Paris — A Paris court found a filmmaker guilty of sexual assault on French actor Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 15 in the early 2000s, in the country’s first big #MeToo trial. Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was sentenced Monday to two years under house arrest with an electronic bracelet …
your ad hereChappell Roan wins best new artist at the Grammys
LOS ANGELES — Chappell Roan was named best new artist at the 2025 Grammys. She read a speech from a notebook, beginning by addressing her fellow nominees. “BRAT was the best night of my life this year,” she said, as her hat fell off her head, referencing Charli xcx. Then her …
your ad hereLate President Jimmy Carter wins posthumous Grammy
Los Angeles — Former President Jimmy Carter has won a posthumous Grammy award. Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, died in December at age 100. Prior to his passing, Carter was nominated in the audio book, narration, and storytelling …
your ad hereUS woman with Down syndrome earns Master of Fine Arts
Rachel Handlin is an example of what’s possible when someone pursues their dreams. Handlin may be the first person on the planet with Down syndrome to earn a Master of Fine Arts. She also had her first public solo photo exhibit in Manhattan. Anna Nelson has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vladimir Badikov. …
your ad here‘Dog Man’ bites off $36 million, taking No. 1 at box office
New York — DreamWorks Animation’s “Dog Man” fetched $36 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it the biggest debut yet in 2025. It was a big opening for the Universal Pictures release adapted from the popular graphic novel series by author Dav …
your ad hereBeyonce competes for the big prize – again – at Sunday’s Grammys
LOS ANGELES — The Grammy Awards take center stage in Los Angeles on Sunday at a celebration that will honor the best of music while acknowledging the deadly wildfires that scarred a hub of the industry. Beyonce will compete for the top Grammy prize of album of the year with her …
your ad hereCouple challenges Vatican bank’s ban on workplace marriages
ROME — Pope Francis has long urged couples to marry and have babies rather than dogs. And he has long championed the rights of workers and held up labor itself as the foundation of human dignity. So it has come as something of a surprise to many in the Holy See …
your ad hereNew Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Maori
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Maori name — is …
your ad hereDick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95
NEW YORK — Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s greatest innovators and promoters. Button, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, said his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause. He …
your ad herePolice say at least 30 died in stampede at India’s Maha Kumbh festival
PRAYAGRAJ, INDIA — At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India. Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city …
your ad hereYear of the Snake is underway with Lunar New Year festivities
BEIJING — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow. Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid …
your ad hereChina sees boom in feasts for pets on Lunar New Year’s Eve
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — As pet parents in China usher in the Year of the Snake and host Lunar New Year’s Eve dinners with their loved ones, some are also making sure that their fur babies, or “mao hai zi,” are not left out. Over the past month, a growing number of …
your ad hereChiefs, Eagles reach Super Bowl
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are set to face off in the National Football League’s Super Bowl, with the Chiefs looking to become the first team to win three consecutive championships and the Eagles trying to avenge their loss from two years ago. The Chiefs reached the Feb. …
your ad herePercival Everett’s ‘James’ awarded Carnegie Medal for fiction
NEW YORK — For author Percival Everett, libraries have long been a source of knowledge and discovery and pleasure, even of the forbidden kind. “I remember making friends at age 13 with the librarian at the University of South Carolina, and she used to let me go through the stacks when …
your ad hereMel Gibson’s ‘Flight Risk’ is No. 1 at box office, ‘The Brutalist’ expands
New York — Critics lambasted it and audiences didn’t grade it much better. But despite the turbulence, Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk” managed to open No. 1 at the box office with a modest $12 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. On a quiet weekend, even for the typically frigid movie-going month …
your ad hereTaipei pet shop strives to break down anti-snake prejudice
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — As the Year of the Snake approaches, a pet store in Taipei is offering adventurous customers an opportunity to enjoy the company of snakes while sipping coffee, hoping to break down some of the prejudice against the animal. Taiwan has been plastered with images of the reptile ahead …
your ad hereIndonesia showcases returned artifacts it had sought for decades from Netherlands
JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelry repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia’s National Museum, providing a glimpse into the country’s rich heritage that the government had struggled to retrieve. The collection is part of more than 800 artifacts that …
your ad hereHow the oldest known Hebrew book landed in a Washington museum
In 2016, Herschel Hepler was browsing Google Images to practice his paleography — the study of historical writing systems — when he stumbled upon an eerily familiar photo that would lead to a groundbreaking discovery. “I recognized it immediately and said, ‘That’s a manuscript in our collection,’” Hepler, a curator …
your ad hereYoung rodeo riders compete in mutton bustin’
In the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, the National Western Stock Show hosts nearly 30 professional rodeo events. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns takes us to a stock show competition for younger riders. And sheep. …
your ad hereVOA Mandarin: Chinese actor Hu Ge enters politics
Hu Ge, a Chinese actor who is well-known in China for dramas including Flowers, was recently confirmed to serve as the deputy director of the Central Propaganda Committee of the China Democratic League. He was invited to Taiwan in June 2024 to participate in a film exchange activity. Click here …
your ad here‘Emilia Perez’ tops Oscar nominations in fire-hit Hollywood
LOS ANGELES — Transgender cartel musical “Emilia Perez” topped this year’s Oscar nominations, earning 13 nods in an announcement on Thursday postponed by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. French director Jacques Audiard’s Mexico-set musical, released by Netflix, shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie. It …
your ad hereHistorical novel offers lessons to next generation, says Afghan writer
An Afghan author’s latest book is a generational call to remember the country’s recent violent past, he says. But Taliban rules mean publishers and bookstores are wary of stocking it. From Peshawar, Pakistan, Muska Safi has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Roshan Noorzai contributed to this report. …
your ad hereStarry Sundance fest moves ahead in wake of LA fires
Los Angeles — The U.S. film industry’s first big gathering since fires devastated Los Angeles will begin Thursday at the Sundance festival, where highlights include a glitzy new Jennifer Lopez musical and a dark Benedict Cumberbatch drama. Hollywood’s annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains to premiere the coming year’s most-anticipated indie …
your ad hereKeke Palmer’s ‘One of Them Days,’ ‘Mufasa’ race for No. 1
WASHINGTON — The Keke Palmer buddy comedy “One of Them Days” opened in first place on the North American box office charts on a particularly slow Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The R-rated Sony release earned $11.6 million from 2,675 theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, beating Disney’s “Mufasa: The …
your ad hereNew documentary questions who took famous napalm attack photo
It is one of the 20th century’s most memorable images: a naked girl, screaming, running from a napalm bombing during the Vietnam War. More than a half-century later, a new documentary is calling into question who took it — and the retired Associated Press photographer long credited for the photo …
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