JERUSALEM — Israel’s national Holocaust museum opened a new conservation facility in Jerusalem on Monday that will preserve, restore and store its more than 45,000 artifacts and works of art in a vast new building, including five floors of underground storage. Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, serves as both a museum and a research…
Fitness guru Richard Simmons dies at 76
5 injured while running with bulls in Spain
Pamplona, Spain — Five runners were injured, but none were gored on the seventh day of Pamplona’s running of the bulls in northern Spain Saturday, the Red Cross said. The five injured people were hurt during Spain’s traditional annual San Fermin bull running festival, with most suffering bruising, local government sources said. The curtain went up…
Spain, England to contest Euro 2024 final in former Nazi stadium
BERLIN — Spain and England will play the European Championship final on Sunday in an imposing stadium with a dark history. Built for the 1936 Olympic Games, Berlin’s Olympic stadium still bears the scars of World War II and contains relics from its Nazi past. But the Olympiastadion, as it’s known in German, is also associated…
Marathon wedding hosted by India’s richest man holds country in thrall
NEW DELHI — When the son of Asia’s richest man gets married, the celebrations are expected to be lavish. But the breathtaking scale of the festivities held for the youngest son of Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani has become the talk of the country. Anant Ambani tied the knot with his fiancée, Radhika Merchant, Friday in…
Report: US could have 2.8M international students in 10 years
Shelley Duvall, star of ‘The Shining’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 75
Library of Congress awards prize for American fiction to James McBride
NEW YORK — The Library of Congress has awarded a lifetime achievement prize to James McBride, whose acclaimed novels include The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, Deacon King Kong and The Good Lord Bird. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Thursday that McBride, whose story lines have ranged from the crusades of abolitionist John Brown to…
New sports minister promotes South African car ‘spinning’
South Africa’s newly-appointed minister of sports – a self-described former gangster – wants to promote a sport that has associations with South African gangster culture. The sport of “spinning” involves fast-moving cars and dangerous stunts, and as Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg, the way it’s conducted is not always legal. …
Colombia beats Uruguay, will face Messi and Argentina in Copa America final
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Colombia is headed to the Copa America championship game for the first time in 23 years after a contentious win over Uruguay in which it played the second half a man short and players brawled with fans in the stands following the final whistle. Jefferson Lerma scored in the 39th minute for…
In ‘Rust’ trial, Alec Baldwin accused of breaking gun rules; defense blames experts
SANTA FE, New Mexico — A New Mexico prosecutor on Wednesday said Alec Baldwin broke “cardinal rules” of gun safety in the 2021 killing of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while his lawyer said he was failed by firearms experts. The 66-year-old Baldwin, on trial in Hollywood’s first on-set shooting fatality in three decades, took notes at…
Small group of colleges educates 20% of undergrads
British-born guitarist revels in Ghanian sounds
John Collins visited Ghana as a child with his father. But life brought him back years later, and the musician never left. VOA’s Isaac Kaledzi met him in Accra and Anthony Labruto narrates. …
WADA made reasonable decision in China doping case, probe says
Vatican sets in-depth review of women’s church leadership roles
Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial begins with jury selection
SANTA FE, N.M. — Alec Baldwin’s trial in the shooting of a cinematographer is set to begin Tuesday with the selection of jurors who will be tasked with deciding whether the actor is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Getting chosen to serve in a trial of such a major star accused of such a major crime would…
Eugenio Derbez’s ‘Acapulco’ brings feel-good nostalgia to global audiences
Popular Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez has successfully transitioned to Hollywood. His bilingual comedy “Acapulco” on Apple TV is critically acclaimed and has put his work in front of new audiences. The show’s star and producer spoke with Veronica Villafañe about his mission to create an authentic, family-friendly series that positively represents his home country. …
After $1B gift, most Johns Hopkins medical students won’t pay tuition
World’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s First Folios goes on display
Paramount, Skydance merge, ending Redstone family reign
NEW YORK — The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades-long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape. It also signals the rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of…
Fewer job opportunities for computer science majors
Spain recovers lost ‘language’ of ringing church bells by hand
JOANETES, Spain — Xavier Pallàs plants his feet on the belfry floor, grips the rope, and with one tug fills the lush Spanish valley below with the reverberating peal of a church bell. Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-CLONG! The swinging bronze bell resonates with each strike of the clapper, filling the small stone tower with an undulating hum.…
Bangladeshi protesters demand end to civil service job quotas
Dhaka, Bangladesh — Thousands of Bangladeshi university students threw roadblocks across key highways Sunday, demanding the end of “discriminatory” quotas for coveted government jobs, including reserving posts for children of liberation heroes. Students in almost all major universities took part, demanding a merit-based system for well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service jobs. “It’s a do-or-die situation…
New Orleans Essence Festival wraps up 4-day celebration of Black culture
New Orleans, Louisiana — For 30 years, the Essence Festival of Culture has brought together people from all walks of life and from around the world to connect through conversation, shared experiences and, of course, music. The nation’s largest annual celebration of Black culture was set to end Sunday with musical performances by Janet Jackson and…
‘Despicable Me 4’ debuts, raking in $122.6 million since opening Wednesday
New York — After a historically bad first half of the year, the box office is suddenly booming. “Despicable Me 4,” the Illumination Animation sequel, led the way over the holiday weekend with $75 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday and $122.6 million since opening Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Independence Day holiday…
In Senegal, French expat gains internet fame with Wolof language learning videos
A young Frenchman who settled in Senegal a little over a year ago decided to master the local Wolof language. Now he’s teaching it to other people on social media. Allison Fernandes has the story, narrated by Michelle Joseph. …
Pope deplores state of democracy, warns against ‘populists’
Vatican City — Pope Francis decried the state of democracy and warned against “populists” during a short visit to Trieste in Italy’s northeast on Sunday ahead of a 12-day trip to Asia — the longest of his papacy. “Democracy is not in good health in the world today,” Francis said during a speech at the city’s…
TikTok has launched tons of trends. Will its influence last?
new york — TikTok and its bite-sized videos arrived in the United States as a global version of the Chinese app Douyin in 2018. Less than six years later, the social media platform is deeply woven into the fabric of American consumerism, having shortened the shelf life of trends and revamped how people engage with food…