the U.S. Open final on Sunday to earn his first Grand Slam title at age 19 and become the youngest man to be ranked No. 1. Alcaraz is a Spaniard who was appearing in his eighth…

Strolling along the ancient ruins of Hatra in Iraq’s north, dozens of visitors admired the site, where local initiatives seek to turn over a new leaf after a brief but brutal jihadist rule. Designated an endangered world heritage site by UNESCO, Hatra dates back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It is a two-hour…

Steven Spielberg finally turned the camera on his own childhood — from his parents’ troubled marriage to anti-Semitic bullying — as his new movie “The Fabelmans” received its world premiere on a star-studded Saturday at the Toronto film festival. Considered one of Hollywood’s greatest living directors, with classics from “Jaws” to “E.T.”, Spielberg told a rapturous audience…

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to win her second Grand Slam title of the year with a straight sets victory in the U.S. Open final on Saturday. Polish star Swiatek overcame a spirited second set from fifth seed Jabeur to win 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in 1 hour, 52 minutes at Arthur…

This Monday, the cast and crew of the Broadway musical “Come From Away” have an appointment, as usual, with an aircraft carrier.  Every year to honor Sept. 11, they help box thousands of meals for food banks across the city and perform for the volunteers aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid.  “9/11 was a worldwide event. It…

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras’s epic documentary about photographer Nan Goldin and her activism against the Sackler family and their art connections has been awarded the Golden Lion for best film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.  Poitras thanked the festival for recognizing that “documentary is cinema” at the ceremony Saturday…

One of history’s most famous composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has a Ukrainian connection. His son lived in Lviv for three decades. So Ukrainian musicians, with a bit of help from the caretakers of Mozart’s legacy, put together a very special tribute. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Camera: Yuriy Dankevych        …

A multimedia exhibition of African American culture in the Western US state of Colorado includes works by an artist who found new direction during the coronavirus pandemic. VOA’s Scott Stearns has the story from Denver. …