The World Cup attracts billions of viewers across the globe, many of them in Africa. As the best footballers in the world battle it out to be crowned champion, Zaheer Cassim in Johannesburg explores how Africans are putting aside their differences and are backing all the teams from the continent. …

Human rights campaigners say Russia is using the glitz of the football World Cup to try to gloss over its deteriorating human rights record. Opposition groups, journalists, LGBT communities and non-governmental organizations have all been targeted in a crackdown that has intensified over the past six years, according to campaigners. …

What a transformation. Russia’s World Cup soccer team, metamorphosed from national laughingstock to heroes of the motherland in less than a week.   And no one is more stunned than their own fans.   Chants of “Ro-see-ya! Ro-see-ya!” reverberated through the St. Petersburg Stadium and along the nearby wind-whipped shores …

U.S. broadcast network CBS will expand the popular “Star Trek” science-fiction franchise with new series, mini-series and animation under a production deal announced on Tuesday. CBS said in a statement that it had signed a five-year deal with producer Alex Kurtzman to supervise a range of new programming related to …

A musical inspired by the life of late pop singer Michael Jackson will open on Broadway in 2020, Jackson’s estate and its producing partner said on Tuesday. The story will be written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, according to a statement from the “Thriller” singer’s estate and Columbia …

The dinosaurs of “Jurassic Park” are many things. They are special-effects wonders. They are unruly house guests. And they are some of the biggest, most foot-stomping metaphors around.  Since Steven Spielberg’s 1993 original, the dinos of “Jurassic Park” — many of them not light on their feet to be begin …

George Clooney’s Hollywood career spans more than three decades, with memorable roles including fighting vampires, playing Batman and drifting through space in “Gravity.” But Clooney’s other accomplishments, including directing, screenwriting and activism, led to him becoming the latest recipient of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award.   Clooney, 57, …

A 20-meter (22-yard) high sculpture of an ancient Egyptian tomb, made from 7,506 red, white and mauve barrels, has taken temporary residence amid the aquatic wildlife on a lake in London’s Hyde Park. The floating installation — featuring two vertical sides, two slanted sides and a flat top — was …

Seven-year-old Montannah Kenney has become the youngest girl to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 meters, was Montannah’s project during a school break last March. The adventure presented her with an opportunity to discover her potential strengths and learn about hiking and …

Many football fans in Egypt cannot afford cable sports subscriptions or travel to Russia, but that does not mean they are missing out on World Cup action. Hamada Elrasam shows us how Egyptian fans find ways to get a part of the excitement. …

Many Muslims around the world are not happy with Hollywood’s stereotypes of Muslims and Islam. But instead of protesting, nonprofit group Muslim Public Affairs Council created a Hollywood bureau to engage with filmmakers. It also honors those making a difference with the so-called “Muslim Oscars.” VOA’s Vina Mubtadi reports from …

Discarded life jackets on a beach in Greece inspired artwork by a teenager who wanted to learn more about the refugee crisis. Achilleas Souras, the 17-year-old creator of the artwork, titled SOS: Save Our Souls, hopes his project prompts others to learn as well.  Souras was 15 and living in …

In Myanmar, the most popular sport is football. But baseball, which is American’s national pastime, has carved a small niche for itself thanks to a man from Japan. Dave Grunebaum has the story. …

A Palestinian man from Gaza turns tear gas canisters used by Israeli forces into flower pots and prayer beads to commemorate often-violent border protests for future generations. Arash Arabasadi reports. …

As soccer’s top stars chase World Cup glory in Russia, some young African players lured to the country by scouts with promises of lucrative contracts say that for them, Russia is a place of shattered dreams. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …

A Puerto Rican from the Bronx, Orlando Pagan fell in love with Ukrainian folklore when he was a teenager. He used to dance in the Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, and now he leads it. Pagan believes Ukrainian dances are truly special and hopes to make them as popular as the …

Many Muslims around the world are not happy with Hollywood’s stereotypes of Muslims and Islam. But instead of protesting, nonprofit group Muslim Public Affairs Council created a Hollywood bureau to engage with filmmakers. It also honors those making a difference with the so-called “Muslim Oscars.” VOA’s Vina Mubtadi reports from …

A Swiss born artist who got his first big break in 1955 in the United States, is back in the city of his first museum exhibit, New York. Sculptor, painter, draftsman Alberto Giacometti created most of his masterpieces in a tiny studio in Montparnasse in Paris, but his work has …

Several hundred yoga practitioners unrolled their mats on the lawn of the United States Capitol on Saturday to celebrate the International Day of Yoga, which takes place June 21. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more. …

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves free.” That proclamation, June 19, 1865, was the spark for a day that has come to be known in the United States as Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating …

Following a red carpet arrival Saturday at the New Orleans Museum of Art, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain enjoyed music by a jazz group and a cultural performance by Mardi Gras Indians as they ended a visit to the city celebrating its tricentennial. After a private lunch …

A major fire has torn through one of Scotland’s architectural gems, the Mackintosh building at the Glasgow School of Art, for the second time in four years. More than 120 firefighters fought the blaze during the night as it gutted the 1909 building and spread to a theater and a …

Among the millions of fans watching the World Cup are amateur football players who have dreams of being as good as their heroes, Now, they have a new way to compare their performance to the best professionals in the game, so they can build their skills. The help comes from …

The phrase ‘don’t mix politics and sport’ is often heard in Moscow these days. But it’s difficult to escape the unique circumstances of this year’s World Cup. As the tournament gets underway in Russia, the country remains subject to a range of international sanctions over its annexation of Crimea and …

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday ends Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting. In Afghanistan, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Friday touted a three-day cease-fire with the Taliban in an address to the nation to mark the Eid holiday. The cease-fire lasts through Sunday, but Ghani appealed …