Dancer and comic actor Ken Berry, who starred in two iconic U.S. television series, has died at 85. No cause of death was immediately announced. Berry was a stage and Broadway performer known for his athletic dance routines when he turned to comedy in the 1960s. He is best known …

Jews around the world are lighting candles, spinning dreidels, and eating traditional potato pancakes as they welcome Hanukkah. The eight-day long Festival of Lights marks the re-dedication of the temple of Jerusalem in the second century BC, after Jewish guerillas defeated the armies of tyrannical Syrian and Greek rulers. Every …

Thousands turned out on Sunday for a concert in Johannesburg to honor the life of Nelson Mandela, with Beyonce leading an all-star line-up. The event, held to mark 100 years since the birth of South Africa’s first black president, was organized by advocacy group Global Citizen. It also aimed to …

Beyonce will lead an all-star line-up that includes Ed Sheeran, Jay-Z and Usher in Johannesburg on Sunday when she performs at a concert to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. The concert is the climax of a year of events celebrating the centennial of Mandela’s birth in 1918, …

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas have tied the knot at a lavish ceremony in a royal Indian palace before friends and family. Fireworks lit up the sky as the celebrity couple exchanged vows Saturday in a Christian ceremony at the opulent Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur, …

There have been mixed reactions in Cameroon after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) withdrew the 2019 continental soccer event-hosting rights from the central African state. The government has described the CAF decision as “total injustice” while some people say the suspension should act as an eye opener for the …

Since President John Adams and first lady Abigail Adams’ Christmas party at the White House in December 1800, wintertime in the U.S. president’s residence has been filled with various holiday festivities. This year, first lady Melania Trump has decked White House halls in the spirit of the patriotic theme “American …

A San Francisco chef is the first woman in the United States to be awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide. Dominique Crenn celebrated the honor on Instagram Thursday with her staff at Atelier Crenn, posting “congratulations to my amazing team.”   It was not the only honor for Crenn …

FIFA’s ethics committee has imposed a four-year ban on a soccer official for accepting a bribe, reportedly from former presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam. FIFA says Manuel Dende, former president of the Sao Tomean Football Association, is also fined 75,000 Swiss francs ($75,000).   FIFA gave no details about the …

Angola’s most famous operatic tenor hopes to inspire more Africans to take up the classical music form. Nelson Ebo has performed around the world and is currently starring with the Heartbeat Opera company on stage in New York. He recently sang in Washington, where VOA Portuguese Service’s Mayra de Lassalette …

The Mystery Writers of America withdrew a major honor Thursday from author Linda Fairstein after other writers condemned the ex-prosecutor’s role in New York’s notorious “Central Park Five” case.  The decision, just two days after the Grand Master Award was announced, marked the first time the group has ever rescinded …

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has solidified his claim to be the greatest chess player in the world. Carlsen beat Fabiano Caruana of the United States 3-0 Wednesday in a rapid-chess tiebreaker game at the world chess championships in London. Carlsen and Caruana played to 12 draws in their series of championship …

Chinese photographer Lu Guang has gone missing during a visit to China’s Xinjiang province. Lu’s wife Xu Xiaoli, who is in the United States, set up a Twitter account this week to spread information about the disappearance of the award-winning photojournalist, who covers sensitive issues in China, such as pollution, poverty, and …

Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson is returning to the big screen with adventure fantasy “Mortal Engines,” a post-apocalyptic tale of survival in his first feature film project since his award-winning adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. The New Zealand-born director, known for his “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, …

One of the most famous songs of Christmas was celebrated Tuesday as it approaches its 200th anniversary, with a concert at the New York City church where “Silent Night” is believed to have been sung in the United States for the first time and where a priest was the first …

Stevie Wonder wants to raise money through his benefit concert for California fire victims impacted by the catastrophic wildfires. The R&B legend announced his plan Tuesday to also help firefighters and first responders who assisted with the fires through his 22nd annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert on Dec. …

In the first major soiree of Hollywood’s awards season, Chloe Zhao’s elegiac, lyrical Western “The Rider” took best feature film at the 28th annual Gotham Awards.  It was a surprising, but far from baffling conclusion to the Gothams, the New York-based gala for independent film, held Monday night at Cipriani’s …

The feel-good road-trip drama Green Book was named the best film of the year, and its star, Viggo Mortensen, best actor, by the National Board of Review in one of the first in a parade of awards season honors. The NBR awards, announced Tuesday, gave the Oscar hopes of Universal’s …

Stephen Hillenburg, who created SpongeBob SquarePants and the absurd undersea world he inhabited, has died at age 57, Nickelodeon announced Tuesday. Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, the cable network said in a statement. He was 57. Hillenburg had announced he had the disease in …

On a bright Sunday morning in the suburbs of Jerez, Spain, groups of young migrants begin to arrive at the San Telmo sports ground. Many have been working the late shift in kitchens or factories across the city; others have been working at traffic signals, selling tissues or washing windshields …

“Game of Thrones” actor Jason Momoa brings the latest superhero spin-off to the big screen, this time “Aquaman,” to tell the story of the DC Comics half-human, half-Atlantean character. The 39-year-old first made an appearance in the role in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” but now has his …

Mick Jagger likes a buzz. A natural buzz.   The Rolling Stones frontman, who will tour America next spring with his iconic band, says live shows give him a rush that can’t be matched and is the reason that at 75, he still loves touring.   “When you go out …

Patricia Hall went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in 2016 hoping to learn more about the music performed by prisoners in World War II death camps. The University of Michigan music theory professor heard there were manuscripts, but she was “completely thrown” by what she found in the card catalogs: Unexpectedly …

Misinformation, as opposed to disinformation, was chosen Monday as Dictionary.com’s word of the year on the tattered coattails of “toxic,” picked earlier this month for the same honor by Oxford Dictionaries in these tumultuous times. Jane Solomon, a linguist-in-residence at Dictionary, said in a recent interview that her site’s choice …

Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci has died. Bertolucci, who was 77 years old, died Monday morning at his home in Rome. Variety, the entertainment weekly magazine, reports that he had cancer. He is best known for the films “The Last Emperor,” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Bertolucci won the best …