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…
Tokyo Olympics’ Creative Director Resigns Over Derogatory Remark
Tokyo Olympics creative head Hiroshi Sasaki said he had resigned after making a derogatory comment about a popular female Japanese entertainer, in the latest controversy over insensitive remarks toward women to hit games organizers.Sasaki, who was the head creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies at this year’s games, said he had told a…
Report: White Supremacist Propaganda Surged in 2020
White supremacist propaganda reached alarming levels across the U.S. in 2020, according to a new report that the Anti-Defamation League provided to The Associated Press.There were 5,125 cases of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages spread through physical flyers, stickers, banners and posters, according to Wednesday’s report. That’s nearly double the 2,724 instances reported…
Famed Metropolitan Opera Conductor James Levine Dies at 77
James Levine, one of the world’s most acclaimed conductors who served as music director for the Metropolitan Opera in New York for four decades before sexual abuse accusations ended his career, has died at age 77.Dr. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, said Levine died on March 9 in Palm Springs, California, of natural causes. The…
Japanese Court Says Official Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Unconstitutional
A Japanese district court ruled Wednesday that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The historic ruling by the Sapporo District Court was in response to a lawsuit filed by six plaintiffs, including two male couples and one female couple, who demanded more than $9,100 each (1 million yen), in damages from the Japanese…
South by Southwest Goes Virtual with More International Visitors
South by Southwest, the annual event in Austin, Texas, that brings together technology, music, politics and Hollywood, is happening digitally this year after being canceled last year due to COVID-19. Michelle Quinn reports.Producer: Matt Dibble …
Britain’s Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Treatment
Britain’s Prince Philip left a London hospital on Tuesday after being treated for an infection and undergoing a heart procedure. Philip, 99, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, had been hospitalized since being admitted to the private King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Feb. 16, where he was treated for an infection. He…
‘Mank’ Leads Academy Awards Nominations With 10 Nods
David Fincher’s “Mank” led FILE – Chloe Zhao poses for a portrait to promote her film “Nomadland” during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 22, 2018.The other directing nominees were Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari,” Fincher for “Mank” and Thomas Vinterberg for “Another Round.”For performers, it’s the most diverse slate of nominees…
New Music App Organizes Virtual Competitions – With Real Prizes!
A virtual music competition with real prizes — this is the concept of a new music platform called Djooky. Both amateur and professional songwriters and musicians from around the world are invited to participate for free. Mariia Prus has the story. Camera: Kostiantyn Golubchyk …
Vatican Excludes Gay Union Blessing as God ‘Can’t Bless Sin’
The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.”The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions.The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and…
Beyonce, Taylor Swift Make Grammys History
Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish won the top prizes at the Grammy Awards on Sunday in a ceremony that also saw Beyonce become the most awarded female artist in Grammy history. Swift’s surprise lockdown record “Folklore” was named album of the year and Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” won record of the year. Sunday’s win made Swift, 31, the first woman to take home album of the…
Beyoncé Set to Make Grammy History; Styles, Eilish Perform
Queen Bey is closer to sitting on her Grammys throne: The singer won her 26th Grammy on Sunday, almost matching, and on track to surpass, Alison Krauss’ record of 27 wins.Beyoncé, this year’s leading contender with nine nominations, won two honors during the pre-ceremony including best rap performance for “Savage” with Megan Thee Stallion and…