Following a 5½-year-civil war and as intercommunal clashes continue, fashion is not the first thing that usually springs to mind for many about South Sudan.   But a small group of young fashion designers say they want to help change the country’s image by showcasing locally designed clothes that are increasingly capturing eyes in the fashion world. “If we can come…

Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.   Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think…

Hawaii had a thriving native-language press through the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Now there is an effort underway to preserve and renew Hawaiian-language journalism, as VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports from Honolulu Camera: Mike O’Sullivan  …

The resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations comes four years after the #MeToo movement exploded across the world. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti examines what the campaign to stamp out sexual harassment has — and has yet — to achieve. Camera: Aaron Foder. …

Britney Spears’ father said in a court filing Thursday that he was planning to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years, but his departure is not imminent.James Spears filed legal documents saying that while there were no grounds for his removal, he would step down after several…

Despite rising infections from COVID-19’s delta variant, Americans are gathering together at sporting events in large stadiums and summer festivals.   Saqib Ul Islam takes us to the Around the World Cultural Food Festival in Alexandria, Virginia, where thousands celebrated the summer and international culture.  Camera:  Saqib Ul Islam    Produced by:   Saqib Ul Islam   …

More than three decades after Field of Dreams seeped into the country’s cultural consciousness, with a one-year delay caused by the pandemic, one of the most famous cornfields in Hollywood history finally gets the opportunity to host real major league ball.”Is this heaven?” the ghost of John Kinsella asked in the movie that inspired the…

Lionel Messi said he’s “in the right place” to win another Champions League trophy and cited a reunion with Neymar as a key factor in his decision to sign with Paris Saint-Germain.The 34-year-old Argentina star spoke at his introductory news conference at Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday, the morning after signing a two-year deal…

Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi received a hero’s welcome after flying to France on Tuesday to join Paris Saint Germain (PSG) following his shock departure from Barcelona.The agreement to sign the 34-year-old Argentine is a major coup for wealthy PSG, who will add one of the best soccer players of all time to an…

With the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics finally in the books, human rights activists are gearing up to put pressure on the companies that have taken high-profile sponsorship roles in the upcoming 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Those activists are demanding that executives of high-profile corporations justify their support of an event that, they claim, will be…

New Zealand cycling was plunged into mourning on Tuesday after Olympian Olivia Podmore’s sudden death at the age of 24. Podmore represented her country at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games but was not part of New Zealand’s team at the recent Tokyo Games. A New Zealand police spokesman said police attended a sudden…

Organizers of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival have cancelled this year’s event due to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the region.In a statement on the festival’s website, the organizers said they made the decision based on “recent exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the…

After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly will begin with jury selection Monday in New York City. A judge in federal court in Brooklyn will question potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about Kelly two years after he was charged with abusing women…

Bobby Bowden did it all. He put Florida State on the map by taking the football team from an afterthought to a dynasty, and he left an indelible mark on the game with a rare combination of coaching acumen, gracious demeanor and a compassion for those he coached and competed against. The beloved, folksy Hall of Fame coach who built one of the most prolific…

Struggling to control his emotions, Lionel Messi said Sunday in his farewell to Barcelona that he wasn’t prepared to leave the club.Messi began crying even before he started speaking at his farewell ceremony at the Camp Nou Stadium.”This is very hard for me after so many years, after being here my entire life,” he said.…

Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, a founding member of the long-running soul-funk band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as “Celebration” and “Get Down On It,” has died. He was 70.He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday in New Jersey, where he was a resident of Montclair, according to a statement from his representative.Thomas,…

King Khufu’s Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said Saturday.   The 4,600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian…

After India’s largest slum defeated the pandemic, some of its young residents pulled out their phones to write, shoot and release a triumphant rap video.”At first we were afraid, what would happen to us? But we stood with the doctors… now it’s your turn,” rapped the young men in the video.We Did It — Kar Dikhaya in Hindi…

Lionel Messi is set to join Paris St. Germain after Barcelona were forced to let their Argentine talisman go as they could not afford to give him a new contract under La Liga’s salary limit rules, L’Equipe reported on Friday.Earlier on Friday, PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino said Messi was an “option” that was being evaluated…

Marc Weiss, a farmer in Long Island, New York, was on the verge of bankruptcy because of the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of shutting his farm down, Weiss turned his land into something amazing. Maxim Avloshenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.  Camera: Max Avloshenko        …

China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy represents China as an aggressive, rising superpower. The name is inspired by the Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior film franchise, whose first film debuted in 2015. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with experts on film and Chinese diplomacy about the franchise, its Hollywood influence and its phenomenal appeal with Chinese audiences. …

The Gotham Awards, the annual New York ceremony for independent film, is the latest film honor to shift to acting categories that aren’t defined by gender.  The Gotham Film & Media Institute on Thursday said they will do away with best actor and best actress categories and replace them with “outstanding lead performance” and “outstanding…

 Argentina striker Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona despite both parties having reached an agreement over a new contract, the La Liga club said on Thursday, citing economic and structural obstacles to the renewal of deal. “Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new…

British police have arrested 11 people as part of an investigation into the online racist abuse directed at some of the Black players in the England soccer team following their defeat in last month’s Euro 2020 final.Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a…

A condom fixed Jessica Fox’s canoe, and skateboarder Jagger Eaton celebrated his bronze medal by broadcasting live on Instagram. Margielyn Didal “let” Tony Hawk take a picture with her to post on Facebook.The stability of the cardboard framed beds in the athlete’s village has been tested by Olympians who treated them as trampolines on nearly…

Thursday marked another day of upsets and surprises on Day 16 of the Tokyo Olympics.The upsets occurred at Olympic Stadium, the host venue for track and field, beginning with the men’s 110-meters hurdles, as 31-year-old Jamaican Hansle Parchment edged 23-year-old Grant Holloway of the United States.Holloway is the reigning world champion in the event and…

Georgian strong man Lasha Talakhadze broke his own world record to retain the title in the men’s heaviest weight class at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday with a combined lift of 488 kg. Talakhadze, who won a gold at the 2016 Rio Games in the same category, lifted 223 kg for the snatch and 265 kg…

A Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she faced punishment if she returned to her country departed Japan Wednesday on a flight bound for Austria. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was scheduled to land in Vienna Wednesday afternoon. She is then expected to travel on to Poland, where the government has offered her a humanitarian visa. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki posted Tuesday on Facebook that he had spoken…