“Real Housewives of New Jersey” husband Joe Giudice has lost his appeal to avoid deportation to Italy. His attorneys said Thursday they are “extremely disappointed” by the Board of Immigration’s decision and have appealed to the federal circuit court in Philadelphia. Giudice and his wife, Teresa, pleaded guilty in 2014 …

President Emmanuel Macron might have hoped he was striking a note for modernity and openness in announcing an international competition to design a new spire for Notre-Dame cathedral, but he may have opened a can of worms instead. There was already debate about whether his goal of rebuilding the church …

As the war in Yemen continues to inflict suffering on its millions of civilians, a Yemeni graffiti artist is taking her art to the streets of Sanaa to draw images of war and hunger in the conflict-torn country.     Haifa Subay, 28, is weaponizing her art to disseminate messages of peace …

Beyonce has surprised her fans by releasing a soundtrack to her Netflix documentary “Homecoming.”    The 37-year-old superstar debuted “Homecoming: The Live Album” Wednesday, the same day a Netflix documentary exploring her historic performances at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was released. She was the first black …

France on Wednesday announced it would invite architects from around the world to submit designs for replacing the spire of Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating blaze, as the government braced for a mammoth restoration challenge. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the contest would decide whether the monument should have a …

A long-hidden trove of unpublished works by Franz Kafka could soon be revealed following a decade-long battle over his literary estate that has drawn comparisons to some of his surreal tales. A district court in Zurich upheld Israeli verdicts in the case last week, ruling that several safe deposit boxes …

A Rwandan albino woman has appeared in a music video, attracting widespread attention and helping alleviate the stigma of albinos in Africa. Claudine Mukarusine has described the video as a spark of light in a life filled with discrimination and fear. Mukarusine is a 28-year-old graduate from the University of …

A young Rwandan woman, who is an albino, has appeared in a music video that has attracted widespread attention and has helped alleviate the fears and stigma attached to albinos in Africa. Claudine Mukarusine has described the video as a spark of light in a life filled with discrimination and …

A blustering bureaucrat fills a form out with your personal details and hands you a badge declaring you an inspector qualified to police Communist-run Cuba’s cultural sector under a controversial new decree. This interactive performance by Cuban artist Leandro Feal, 33, is one of the politically charged artworks in a …

The fire that tore through Notre-Dame cathedral was probably caused by accident, French prosecutors said on Tuesday after firefighters doused the last flames in the ruins overnight and the nation grieved for the destruction of one of its symbols. More than 400 firemen were needed to tame the inferno that …

The fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday prompted fund-raising appeals in the United States, as people horrified by the blaze began making commitments to restore a global landmark even before the flames were extinguished. The New York-based French Heritage Society and the Go Fund Me crowdsourcing …

Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, his first major victory since 2008, is expected to lift sales for sponsors, broadcasters and golf courses lucky enough to host a tournament with Woods playing. The competition put the 43-year-old back on top of a sport he helped transform …

Aretha Franklin is still getting R-E-S-P-E-C-T after death: The Queen of Soul received the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation honor Monday, becoming the first individual woman to earn a special citation prize since the honor was first awarded in 1930. The Pulitzer board said the award was given to Franklin for …

Before Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, engulfed in flames on Monday, several heritage sites around the world have been either completely or partially destroyed by fires. Here are some examples. Brazil’s National Museum  Overnight Sept. 2-3, 2018, Brazil’s National Museum, north of Rio de Janeiro, was ravaged by a massive …

Tiger Woods, one of the world’s best golfers, captured his fifth Masters championship Sunday, his 15th major professional victory after an 11-year drought from winning the sport’s biggest tournaments. Woods shot a 2 under par 70 on a drizzly day at the Augusta National Golf Club in the southern U.S. …

Forty red dresses hang outside of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, a short distance from the U.S. Capitol. They’re strategically placed near trees and waterfalls alongside the Riverwalk located in the museum’s Native landscape. They’re present 24 hours a day, in all weather, to draw attention …

Forty red dresses hang outside of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. They’re present 24 hours a day, in all weather, to draw attention to the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women who experience violence at a much higher rate than non-indigenous women. The dresses are …

The U.S. Constitution says every person has the right to exercise their religion, even prison inmates. Opportunities for religious assemblies and services are offered in U.S. prisons. One detention facility in Arlington County, Virginia, is working with the Islamic Circle of North America to provide Muslim prisoners a way to …

The cherry blossoms that bloom every spring on the Tidal Basin in Washington are world famous, but thousands of visitors also come to a nearby Maryland suburb to enjoy the pink and white flowers that usually bloom about a week later. In Chevy Chase, Maryland, a small neighborhood called Kenwood …

The famous cherry blossoms on the Tidal Basin in Washington are passing their peak, but others in the area are still blooming. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to a neighborhood in a Maryland suburb where about 1,000 blossoming trees put on quite a show. …

Thousands flocked to remember the life of Nipsey Hussle at a packed memorial service Thursday that provided mourners with a deeper appreciation of Ermias Asghedom, the man behind the up-and-coming hip-hop persona. Some of people who knew Hussle best, from his actress-fiancee Lauren London, dear friend Snoop Dogg and his …

Walt Disney Co on Thursday said its new family-friendly streaming service will cost $7 monthly or $70 annually with a slate of exclusive TV shows and movies from some of the world’s most popular entertainment franchises in a bid to challenge the digital dominance of Netflix. The ad-free monthly subscription …

The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit Thursday against Jussie Smollett, saying the actor owes it more than $130,000 for police costs incurred in the investigation of a hate crime that authorities allege was phony, according to legal documents. The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court more than …

The haunting image of a little girl crying helplessly as she and her mother are taken into custody by U.S. border officials won the prestigious 2018 World Press Photo of the Year Award on Thursday.    Judges said veteran Getty photographer John Moore’s picture taken after Honduran mother Sandra Sanchez …

Author Charles Van Doren, who will forever be associated with one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history, has died of natural causes at 93. Van Doren was an obscure college professor in 1956 when he became a contestant on the television quiz show Twenty-One. The show offered big cash prizes …