Author: Ohart

Brisbane was picked Wednesday to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the IOC to avoid rival bids.The Games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne hosted in 1956.“We know what it takes to deliver a successful Games in Australia,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told International Olympic Committee voters in an 11-minute live video link from his office.When the award was later confirmed, winning the vote 72-5, Morrison raised both arms in the air and gave two thumbs up.The victory led to a fireworks display in Brisbane that was broadcast to IOC members in their five-star hotel in Tokyo.Brisbane follows 2028 host Los Angeles in getting 11 years to prepare for hosting the Games. Paris will host in 2024.The 2032 deal looked done months before the formal decision at the IOC meeting, which was held ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games.The IOC gave Brisbane exclusive negotiating rights in February. That decision left Olympic officials in Qatar, Hungary and Germany looking blindsided with their own stalled bidding plans.Though the result was expected, a high-level Australian delegation went to Tokyo amid the COVID-19 pandemic to present speeches, films and promises on stage.The city of Brisbane sent Mayor Adrian Schrinner, the state of Queensland sent Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Australia’s federal government sent sports minister Richard Colbeck to woo Olympic voters.They were joined by long-time Australian Olympic official John Coates, now an IOC vice president who shaped the fast-track selection process two years ago.The first-time format, designed to cut campaign costs, gives the IOC more control and removes the risk of vote-buying.The project will see events staged across Queensland, including in Gold Coast, which hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games.Brisbane’s renowned cricket stadium, known as the Gabba, will be upgraded and may host the sport at the Games. Cricket was played once at the Olympics, at the 1900 Paris Games.The next three Summer Games hosts — starting with Paris in 2024 — are now secured in wealthy and traditional Olympic host nations without any of the trio facing a contested vote.The IOC and its hands-on president, Thomas Bach, have torn up the template of traditional bidding campaigns and hosting votes to lock down preferred cities with the minimum risk.The future hosts offer stability for the IOC, which was stung by the two previous Summer Games contests being tainted by allegations of vote-buying when multiple cities were on the ballot.The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics are still under investigation by French prosecutors. They have implicated officials who then lost their place in the IOC family as active or honorary members.A low-risk future beckons for the IOC following the often-troubled Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games in February, which will throw scrutiny on China’s human rights record. Key partners have also been secured through 2032. The IOC’s signature broadcasting deal with NBC and top-tier sponsors Coca-Cola, Visa and Omega are tied down for the decade ahead.
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Since the last Summer Olympics in 2016, a global Black Lives Matter protest movement has resurfaced. The “Me Too” movement sprung up in support of women’s rights. And both may influence the Tokyo Games, which are expected to be a major platform for athlete activism.Several high-profile athletes competing at the Games have been at the forefront of progressive causes in their own countries and may make political statements in Tokyo, despite the International Olympic Committee threatening to punish those who speak out.“The more there are vibrant social movements in the streets, the better chances that we will see activism on the Olympic stage,” said Jules Boykoff, a former Olympic soccer player and author of four books on the Olympics. “I think we have a perfect storm, if you will, for an outburst of athlete activism.”Political protests are technically banned at the Games by Olympic Charter Rule 50. Though the rule was loosened earlier this year to allow more athlete expression, it still forbids protests from the medal stand or field of play.Rule 50 was enacted after the 1968 Olympics produced one of the most inspiring athlete protests in Olympic history. That’s when U.S. stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists into the sky on the medal stand in a Black Power Salute.FILE – In this Oct. 16, 1968 file photo, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos raise their gloved fists after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.ContradictionsSmith and Carlos are now widely viewed as icons for their salute. Even the IOC website FILE – Players take a knee before a Euro 2020 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Belgium and Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, July 2, 2021.The newly relaxed Rule 50 is vague about punishment. It’s not clear to what extent it will be enforced.Separately, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced late last year it would no longer punish U.S. athletes who conduct peaceful protests, such as kneeling or raising a fist.Professional U.S. athletes — most prominently basketball players but also others — have attended anti-racism protests and worn Black Lives Matter gear before and during games.U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe has also been outspoken for equal pay for women.United States’ Megan Rapinoe gives the victory sign before a women’s soccer match against Sweden at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 21, 2021, in Tokyo.The British women’s football team has already announced it will take a knee before its matches to protest racism and discrimination.Conservatives, including most notably former U.S. President Donald Trump, often criticize activist athletes, saying players should stick to sports. But even Trump has embraced players who support him and who defend conservative ideals.Intertwined with politics“In reality, there has never been a separation of sport and politics,” said Heather Dichter, a professor of sports history at Britain’s De Montfort University. That’s especially the case with the Olympics, which is full of national flags, symbols, and anthems, Dichter said. “This is the world’s biggest platform,” she added.The ‘No Fun’ Olympics May Struggle to Attract Viewers Organizers hope new tech can spur online fan interaction But not every athlete will feel comfortable speaking out. Wealthier players who receive large salaries from their professional careers may be more likely to risk punishment by speaking their minds.“If you’re an athlete from a lesser-known sport who might get kicked off the team and have their career ended by standing up for politics and lose all your sponsorships, which are the only thing that can keep you going as an athlete, you might be less inclined to speak out,” Boykoff said. Since there is an abundance of professional athletes competing in the Games this year, it’s just more reason to expect protests.“It actually opens the door to the possibility that these athletes might speak out,” he said. “After all, the Olympics need these athletes more than these athletes need the Olympics.”VOA’s Jesusemen Oni contributed to this report.
