In less than two weeks, Courtney Frerichs will face off in Tokyo against some of the world’s fastest runners. But like every elite athlete preparing for the Summer Olympics, her focus is not only on preparing to compete. Frerichs, a middle-distance runner from the United States, is also using the final days of her training to make sure she complies with the elaborate set of…

The White House announced Tuesday that first lady Jill Biden will lead the official U.S. delegation at the Tokyo Olympics on July 23 without her husband, U.S. President Joe Biden. News of her trip comes days after Tokyo officials, upon consultation with Olympic officials, decided to hold the Olympic games without fans, after recent surges…

“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.” The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with the top-nominated scripted shows on services that largely emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories —…

A new and unique park opened in New York City in late May and since then it has become a city gem and tourist magnet.  For VOA, Evgeny Maslov reports from “Little Island” in New York City. Anna Rice narrates. Camera: Vladimir Badikov, Vladimir Tolkachev  …

Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey.  …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday. After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black…

Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey.  …

Europe’s soccer champions returned home at dawn Monday to the ecstatic cheers of Italians who spent the better part of the night honking horns, setting off fireworks and violating all sorts of coronavirus precautions to celebrate their team’s 3-2 penalty shootout win over England at Wembley.   Captain Giorgio Chiellini, his fist pumping the air,…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday. After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black…

Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic. A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the…

Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy on Sunday night were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association (FA) to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players. Bukayo Saka, at 19 one of the youngest players on the England squad, missed the penalty that…

Olympic officials have barred spectators from the games amid spiking coronavirus cases in Japan.  Organizers have long said they will push forward with the Olympics, but experts say the highly transmissible delta variant should give them pause.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi   …

Argentina won their first major title in 28 years on Saturday and Lionel Messi finally won his first medal in a blue-and-white shirt when an Angel Di Maria goal gave them a 1-0 win over Brazil and a record-equaling 15th Copa America.   Di Maria, starting for just the second time in the Copa, justified his selection by scoring…

This is not how USA Basketball expected to open its Olympic summer. Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either. If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night. Nigeria pulled off an international shocker with a roster primarily filled of…

Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title in 41 years on Saturday in London.Barty defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to claim the title in the first three-setter in a Wimbledon final since 2012.It’s the second Grand Slam title for Barty, who won…

A sealed cartridge of The Legend of Zelda for the old Nintendo NES console has sold for a world record sum of $870,000, auction house Heritage Auctions said in a statement Friday.The cartridge, dated to 1987, is still in its original packaging and trumps the previous world record sale of a video game — $660,000 for…

At the age of 55, Alisa Leht fell in love with ballroom dancing. Today – at 71 – she is on the dance floor every other day, training for hours and taking part in dancing competitions. Liliya Anisimova met with Leht to talk about her passion. Anna Rice narrates her story.  Camera: Liliya Anisimova      …

In less than two weeks, more than 11,000 of the world’s best athletes will descend on Tokyo to compete at the most unusual Olympic Games in decades. Athletes will compete in empty stadiums after Olympics organizers reversed course Thursday and barred spectators in response to a major coronavirus resurgence. The decision came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide…

Hannah Kumari has been an English soccer fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now.Kumari is one of millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since it won the World Cup in 1966. But like many…

The Olympic flame arrived Friday in Tokyo, but the public will be kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears, the day after a “heartbreaking” announcement that spectators would be banned from most games events.On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since the…

Africa’s Sahel region is seeing the worst effects of climate warming anywhere on the planet, according to the United Nations.Farmers bear the brunt of the changes because 80% of the Sahel’s economy is agrarian.    Art Melody, a musician in Burkina Faso who raps in the local Djula and Moore languages, knows from experience the…

Bollywood icon Dilip Kumar, hailed as the “Tragedy King” and one of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors, died Wednesday in a Mumbai hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 98.The “Tragedy King” title came from Kumar’s numerous serious roles. In several, his character died as a frustrated lover and a drunkard. He also was known as…

At a workshop in Kullu district in North India, dozens of artisans bend over hand-operated looms, deftly weaving a garment called the sari in vibrant shades of pink and orange.The sari is an unstitched, flowing garment worn by women in India and in South Asian countries like Bangladesh. It is a new addition to the…

Britney Spears’ court-appointed attorney on Tuesday filed documents to resign from her conservatorship, the latest of several such moves that have come in the fallout from the pop singer’s comments in court decrying the legal arrangement that controls her money and affairs. Samuel Ingham III filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that the court…

North India’s Kullu district is famed for its ancient tradition of spinning hand-woven stoles and shawls with designs that have been passed down for generations. Now artisans, many of them women, are learning to make another traditional Indian garment called the sari, under a program sponsored by the local government and private sector that aims…

The number of spectators at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics will be limited to a handful of VIP, or Very Important Persons dignitaries, and Olympic officials due to concerns over the rising number of new COVID-19 cases in the capital, according to a Japanese newspaper.A report in Tuesday’s edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper says the idea is…

“The Voice” coaches Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton celebrated their nuptials over the Fourth of July holiday during a weekend wedding in Oklahoma.  Shelton, a country singer, and Stefani, a pop star, posted photos on Monday of their wedding including an image of the couple posing over a twilight sky. A representative for Shelton did not…

Raffaella Carrà, for decades one of Italian television’s most beloved entertainers, a woman affectionately nicknamed the “queen of Italian TV,” died Monday at 78, Italian state TV quoted her family as saying. Rai state TV read a statement from the star’s family, announcing that she died in Rome after a long illness. No further details were…