In South Africa, and elsewhere on the continent, albino people are a target; they face daily discrimination and sometimes even death. But young social media influencers and artists are trying to change the narrative, as Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg. Videographer: Zaheer Cassim …
Zimbabwean comedian wows audiences on America’s Got Talent
Zimbabwe doesn’t have a thriving standup comedy scene tradition. But when Learnmore Jonasi was exposed to the art form in his native Zimbabwe, he knew that making people laugh was what he wanted to do. VOA reporter Keith Baptist caught up with him in Harare and has this story. …
Working on campus as an international student requires planning
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at the ins and outs of campus jobs for international students. Read the full story here. (September 2024) …
Can campus protests get international students deported?
‘Terrifier 3’ slashes ‘Joker’ to take No. 1 at box office
In Hiroshima, Nobel Prize brings survivors hope, sense of duty
HIROSHIMA, Japan — Almost eight decades after an atomic bomb devastated her hometown of Hiroshima, Teruko Yahata carries the scar on her forehead from when she was knocked over by the force of the blast. The U.S. bombs that laid waste to Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945, and to Nagasaki three days later,…
Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole heritage will be celebrated at 50th annual festival
new orleans, louisiana — Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole heritage takes center stage this weekend when the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles marks a half-century of honoring and celebrating the culture through music, arts, food and community. What started as a one day concert in 1974 to entertain 150 French-speaking journalists gathered in Lafayette — considered the heart…
Nazi-looted Monet artwork returned to family generations later
NEW ORLEANS — On the eve of World War II, Nazis in Austria seized a pastel by renowned impressionist artist Claude Monet, selling it off and sparking a family’s decadeslong search that culminated Wednesday in New Orleans. At an FBI field office, agents lifted a blue veil covering the Monet pastel and presented Adalbert Parlagi’s granddaughters…
Alexey Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
new york — Russian dissident Alexey Navalny, who was President Vladimir Putin’s top political opponent before his death in February, believed he would die in prison, according to his posthumous memoir, which will be released October 22. The New Yorker published excerpts from the book Friday, featuring writing from Navalny’s prison diary and earlier. “I will…
Want to work in the US as an international student? Know the rules
Taylor Swift, Hulk Hogan. Can celebrities sway US voters?
From pop superstar Taylor Swift to former wrestler Hulk Hogan, celebrity endorsements have been a feature of this year’s U.S. presidential race. But whether they will have any kind of impact on the election is difficult to predict. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …
Japanese organization of atomic bomb survivors wins Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s books fly off the shelves in South Korea
seoul, south korea — South Koreans flocked to bookstores Friday and crashed websites in a frenzy to snap up copies of the work of novelist Han Kang in her home country, after her unexpected win of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. However, the author herself was keeping out of the limelight. The country’s largest bookstore…
Hurricane Milton disrupts Yom Kippur plans for Jews in Florida
WINTER PARK, Florida — Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend. But for the faithful in Florida, destructive Hurricane Milton has disrupted plans for observing the Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith — that begins Friday evening and caps…
Chinese entries skyrocket at this year’s Taiwan Golden Horse Awards
Taipei, Taiwan — Organizers of Taiwan’s premier film festival report a huge increase this year in entries from China, despite a ban imposed by Beijing six years ago on participation in the festival by Chinese filmmakers and actors. As many as 100 Chinese entries had been submitted for Golden Horse Awards in recent years, in defiance…
Columbia U. news site offers tips for international students
DC’s Hirshhorn Museum bustles with bright Brazilian art
The vibrant world of yellow-skinned giants, surreal landscapes and a massive mechanical zoetrope have taken over the Hirshhorn Museum in the largest U.S. showcase of work by Brazilian twin brothers OSGEMEOS. It’s the most comprehensive display of the siblings’ art ever presented in the United States. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera: Sergii Dogotar. …
South Korean author Han Kang wins Nobel literature prize for her ‘intense poetic prose’
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal to retire after next month’s Davis Cup finals
Offline dating, friendship meetups trending in US
While online dating apps are as popular as ever, some singles prefer meeting in person. Karina Bafradzhian has a look at some services that offer face-to-face meetups for people who are looking for friends as often as dates. Camera: Sergii Dogotar …
NCAA’s $2.78 billion settlement with colleges to allow athlete payments gets preliminary approval
‘Joker 2’ is box office No.1 despite poor reviews from audiences, critics
Gauff rallies to reach China Open final; Sinner, Alcaraz win in Shanghai
BEIJING — Coco Gauff rallied Saturday from a set down for the third consecutive match as she beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the final of the China Open. The sixth-ranked Gauff will play Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final as the 20-year-old American bids for her second WTA-1000 level…
Peru celebrates 2 decades of a fast-growing breed of guinea pigs eaten as a delicacy
LIMA, Peru — Peru on Thursday celebrated two decades since the creation of a genetically modified breed of guinea pig, a rodent whose meat has formed a part of the diet of people in the Andean nation for thousands of years. The genetically modified breed of guinea pig — known as cuy locally — is called…
German church is tallest in the world — until Spain’s La Sagrada Familia is done
ULM, Germany — The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world’s tallest church. For now, anyway. The Gothic-style Lutheran church’s reign — begun in May 31, 1890 — could end in 2025, when La Sagrada Familia Basilica’s “Tower of Jesus Christ” in Spain is set to be completed. At an eventual 172.5 meters high, the…
Grace period for US student loan payments is over. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on September 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score. “The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are…
Boston university relaunches journalism curriculum to encompass humanities
Washington — As the fall semester begins, a women’s college in Boston, Massachusetts, has retooled its media-related curriculum to best reflect the ideals of the school’s namesake, the late journalist Gwen Ifill. Simmons University announced it would relaunch the media school as the Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences. A search committee also…
John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and Emmy nominee for blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84
LOS ANGELES — American actor John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970’s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots, has died. He was 84. Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death Tuesday. No other details were immediately available. …