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Muslims around the world were observing Tuesday yet another major Islamic holiday in the shadow of the pandemic and amid growing concerns about the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus.Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” is typically marked by communal prayers, large social gatherings, slaughtering of livestock and giving meat to the needy. This year, the holiday comes as many countries battle the delta variant first identified in India, prompting some to impose new restrictions or appeal for people to avoid congregating and follow safety protocols.The pandemic has already taken a toll for the second year on a sacred mainstay of Islam, the hajj, whose last days coincide with Eid al-Adha. Once drawing some 2.5 million Muslims from across the globe to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the pilgrimage has been dramatically scaled back due to the virus.This year’s hajj has been limited to 60,000 vaccinated Saudi citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, pilgrims wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, performed the symbolic stoning of the devil in the valley area of Mina — using sterilized pebbles they received ahead of time.”This is (a) very, very, very big moment for us, for me especially,” said pilgrim Arya Widyawan Yanto, an Indonesian living in Saudi Arabia. He added that he was happy he had the chance to perform the pilgrimage. “Everything was conducted under very strict precautions.”Yanto said he hoped for the pandemic to end and for all Muslims to be able to perform the pilgrimage in a safe way.Indonesia marked a grim Eid al-Adha amid a devastating new wave of coronavirus cases in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, also an influential Islamic cleric, appealed to people to perform holiday prayers at home with their families.”Don’t do crowds,” Amin said in televised remarks ahead of the start of the holiday. “Protecting oneself from the COVID-19 pandemic is obligatory.”The surge is believed to have been fueled by travel during another holiday — the Eid al-Fitr festival in May — and by the rapid spread of the delta variant.In Malaysia, measures have been tightened after a sharp spike in infections despite a national lockdown since June 1 — people are banned from traveling back to their hometowns or crossing districts to celebrate. House visits and customary trips to graveyards are also banned.Healthy worshippers are allowed to gather for prayers in mosques, with strict social distancing and no physical contact. Ritual animal sacrifice is limited to mosques and other approved areas.Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah has urged Malaysians not to “repeat irresponsible behavior,” adding that travel and celebrations during Eid al-Fitr and another festival on the island of Borneo led to new clusters of cases.”Let us not in the excitement of celebrating the Feast of Sacrifice cause us all to perish because of COVID-19,” he said in a statement.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin urged Muslims to stay home. “I appeal to you all to be patient and abide by the rules because your sacrifice is a great jihad in Allah’s sight and in our effort to save lives,” he said in a televised speech on the eve of the festival.The World Health Organization has reported that globally, COVID-19 deaths had climbed after a period of decline. The reversal has been attributed to low vaccination rates, relaxed mask rules and other precautions, and the delta variant.Lockdowns will severely curtail Eid al-Adha festivities in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s two largest cities.Sydney resident Jihad Dib, a New South Wales state government lawmaker, said the city’s Muslims were sad but understood why they would be confined to their homes with no visitors allowed.
“It’s going to be the first Eid in my life I don’t hug and kiss my mum and dad,” Dib told Australian Broadcasting Corp.Iran on Monday imposed a week-long lockdown on the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region as the country struggles with another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported. The lockdown begins on Tuesday.Not everyone is imposing new restrictions. In Bangladesh, authorities have allowed an eight-day pause in the country’s strict lockdown for the holiday that health experts say could be dangerous.In Egypt, Essam Shaban travelled to the southern province of Sohag to spend Eid al-Adha with his family. He said ahead of the start of the holiday that he planned to pray at a mosque there on Tuesday while taking precautions such as bringing his own prayer rug and wearing a mask.”We want this Eid to pass by peacefully without any infections,” he said. “We must follow instructions.”Shaban had been looking forward to pitching in with his brothers to buy a buffalo for slaughtering, going door-to-door to give some of the meat to the poor and to the traditional festive meal later in the day with his extended family.”It’s usually boisterous with laughter and bickering with the kids,” he said. “It’s great.”
But others will be without loved ones.In India, where Eid al-Adha starts Wednesday, Tahir Qureshi would always go with his father for prayers and then to visit family and friends. His father died in June after contracting the virus during a surge that devastated the country, and the thought of having to spend the holiday without him is heartbreaking.”It will be difficult without him,” he said.India’s Muslim scholars have been urging people to exercise restraint and adhere to health protocols. Some states have restricted large gatherings and are asking people to observe the holiday at home.Meanwhile the pandemic’s economic fallout, which threw millions of Indians into financial hardship, has many saying they cannot afford to buy sacrificial livestock.In Indian-controlled Kashmir, a disputed, Muslim-majority region, businessman Ghulam Hassan Wani is among those cutting back.”I used to sacrifice three or four sheep, but this year we can hardly afford one,” Wani said.
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Bushra Shah, a 35-year-old Pakistani, says she is realizing a childhood dream by making the great pilgrimage to Mecca, and under new rules she’s doing it without a male guardian.The hajj ministry has officially allowed women of all ages to make the pilgrimage without a male relative, known as a “mehrem,” on the condition that they go in a group.
The decision is part of social reforms rolled out by de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is trying to shake off the kingdom’s austere image and open its oi reliant economy.Since his rise to power, women have been allowed to drive and to travel abroad without a male guardian, even against a backdrop of a relentless crackdown against critics of his rule, including women’s rights activists.”It’s like a dream come true. My childhood dream was to make the hajj,” Shah told AFP, before setting off from her home in Jeddah, the major port city in western Saudi Arabia.The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a must for able-bodied Muslims with the means to do so at least once in their lifetime.For the young mother, making the pilgrimage with her husband and child would have been a distraction that would have prevented her from “concentrating completely on the rites.”Shah is one of 60,000 pilgrims chosen to take part in this year’s hajj, which has been dramatically scaled down for the second year because of the coronavirus pandemic.Only citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia, chosen in a lottery, are taking part. Officials have said that 40% of this year’s pilgrims are women.”Many women will also come with me. I am very proud that we are now independent and do not need a guardian,” Shah said.Her husband, Ali Murtada, said he “strongly encouraged” his wife to make the trip alone, after the government’s decision to ban children from participating in the hajj this year.
