As kids growing up in different states, Shoba Narayan and Michael Maliakel shared a love of one favorite film — “Aladdin.” Both are of Indian descent, and in the animated movie, they saw people who looked like them. That shared love has gone full-circle this month as Narayan and Maliakel lead the Broadway company of…

Jack Daniel’s is the world’s most popular whiskey brand, but until recently, few people knew the liquor was created by Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved Black man who mentored Daniel. “We’ve always known,” says Debbie Staples, a great-great-granddaughter of Green’s who heard the story from her grandmother. … “He made the whiskey, and he taught…

To Charlotte Bennett, the new book that arrived at her Manhattan apartment this week — Anita Hill’s “Believing” — was more than just a look at gender violence. It was a dispatch from a fellow member of a very specific sisterhood — women who have come forward to describe misconduct they suffered at the hands…

The Pan-African Film Festival of Ouagadougou returns to Burkina Faso this weekend after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One Burkinabe director, who has made a film documenting a nursery for the infants of sex workers, talks about the importance of telling African stories through cinema. Moumouni Sanou is a documentary film…

A work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally shredded itself just after it sold at auction three years ago fetched almost 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million) on Thursday — a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.  “Love is in the Bin” was offered by Sotheby’s in London, with…

Kenya’s Benson Kipruto won the pandemic-delayed Boston Marathon on Monday when the race returned from a 30-month absence with a smaller, socially distanced feel and moved from the spring for the first time in its 125-year history. Diana Kipyogei won the women’s race to complete the eighth Kenyan sweep since 2000. Although organizers put runners…

It has been described as a “crash course in football club ownership” and the two Hollywood stars who bought a beleaguered team in English soccer’s fifth tier with the lofty aim of transforming it into a global force are certainly learning on the job.  “I’m watching our PLAYERS MOP THE FIELD to continue the game,” read a tweet last week…

Paul McCartney has revisited the breakup of The Beatles, flatly disputing the suggestion that he was responsible for the group’s demise. Speaking on an episode of BBC Radio 4’s “This Cultural Life” that is scheduled to air on Oct. 23, McCartney said it was John Lennon who wanted to disband The Beatles. “I didn’t instigate…

Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura Abdiwak won the Chicago men’s marathon on Sunday and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich the women’s race. The 24-year-old Tura completed the 42-kilometer course in 2:06:12, beating out American Galen Rupp, who finished close behind with an official time of 02:06:35. Chepngetich, 27, finished her race in 02:22:31, with Emma Bates of the United…

One player took off from the airport, while another jumped out of the window of his hotel room. In all, of the 24 members of Cuba’s national baseball team who arrived in Mexico for the under-23 World Cup, only about half came home. This year, a record number of players have defected from the communist-run…

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that his country will return 26 African artworks — royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues — to Benin later this month, part of France’s long-promised plans to give back artwork taken from Africa during the colonial era. Discussions have been under way for years on returning the artworks from…

Jenny Chan strode through central London on a late summer Saturday afternoon, heading for the South Bank Lion statue opposite Big Ben. There, by the River Thames, the 57-year-old mother and her two children joined a group of fellow Hong Kong expats who had gathered to sign a banner for Anson Lo, a 26-year-old singer with…

Nearly all Americans agree that the rampant spread of misinformation is a problem. Most also think social media companies, and the people that use them, bear a good deal of blame for the situation. But few are very concerned that they themselves might be responsible, according to a new poll from The Pearson Institute and…

The Norwegian Nobel Committee Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” At a ceremony in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen announced the winners, saying, “Ms.…

This year’s Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah for his body of work detailing the refugee experience and how colonialism shaped African culture. At a news conference at the Swedish Academy’s headquarters in Stockholm, Permanent Secretary Mats Helm said Gurnah received the award for “for his uncompromising and compassionate…

COVID-19 has killed more Americans than the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919. One artist is determined that the more than 700,000 lives lost will not be forgotten. VOA’s Amy Hybels has the story. Camera: Amy Hybels   …

The U.S. Justice Department has launched a fresh inquiry into the FBI’s botched handling of its sex abuse investigation into disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, after previously declining to prosecute the agents involved, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Tuesday. “The recently confirmed assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division is currently…

The crew of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft was welcomed aboard the International Space Station Tuesday, though a communications glitch during their final approach delayed their eventual boarding. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched Tuesday from the Russian spaceport in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The ship was carrying a history-making crew, as it included film director Klim Shipenko and…

French Catholic clergy sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years, according to an investigation by an independent commission. The panel’s report, released Tuesday, said the Catholic Church covered up a “massive phenomenon” with decades of a “veil of silence.” “Until the early 2000s, the Catholic Church showed a profound and even…

A woman walks alone past bombed-out windowless buildings in Gaza, black high heels on gray rubble. This image of life during conflict was one of several captured by a young Palestinian photojournalist in May.  The striking set of images has earned Fatima Shbair the 2021 Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award, bestowed by the International…

Actor William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of space explorer Captain James T. Kirk in the “Star Trek” television series, announced he will travel to space later this month. Shatner, 90, will blast off October 12 aboard a Blue Origin rocket. Blue Origin is the space travel company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. If…

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the latest Marvel film, is unique in that it features a largely Asian cast. The film has received a warm welcome by audiences in Asian countries. The film’s release, however, has been indefinitely postponed in China. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more …

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) board of directors has fired commissioner Lisa Baird and general counsel Lisa Levine in the wake of a report detailing allegations of misconduct against former North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley, The Athletic reported Friday.  NWSL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  The Athletic on…

When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold early last year, artists such as Patricia Boyer of Charlotte, North Carolina, were panic-stricken. Who would see — not to mention purchase — her creations when much of America was on lockdown?    “It was really bad, because here you are with all this art, and you’re like ‘what…

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is officially hanging up his gloves. The eight-division world champion and Philippine senator on Wednesday announced his retirement from the ring. “I would like to thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny Pacquiao. Goodbye boxing,” the 42-year-old said in a video posted on his Facebook page. “It…

Two-time Paralympic athlete Tyler Carter may be a seasoned contender on the world stage, but the alpine skier says he is not sure what to expect as the clock ticks toward the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next February. Carter wants to be prepared to race in Beijing but says he hasn’t had a chance…

R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex-trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children. A jury of seven men and five women found Kelly guilty of racketeering on their second day of…

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a jukebox adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s hyperactive 2001 movie, won the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a Sunday night when Broadway looked back to honor shows shuttered by COVID-19, mourn its fallen and also look forward to welcoming audiences again. The show about the goings-on in a…