AMC Theaters, the largest movie chain in North America, will limit attendance at all screenings to 50 people to adhere to the CDC’s latest social distancing guidelines.           Cinemas in New York City and Los Angeles on Sunday were ordered closed by the city’s respective mayors. Many art …

A young Botswana boxer has defied the odds in a male dominated sport, to become the country’s first ever female Olympian in the sport. Twenty-three year-old Sadie Kenosi recently became the first boxer in the world to book her spot in July’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. From Gaborone, Botswana, Mqondisi Dube reports. …

The Metropolitan Opera of New York is launching a series of nightly opera streams on its official website, starting with the performance of Bizet’s Carmen on Monday night at 7:30 PM local time.”These are hard days for the Metropolitan Opera, for the city and for all of you, as the …

In the almost 100 years The New Yorker magazine has existed, it’s published thousands of cartoons. Yet never in its history had a black female cartoonist published for the magazine – that is, until Liz Montague came on board. For VOA, Karina Bafradzhian spoke with Montague and has more in …

Every year, the Mother Tongue Film Festival, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, showcases films about indigenous cultures that celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity. Most of these films have been made in indigenous languages from all over the world. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with curators and filmmakers on how …

There’s a millennial divide in the generation of young people that is often stereotyped as entitled, unemployed and more likely to still be living with their parents.  The Great Recession and student loan debt created strong challenges for the generation of young people who today are roughly in their mid-20s …

Tom Hanks said he and wife Rita Wilson were taking their new coronavirus infection “one day at a time” while Australian television hosts who had interviewed Wilson were awaiting test results Friday.      Australia has stepped up its response to COVID-19 by recommending people avoid organized, nonessential gatherings of …

The entertainment industry, a business predicated on drawing crowds in theaters, cinemas and concert venues, is bracing for possible shutdown in the coming weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially putting on pause the normal hum of TV productions, the bustle of red-carpet movie premieres and the applause of audiences. …

British rock band The Who have cancelled their UK tour due to coronavirus, just four days before they were due to take to the stage in Manchester.The group, famous for tracks like “My Generation” and “Substitute”, said the three-week tour would go ahead later in the year.”Haven’t reached this decision …

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson are isolated in stable condition in an Australian hospital after contracting the new coronavirus. The double Oscar winner is easily the most famous person yet to disclose they have COVID-19. Hanks said he and Wilson had felt tired, with colds, aches and slight …

The NBA has suspended its season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league’s owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.Now there will be no games at all, at …

Ugandan poet Stella Nyanzi was released in February after spending over a year in prison for a post she made on Facebook that insulted President Yoweri Museveni.  Defiant, Nyanzi used her time behind bars to write a book and is inspiring others to use poetry to express their political opinions.  …

Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, a sight the Hollywood mogul’s multitude of accusers thought they would never see.Weinstein, who has been accused of violating scores of women, was convicted last month of raping a woman in a New York City …

The final act of Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in New York begins Wednesday, when the once-powerful film producer will be sentenced following his landmark #MeToo conviction.     Weinstein is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in New York City. He faces up to 29 years behind bars for raping an …

Hollywood continued to shuffle its upcoming releases due to the coronavirus, as Sony Pictures on Tuesday announced that it’s moving “Peter Rabbit 2″ to August.”Peter Rabbit 2” had been set to hit U.K. and European theaters on March 27, and open in the U.S. on April 3. Instead, Sony said …

Pearl Jam is postponing the North American leg of its Gigaton world tour because of concerns over the new coronavirus, the band announced Monday.      Seventeen U.S. and Canadian performances, beginning on March 18 in Toronto through April 19 in Oakland, California, were indefinitely postponed, according to the band’s …

Swirling colors, abstract images and fantastical paintings are featured on the outside of buildings and walls throughout Miami, Florida.  VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to the city’s street art scene  …

Swedish-born actor Max von Sydow, whose seven-decade career saw him go from starring in iconic art-house movies by Ingmar Bergman to appearing in English-language hits including “The Exorcist” and “Game of Thrones,” has died in France aged 90, his family said.”It is with a broken heart and with infinite sadness …

The number of female parliamentarians in the world has more than doubled since the groundbreaking U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 25 years ago, the Inter-Parliamentary Union said Friday. Part of the reason may be quotas.While female representation in national parliaments has increased, gender parity remains a distant …

A lifelong baseball fan, Sue Macy not only loves sports but also advocates for women athletes. Her book, “Breaking Through: How Female Athletes Shattered Stereotypes in the Roaring Twenties,” relates the struggles of women athletes in the U.S. and how they paved the way for success for modern women in …

It’s been 100 years since the 19th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote in the United States. To commemorate the centennial, the New York Historical Society has launched a special exhibit called Women March. It explores women’s collective action before and after the suffrage victory all the …

Calling himself “a proud feminist,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lashed out at men who abuse power and declared before Sunday’s observances of International Women’s Day that the fight for gender equality is “the biggest human rights challenge we face.”Twenty-five years after 189 countries adopted a 150-page road map for achieving …

McCoy Tyner, the groundbreaking and influential jazz pianist and the last surviving member of the John Coltrane Quartet, has died. He was 81.Tyner’s family confirmed the death in a statement released on social media Friday. No more details were provided.”It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of …

Fans of secret magical societies unite under cover of darkness in London.  No werewolves to see, but witches and wizards casts spells they only just learned themselves.  As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, the worst disaster possible entering this new and dark art is wasting a few milliliters of store-bought magical …

Superheroes have special powers. People who can draw large crowds, get on the debate stage and raise enough money to run for president — considered elite politicians — also have special powers that leap off the pages of comic books.The “Political Power” series from TidalWave Comics tells the stories of …