He will stay in Jeddah to look after their child.”We decided that one of us should go. Maybe she will be pregnant next year or maybe the children will still not be allowed to participate,” the 38-year-old said.It was unclear when the hajj ministry lifted the restriction, and some women have reported that travel agencies are still reluctant to accept women travelling without a male companion for the hajj.Some even posted advertisements ruling out groups of unaccompanied women, in a sign of how the dizzying social changes are meeting some resistance in the deeply conservative kingdom.Authorities previously required the presence of a male guardian for any woman pilgrim younger than 45, preventing many Muslim women around the world from making the hajj.That was the case for Marwa Shaker, an Egyptian woman living in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.”Hajj without a guardian is a miracle,” the 42-year-old, who works for a civil society organization, told AFP.Now travelling to Mecca with three of her friends, the mother of three had tried several times to make the pilgrimage before the pandemic. But she was unable to because her husband had already been and was not permitted to go again so soon.”I feel enormously joyful. God has called me despite all the obstacles,” she said.For Sadaf Ghafoor, a British-Pakistani doctor, travelling without a male guardian was the “only option.””We couldn’t leave the children alone,” the 40-year-old said of her three youngsters.  Her husband decided to stay behind, and Ghafoor headed to Mecca with a neighbor.”It was not easy to take the decision to go alone … but we took this opportunity as a blessing,” she said.
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Pastry chef Shimi Aaron fell in love with babkas — a dessert that originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century. Aaron started making his own, and today he is teaching others how to make this unusual pastry. Genia Dulot met with the chef to hear his story.Camera: Genia Dulot
 
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Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose image of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb as a turban was at the center of widespread anti-Danish anger in the Muslim world in the mid-2000s, has died. He was 86. Westergaard’s family announced his death to Danish media late Sunday and told the newspaper Berlingske that Westergaard died in his sleep after a long period of illness. Danish media reported that he died July 14, a day after his birthday. From the early 1980s, Westergaard worked as a cartoonist for Jyllands-Posten, one of Denmark’s leading newspapers, and was associated with the daily until he turned 75.  Westergaard became known worldwide in 2005 for his controversial depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in Jyllands-Posten, which published 12 editorial cartoons of the principal figure of Islam. Muslims consider images of the prophet to be sacrilegious and encouraging idolatry. The images, particularly Westergaard’s, sparked a huge wave of anger in the Muslim world and escalated into violent anti-Denmark protests by Muslims worldwide in 2006.  Several newspapers in neighboring Norway also published the controversial cartoons. Danish and Norwegian embassies in Syria were burned down by angry crowds during the demonstrations.  Political observers in the Nordic countries have described the cartoon incident as one of the most severe foreign policy crises for both Denmark and Norway in their recent histories. In the aftermath of the uproar, Westergaard received several death threats and was forced to have police protection. In 2008, three people were arrested for planning to kill him, and in 2010, a 28-year-old Somali man broke into his home with an ax and knife. The man was later sentenced to 10 years in prison. “I would like to be remembered as the one who struck a blow for the freedom of expression. But there’s no doubt that there are some who will instead remember me as a Satan who insulted the religion of over 1 billion people,” Westergaard said, according to Berlingske. Jyllands-Posten said in an editorial published Monday that with the death of Westergaard “it is more important than ever to emphasize that the struggle for freedom of expression, which became his destiny, is the struggle of all of us for freedom.” Westergaard is survived by his wife and five children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known. 
 
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An alternate on the United States women’s gymnastics team has tested positive for COVID-19 in an Olympic training camp in Japan.Olympic champion Simone Biles was not affected, nor were any of the other favorites to win the team gold, but another alternate was placed into isolation because of contact tracing, USA Gymnastics said Monday.”One of the replacement athletes for the women’s artistic gymnastics team received a positive COVID test on Sunday, July 18. After reviewing the implemented COVID protocols with members of the delegation, the local government determined that the affected replacement athlete and one other replacement athlete would be subject to additional quarantine restrictions,” the USAG statement said. “Accordingly, on Monday, the Olympic athletes moved to separate lodging accommodations and a separate training facility, as originally planned, and will continue their preparation for the Games. The entire delegation continues to be vigilant and will maintain strict protocols while they are in Tokyo.”The ‘No Fun’ Olympics May Struggle to Attract Viewers Organizers hope new tech can spur online fan interaction The positive test was the latest in a growing line of daily reports of athletes and others testing positive at the pandemic-delayed Olympics. The unnamed gymnast was the first American.”The health and safety of our athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority. We can confirm that an alternate on the women’s artistic gymnastics team tested positive for COVID-19,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement. “In alignment with local rules and protocols, the athlete has been transferred to a hotel to quarantine. Out of respect for the individual’s privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time.”The four alternates — Leanne Wong, Kayla DiCello, Emma Malabuyo and Kara Eaker — traveled to Japan with the six-woman U.S. delegation of Biles, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee, MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey.The alternates are rooming and training together. While they have been traveling to training along with the actual team, they have been split into groups, with the team working on one apparatus while the alternates work on another.The U.S. women’s team dealt with what USA Gymnastics called a “false positive” over the weekend for an unidentified athlete but the ensuing test results for the athlete were negative, according to the organization.Biles, who is also the world champion, and the rest of the regular team have been vaccinated.
The Games are set to open on Friday with a state of emergency in force in Tokyo, which means almost all venues will be without any fans as new cases rise in the capital. The women’s gymnastic team begins competing on Sunday.The U.S. officials said the test took place when the team was training just outside Tokyo in Inzai City. Team members arrived last week for the camp to great fanfare at Narita airport.The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday reported 727 new cases in the capital. It is the 30th straight day that cases were higher than the previous week. The cases last Monday were 502.
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More than half of the Kenyan capital’s nearly five million people live in slums, where many young people are lured by drugs and crime. In one neighborhood, a group is using the game of chess to help transform the lives of young people.  
We are in Mukuru Kwa Njenga an informal settlement that is about thirteen kilometers from Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Among the youth here practicing chess, who number about twenty, is Sarah Momanyi.  At 15, she’s a teen sensation in the sport, but her start wasn’t easy.  “When I first started playing chess, it was hard because I was like the only girl, and my grandmother, she never supported me, because of playing with boys. It was really hard,” she said. It’s been five years since a sports outreach ministry introduced chess to this informal settlement to help keep young people away from drugs and crime.  Every Saturday, the students here practice the game for five hours. The sport has provided a safe avenue for Momanyi and other young residents to hone and perfect their skills.  
The chess initiative has drawn about 800 students from various schools within Mukuru Kwa Njenga, which has a population of about half a million people.  Josephat Owila is a national chess instructor and head coach with the Sports Outreach Ministry.  
 
“Socially they are good because they can be able to coexist with others in the society also in their schools, their respective schools. They are performing well, which means that they are critical thinkers and are creative also,” he said.     John Mukabi, the head of Chess Kenya, the national body that manages the sport, told VOA the sport faces challenges in the country.  “For these informal settlement areas, like here in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, they don’t have internet connection, they need laptops and things like that and also chessboards,” he said.  Still, the young residents play the game despite obstacles. As for Momanyi, she continues to practice every day and hopes to one day become a grand master.   
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Cavernous, empty stadiums. Do-it-yourself medal presentations. A prohibition on athlete high-fives and hugs. Those are just a few of the ways the Summer Olympics will look different this year, as the pandemic forces organizers to forgo many Olympic traditions. The Tokyo Games, which start Friday, will instead rely on technological innovations, including fan selfies and other ways to digitally “cheer” for athletes, to help spur fan engagement.  The big question: how much will anyone care?  Amid a pandemic that is still raging in most parts of the world, there are signs global interest is lacking for what some media have already labeled the “no fun Olympics.” According to an Olympic organizers will allow fans to post five-second video selfies, which will appear on giant screens in the stands. Photo/Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS)But those tools have already been tried in sports leagues across the world — and have often failed, says Tarrant.  “It hasn’t really worked. You can’t replicate what it’s like in a full stadium with people,” he said. “It’s nowhere near the same.”  The Olympics may find it even harder to generate fan interest, since many events feature relatively unknown athletes who do not have hardcore fans. “Lots of people who watch the Olympics are viewing it very casually and are therefore probably going to be less than impressed watching it in empty venues where it’s going to appear a little bit flat,” Tarrant said. Bits and bytes However, some are excited about other technology to be unveiled during Olympic broadcasts, including 360-degree cameras, which will provide three-dimensional replays for basketball games, and the use of biometric data, which will allow viewers to see athletes’ heartbeat variations or adrenaline rushes for certain events.  “I think this time more than ever the Olympics will be experienced in a hybrid space, comprised of atoms and molecules as well as bits and bytes,” says Scott Campbell, professor of communication and media at the University of Michigan. Major telecom providers around the world have long promised that 5G technology will enable more immersive fan experiences through virtual and artificial realities, says Campbell.  “I’m not sure we’re quite there yet, but I imagine there will be some exciting attempts and glimpses into new things to come,” he says.  Hang your own medals But other traditional aspects will be notably absent. Tokyo has scrapped the Olympic torch relay, replacing it with private flame-lighting ceremonies streamed online. Perhaps most awkward of all: victorious athletes will not have their medals placed around the neck. Instead, the medals will be presented on a tray, from which athletes will take them and then hang around their own necks.  The most normal part of the Olympics could be the opening ceremony, which will likely include familiar elements such as the Parade of Nations, high-profile musical performances, and pyrotechnics.  But even that event will look different. Only 1,000 VIPs are expected to attend the ceremony, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency. That means the vast majority of the 68,000 seats will lie empty in the $1.4 billion Olympic Stadium, which was built with this very event in mind. “It’s a shame,” says Libri. “The Japanese are obviously very well organized. But to recreate this missing Olympic spirit, which is the essence of every game, is going to be very difficult.”  
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Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday but remained socially distanced and wore masks as the coronavirus takes its toll on the hajj for a second year running.The hajj pilgrimage, which once drew about 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life around the globe, is now almost unrecognizable. It is being scaled back for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic.The pared-down hajj prevents Muslims from outside Saudi Arabia from fulfilling an Islamic obligation and causes financial losses to Saudi Arabia, which in pre-pandemic years took in billions of dollars as the custodian of the holy sites.The Islamic pilgrimage lasts about five days, but traditionally Muslims begin arriving in Mecca weeks ahead of time. The hajj concludes with the Eid al-Adha celebration, marked by the distribution of meat to the poor around the world.  This year, 60,000 vaccinated citizens or residents of Saudi Arabia have been allowed to perform the hajj because of continued concerns around the spread of the coronavirus. Last year’s largely symbolic hajj saw fewer than 1,000 people from within the kingdom taking part.It’s unclear when Saudi Arabia will play host again to millions of Muslims. The kingdom has no clear standard for a vaccine passport, vaccination rates are uneven in different countries and new variants of the virus are threatening the progress made in some nations.The kingdom’s Al Saud rulers have staked their legitimacy in large part on their custodianship of hajj sites, giving them a unique and powerful platform among Muslims around the world. The kingdom has gone to great lengths to ensure the annual hajj continues uninterrupted, despite changes caused by the pandemic.  Robots have been deployed to spray disinfectant around the cube-shaped Kaaba’s busiest walkways. The Kaaba is where the hajj pilgrimage begins and ends for most.  Saudi Arabia is also testing a smart bracelet this year in collaboration with the government’s artificial intelligence authority. The touchscreen bracelet resembles the Apple Watch and includes information on the hajj, a pilgrim’s oxygen levels and vaccine data and has an emergency feature to call for help.  International media outlets already present in the kingdom were permitted to cover the hajj from Mecca this year, but others were not granted permission to fly in as had been customary before the pandemic.Cleaners are sanitizing the vast white marble spaces of the Grand Mosque that houses the Kaaba several times a day.  “We are sanitizing the floor and using disinfection liquids while cleaning it two or three times during (each) shift,” said Olis Gul, a cleaner who said he has been working in Mecca for 20 years.  The hajj is one of Islam’s most important requirements to be performed once in a lifetime. It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.The hajj is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater unity among Muslims. The communal feeling of more than 2 million people from around the world — Shiite, Sunni and other Muslim sects — praying together, eating together and repenting together has long been part of what makes hajj both a challenging and a transformative experience.There are questions around whether the hajj will be able to again draw such large numbers of faithful, with male pilgrims forming a sea of white in white terrycloth garments worn to symbolize the equality of mankind before God and women forgoing makeup and perfume to focus inwardly.  Like last year, pilgrims will be drinking water from the holy Zamzam well in plastic bottles. They were given umbrellas to shield them from the sun. They have to carry their own prayer rugs and follow a strict schedule via a mobile app that informs them when they can be in certain areas to avoid crowding.  “I hope this is a successful hajj season,” said Egyptian pilgrim Aly Aboulnaga, a university lecturer in Saudi Arabia. “We ask God to accept everyone’s hajj and for the area to be open to greater numbers of pilgrims and for a return to an even better situation than before.”The kingdom, with a population of more than 30 million, has reported over half a million cases of the coronavirus, including more than 8,000 deaths. It has administered nearly 20 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. 
 
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Titane, a wildly imaginative film about a serial killer by French director Julia Ducournau, won the top Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival, jury head Spike Lee told a ceremony Saturday before the award was slated to be revealed.In a moment of confusion when asked in French to reveal what one of the prizes was, the U.S. film director read off a card and prematurely announced the best movie winner.Ducournau, 37, became only the second woman to win the top award at Cannes. Her violent film, in which the heroine has sex with a car, split critics, with some praising its originality but others put off by its frantic and messy approach.Described as a “body horror” movie and based around a character with a titanium plate in her head, the film impressed some critics with its energy.Ducournau had previously found critical success with Raw in 2016. The only previous female winner of Cannes’ top award was Jane Campion who shared the prize in 1993 for The Piano.The world’s biggest film festival returned to the French Riviera after a 2020 hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.Stars happy to be backThe event drew stars such as Matt Damon and Sharon Stone to the red carpet, with moviemakers and actors delighted to be back, though attendance was down from figures of previous years.Other big winners revealed when results were officially announced included Leos Carax, picked as best director for Annette, a musical about two artists caught in a twisted love affair.Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamusa Oe of Japan won best screenplay for their tale of heartbreak and loss, Drive My Car. Renate Reinsve won best actress for her role in The Worst Person in the World by Joachim Trier, a modern-day romantic comedy that was a big hit with critics.Compartment no6 by Juho Kuosmanen, about a woman who embarks on a train journey across Russia, tied with A Hero by Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, which features a prisoner faced with a moral quandary, for the Grand Prix distinction.Caleb Landry Jones, who starred in Australian film Nitram, won best actor.The Jury Prize, another runner-up award for best movie, went to two films: Ahead’s Knee by Israel’s Nadav Lapid and Memoria by Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
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Suzanne Firstenberg is a self-described social issues artist who finds inspiration in America —  economic inequality, racism and climate change, among other issues. She doesn’t limit herself to any particular medium but instead uses whatever she thinks works best to draw attention to the most pressing issues of our time. Maxim Moskalkov talked to the artist about her works and inspiration.
Camera: Sergey Sokolov
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Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic Just a Friend, has died. He was 57.Markie’s representative, Jenni Izumi, said the rapper-DJ died peacefully Friday evening with his wife by his side. The cause of death has not been released.”We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time,” Izumi said in a statement. “Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter.”Markie, who birth name was Marcel Theo Hall, became known within the rap genre realm as the self-proclaimed “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop” for lighthearted lyrics and a humorous nature. He made music with the Beastie Boys, opened for Chris Rock’s comedy tour and was a sought-after DJ for countless star-studded events.The New York-native’s music career began in 1985 as a beat boxer of the Juice Crew, a rap collective he helped Big Daddy Kane join. Three years later, he released his debut album Goin’ Off, which featured underground hits Vapors and Pickin’ Boogers.  Markie broke into mainstream music with his platinum-selling song Just a Friend, the lead single on his sophomore album The Biz Never Sleeps. The friend-zone anthem cracked Rolling Stone’s top 100 pop songs and made VH1’s list of 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time.Markie, who released five total studio albums, consistently booked more than 175 shows a year, according to the rapper’s website. He’s appeared on television shows including In Living Color and the 2002 movie Men in Black II, which had him playing an alien parody of himself in the film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Markie also taught the method of beatboxing in an episode of the children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba!  
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Over a century after its big sister made its way from France to New York City, a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty has made the same journey, but this time to Washington, D.C. Karina Bafradzhian has the story.Camera: David Gogokhia       
 
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Somalia is sending two athletes to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, and they include the country’s first non-runner — female boxer Ramla Ali. The Somali Olympic team officially departed for the Tokyo Games on Friday, after President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo bid them farewell. The head of state and senior sport officials urged the team to compete successfully while proudly flying the Somali flag. Middle-distance runner Ali Idow will compete in the 800-meter race following two years of intense training with professional athletes such as Mo Farah of Britain and Ayanle Suleiman of Djibouti in the Ethiopian highlands. Idow will join the first Somali Olympic boxer, Ramla Ali, who has trained in London and is already in Tokyo. Mohamed Abdow Hajji, the head of the Somali Olympics committee, says he is happy to see Ali qualify. He says the committee is attempting to train other athletes outside long-distance running, which is so popular in Horn of Africa nations.  He says sending a middle-distance runner and boxer to the 2020 Tokyo Games is a first step toward sending more athletes in various categories to future Olympic Games. Sports minister Hamza Saed Hamza says the government is working to upgrade Somalia’s athletic facilities, such as stadiums for training, to help improve athletes’ results. Somalia has never won an Olympic medal in any sport. Idow and Ali hope to make the country proud in the Games that kick off July 23. 
 
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Global inequality in the distribution of vaccines continues to hamper efforts to end the pandemic worldwide. But for those able to travel to wealthier countries with an abundance of vaccines, they are now willing to travel the distance and bear the high cost of “vaccine tourism”. VOA’s Virginia Gunawan explains.Camera: VIDEOGRAPHER: Rendy Wicaksana, Ahadian Utama, Virginia Gunawan
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World Emoji Day, celebrating technology users’ favorite emoticons, is Saturday.Jeremy Burge, the founder of the icon reference site Emojipedia, created the holiday in 2014. The day is intended to celebrate the beloved icons that are increasingly used in online messaging.World Emoji Day organizers are asking the public to vote in the World Emoji Awards. The categories for this competition include most popular new emoji, most anticipated new emoji, most 2021 Emoji, and lifetime achievement. Twitter users can vote for their favorite emojis through polls posted by @EmojiAwards. The voting is now open for the most 2021 Emoji, and the competition has narrowed down to two icons: Syringe, and Microbe.Keith Brioni, the deputy emoji officer of Emojipedia, said he is rooting for the Syringe, but added “we will have to see if the wider emoji public is in agreement come World Emoji Day.” The winners of the 2020 World Emoji Awards included the White Heart as the most popular new emoji, the Smiling Face with Tear as the most anticipated new emoji, and the Raised Fist: Dark Skin Tone as the most 2020 emoji.New emojis are approved by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit group that regulates all digital scripts. In 2010 emojis were accepted into the Unicode Standard, which creates consistency for all programmed letters and symbols.   According to Brioni, “adding these designs to this cross-platform standard allowed emojis to be exchanged in-line with words across different devices and social platforms on a global scale, beyond anything that had been experienced before.” There are already more than 3,500 emojis. Placing emojis under the supervision of the Unicode Consortium allows designers and activists to submit their proposed icons with ease. This promotes greater diversity and cultural representation that was “initially lacking or entrenched in stereotypes during emojis earlier days,” said Brioni.Organizations such as Emojination are dedicated to adding inclusivity to the emoji approval process. As reported by the group, the proposal of the Hijab emoji was accepted by the Unicode Standard in 2017 and entered the permanent collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York last year. The desire for diversity is a shared sentiment according to Adobe’s Global Emoji Diversity & Inclusion report: 83% of global users want more inclusive emojis.   These icons will continue to evolve as their popularity accelerates, and World Emoji Day is a celebration of these changes. As an additional challenge, the World Emoji Day developers ask all texters to only communicate through emojis on Saturday. So, in honor of the holiday: ? ? ? ? (Happy World Emoji Day) 
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Briana Mariah, founder of We Speak model agency, believes models should reflect the world, and her agency finds and promotes a unique and diverse group of people. Karina Bafradzhian reports from Washington D.C.Camera: David Gogokhia
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Singer Britney Spears on Wednesday won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs.Her father, Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown. He is currently the sole person in charge of her $60 million estate.”You’re allowing my dad to ruin my life,” Spears told the Los Angeles judge by phone. “I have to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she added.Speaking for about 10 minutes on Wednesday, Spears, 39, said she had always been “extremely scared of my dad.”She said she was fed up with multiple psychological evaluations in the last 13 years and wanted the conservatorship brought to an end without another one.“I’m not a perfect person … but their goal is to make me feel like I’m crazy,” Spears said. Details of Spears’ mental health issues have never publicly been disclosed.Last month, she called the legal arrangement abusive and stupid in a 20-minute public address.Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny on Wednesday approved former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to represent Spears going forward. The singer’s court-appointed attorney stepped down last week.Rosengart, who has previously represented Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg, said his goal was to end the conservatorship.“Does anybody really believe Mr. Spears’ continued involvement is in the best interest of Britney Spears?” Rosengart said. “If he loves his daughter, it is time to step aside.”Rosengart’s first job is likely to be filing a formal document asking for the conservatorship to be terminated.In June, the pop star complained of being prevented from marrying or having more children, and said she was compelled to take medication against her will.Jamie Spears’ attorney on Wednesday said that many of the singer’s complaints were not valid.“I’m not sure Ms. Spears understands she can in fact make medical decisions and can have birth control devices implanted or not,” attorney Vivian Thoreen said.Thoreen said Spears believes her father “is responsible for every bad thing that happened to her and that is the farthest from the truth.”Outside the courthouse, dozens of fans held a rally, chanting “Free Britney” and calling for the conservatorship to end. A smaller rally took place near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.”If you look at her, she looks tired. She just wants her life back and I understand that completely,” said fan Christina Goswick.Penny made no decisions on requests for 24/7 security following death threats against those involved in the conservatorship.Jodi Montgomery, who is tasked with the pop star’s personal care, Jamie Spears, Ingham and the singer’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears have all received threatening calls and messages that have escalated since the pop star’s address to the judge on June 23, according to court documents.The next hearing in the case was set for Sept. 29.  
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Roger Federer may have seen his dreams of Olympic gold dashed this week, but he can celebrate that t-shirts, racquets, and shoes from his trophy-laden tennis career proved a treasure trove at auction. The sports legend saw every single item that went under the hammer at a two-phased Christie’s auction sold, raking in $4.7 million.   The combined proceeds from an online and a live auction — over three times more than his 1-million target — will go to the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational projects in southern Africa and his native Switzerland. “I am overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the support from around the world,” Federer said in a statement. The auction of items the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s career happened in two phases.   A live sale on June 23 in London focused on Federer’s career at the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens. The subsequent online sale from June 23 to July 14 featured 300 lots from other tournaments spanning 21 years — dating back to his first Olympics appearance at the Sydney 2000 Games, aged just 19.   The items sold online found buyers from 44 countries and across six continents, Christie’s said.  The highlight of the online sale was a set of three rackets used at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, which sold for $224,898 — more than 23 times above their estimate of nearly $10,000-$14,000. “The prices achieved have been unbelievable,” Federer said.   “We started collecting items which accompanied me on court because we thought that perhaps one day, we could do something meaningful with them,” he said.   He said he and his wife, Mirka, were “humbled to see that the decision we made will make a profound difference to so many children.” The Roger Federer collection was the most important single-owner collection of sporting memorabilia ever to come to market, a Christie’s representative told AFP prior to the auction.  Federer, who turns 40 on August 8, had been hoping to secure his first Olympic singles gold medal at the upcoming Tokyo Games, but announced Tuesday he had withdrawn after a “setback” in his recovery from a knee injury. 
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Guernsey’s Auction House in New York is auctioning off pieces of music history this week. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
Camera: Michael Eckels    Producer: Barry Unger
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed Wednesday to enact measures to protect British professional soccer players from online abuse. Punishment for someone found guilty of such abuse could include banishment from games. The move comes after online abuse, some of it racist, was directed at three Black players for the English national team who missed their penalty shots in the Euro 2020 final shootout on Sunday, leading to an Italian win. According to the Guardian newspaper, an analysis of 585,000 social media posts directed at the English team during the entire Euro 2020 tournament found that 44 messages were explicitly racist. More than 2,000 were “abusive.” “I do think that racism is a problem in the United Kingdom, and I believe it needs to be tackled. And it needs to be stamped out with some of the means that I’ve described this morning,” Johnson told Parliament as he announced his plan. “I repeat that I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night. And so, what we’re doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match — no ifs, no buts, no exemptions and no excuses,” he added. But it’s unclear how much of the online abuse actually comes from the U.K. The Daily Mail reported that the Premier League, the top division of professional soccer in England, found that roughly 70% of online abuse directed at British professional soccer players comes from outside the U.K. According to Yahoo News, the Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a man Wednesday for social media posts directed at players for England’s national team. Johnson added that in addition to going after internet trolls, his government would potentially fine social media companies if they failed to quickly remove offensive content. “Last night, I met representatives of Facebook, of Twitter, of TikTok, of Snapchat, of Instagram, and I made it absolutely clear to them that we will legislate to address this problem in the Online Harms Bill. And unless they get hate and racism off their platforms, they will face fines amounting to 10% of their global revenues,” Johnson said. Some information in this report comes from Reuters. 
 
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In less than two weeks, Courtney Frerichs will face off in Tokyo against some of the world’s fastest runners. But like every elite athlete preparing for the Summer Olympics, her focus is not only on preparing to compete. Frerichs, a middle-distance runner from the United States, is also using the final days of her training to make sure she complies with the elaborate set of rules meant to ensure the Tokyo Games don’t become a COVID-19 superspreader event.  “It’s a lot,” Frerichs told VOA in a recent phone call between training sessions in Portland, Oregon. “We’ve just been trying to review the protocols and everything to make sure that we’re checking all of our boxes and getting all the stuff done, just prior to arriving in Japan.” Frerichs, who is competing in the steeplechase event in Tokyo, is quick to point out that she understands why the rules are necessary. “But it certainly adds another level of stress to everything,” she said, laughing. “Like the Olympics wasn’t enough.” Athletes like Frerichs shrug off the suggestion that COVID-19 regulations, along with other precautions such as the absence of cheering fans, will hurt their performance. But one thing is certain: this Olympics will feel different than any other.  Do’s and don’ts The official rules for athletes are laid out in a 70-page “Playbook,” which basically reads like a gigantic bummer.  “You should eat alone as much as possible,” warns one A monorail runs between buildings ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Tokyo. The state of emergency will be in effect throughout the entire duration of the Olympics, which open on July 23.For athletes and officials, the planning must begin long before the Olympics. Certain rules, such as social distancing and regular health checks, apply for 14 days before they arrive in Tokyo. Athletes also must submit a detailed “activity plan,” explaining where they will be at every moment of every day.  Once an athlete’s competitions are complete, they are required to leave Japan within 48 hours.  “We come in, we have a job to do, and then we leave. I literally depart the next day,” Frerichs said. The ‘No Fun Olympics?’ Given the restrictions, and the fact the Games are being staged amid a global pandemic, some news outlets have labeled it the “no fun” or “cursed” Olympics.  “‘No Fun Olympics’ will be right,” predicts Jack Tarrant, a Tokyo-based freelance journalist. Two weeks before the Games, Tarrant says he’s witnessed “almost no enthusiasm at all” in Tokyo.  “There’s very little visually you see on the street, any sort of banners or welcoming signs for foreign visitors or athletes,” Tarrant told VOA. “It’s … very different from any other Olympics experience I’ve had.” Opinion polls for months have suggested most Japanese oppose holding the Games, which were delayed a year because of the pandemic. Concerns were heightened after a recent surge in COVID-19 infections, prompting a state of emergency in Tokyo.  As a result, Tokyo will host no public viewing areas for the Games. The capital will see no torch relay and will request that bars and restaurants refrain from serving alcohol.  That’s a sharp contrast from other Olympics, where celebration is a main component — even for athletes, notes Tarrant.  “There won’t be the usual time to unwind with the other athletes and have a well-deserved celebration after four, or in this case five, years of preparation,” he said.  There will perhaps be fewer chances for other types of recreation, too, organizers hope. At every Olympics since 1988, athletes have received condoms, in a tradition that began as an effort to prevent the spread of HIV. At this year’s Games, athletes will only receive condoms upon leaving the Olympic Village.  Business, not pleasure But David Gerrard, a former Olympic swimmer from New Zealand, tells VOA that the athletes’ focus will be on competition.  “Anybody who thinks these are going to be the ‘boring Olympics’ really has got the wrong idea of what the Olympics is all about,” said Gerrard, who will be working as a COVID-19 liaison officer in Tokyo.  “They’re not a meeting of people who want to sight-see or shop. They are an accumulation of the world’s best athletes who are there to do one thing and that’s to perform to the best of their ability,” Gerrard said.  Gerrard should know. He first competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. This will be the 11th Summer Olympics at which he has competed or attended. “Things will be very, very different” this year, he concedes. “But like the athletes, I’m not there for a holiday.”  Athlete performance But will the rules, and specifically the empty stadiums, mean athletes will lack the motivation needed to fuel spectacular performances? “Crowds are always a factor, no doubt,” Gerrard said. But crowds or not, athletes “will not underestimate the fact that they are at the Olympic Games competing against the world’s best, and I think they’ll focus accordingly,” he predicted. Another factor: a year and a half into the pandemic, athletes are now more accustomed to performing without fans and dealing with other COVID-19 precautions.  “There is certainly going to be a missing element,” said Frerichs, who feels the crowd was a factor in what she views as the best races of her career.  The challenge in Tokyo, she says, will be largely mental — “just trying to remember all the training days when it was just you and coach out there, and you got the job done,” she added.  Frerichs says in some ways she’s approaching the Games like a business trip.  “Which is definitely not how I envisioned it,” she said. “But that’s OK. I always revert back to just being grateful this is happening at all.”  
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The White House announced Tuesday that first lady Jill Biden will lead the official U.S. delegation at the Tokyo Olympics on July 23 without her husband, U.S. President Joe Biden.
News of her trip comes days after Tokyo officials, upon consultation with Olympic officials, decided to hold the Olympic games without fans, after recent surges in COVID-19 cases prompted the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding area.
 
White House Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a recent briefing that a White House advance team had been sent to Tokyo to assess the feasibility of Jill Biden’s visit. Last week, she said that despite the increase in coronavirus cases, the president still supports U.S. athletes traveling there for the competition.
 
The trip will be the first lady’s first solo international trip since her husband took office. She previously accompanied the president on his trip to Britain for the G-7 leaders’ summit and has kept a busy domestic travel schedule in recent months as part of the administration’s efforts to encourage vaccinations. 
Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press and Reuters news services.
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“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.”
The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with the top-nominated scripted shows on services that largely emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — only the NBC show “This Is Us” snagged a nomination.
Netflix’s “The Crown” received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its first-ever top series trophy. The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.
“These nominations represent the work done in television through the most challenging year I can think of,” TV academy chief executive Frank Scherma said before the first nominees were announced. “While many of us in our medium worked remotely throughout the last 18 months, I have to say it feels so good to be getting back on a set. Making great television is a collaborative group effort where the sum equals more than the parts, and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it.”
The nominees for best drama series are: “The Boys”; “Bridgerton”; “The Crown”; “The Handmaid’s Tale”; “Lovecraft Country”; “The Mandalorian”; “Pose”; “This Is Us.”
The nominees for best comedy series are: “black-ish”; “Cobra Kai”; “Emily in Paris”; “The Flight Attendant”; “Hacks”; “The Kominsky Method”; “PEN15”; “Ted Lasso.”  
The nominees for best miniseries are: “The Queen’s Gambit”; “I May Destroy You”; “Mare of Easttown”; “The Underground Railroad”; “WandaVision.”
The nominees for best actress in a comedy series are: Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”; Jean Smart, “Hacks”; Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”; Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”; Allison Janney, “Mom.”
The nominees for best actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”; Kenan Thompson, “Kenan.”  
The nominees for best actress in a drama series are: Emma Corrin, “The Crown”; Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”; Olivia Colman, “The Crown”; Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”; Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country.”
The nominees for best actor in a drama series are: Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”; Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”; Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”; Regé-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”; Billy Porter, “Pose”; Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason.”
The nominees for outstanding variety talk series are: “Conan”; “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”; “Jimmy Kimmel Live”; “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”; “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Scherma and father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Blindspotting”) announced the nominees.  
The Sept. 10 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.
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A new and unique park opened in New York City in late May and since then it has become a city gem and tourist magnet.  For VOA, Evgeny Maslov reports from “Little Island” in New York City. Anna Rice narrates.
Camera: Vladimir Badikov, Vladimir Tolkachev 
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