Cristiano Ronaldo completed a lucrative move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on Friday in a deal that is a landmark moment for Middle Eastern soccer but will see one of Europe’s biggest stars disappear from the sport’s elite stage. Al Nassr posted a picture on social media of the five-time Ballon d’Or holding up the team’s jersey after Ronaldo signed a deal until June 2025, with the club hailing the move as “history in the making.” “This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves,” the club wrote. It also gives the 37-year-old Ronaldo a massive payday in what could be the final contract of his career. Media reports have claimed the Portugal star could be earning up to $200 million a year from the deal, which would make him the highest-paid soccer player in history. Ronaldo said in a statement that he was “eager to experience a new football league in a different country.” “I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel …

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first pope in 600 years to resign, has died. Below are highlights from his life. April 16, 1927: Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Germany, youngest of three children to Joseph and Maria Ratzinger. 1943-45: Assistant in Germany’s anti-aircraft defense and infantry soldier; imprisoned in 1945 in American POW camp in Neu-Ulm. June 29, 1951: Ordained along with brother Georg Ratzinger in Freising. 1969-77: Professor at University of Regensburg. March 25, 1977: Named archbishop of Munich and Freising. June 27, 1977: Made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Nov. 25, 1981: Named prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II; takes up post in March 1982. April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II dies. April 8, 2005: As dean of the College of Cardinals, Ratzinger presides over John Paul’s funeral. April 19, 2005: Elected 265th pope in one of the fastest conclaves in history. Choosing name Benedict XVI, he says he is merely a “simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord.” April 24, 2005: Installed as pope with Mass. Aug. 18-21, 2005: First foreign trip, to World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. Sept. 24, …

The rudeness pandemic, the actual pandemic, and all things gray. There’s a lot to leave behind when 2022 ends and uncertainty rules around the world. The health crisis brought on the dawn of slow living, but it crushed many families forced to hustle for their living. Rudeness went on the rise. Crypto currencies tanked. Pete Davidson’s love thing with Kim Kardashian made headlines. A list of what we’re over as we hope for better times in 2023: Incivility be gone The pandemic released a tsunami of overwrought people, but heightened incivility has stretched well beyond their raucous ranks. Researcher Christine Porath restricted herself to rudeness, disrespect or insensitive behavior when she recently wrote about the subject in Harvard Business Review. The professor of management at Georgetown University found incidents of incivility way up, in line with a steady climb stretching back nearly 20 years. Particularly hammered this year, Porath wrote, were frontline workers in health care, retail, transportation, hospitality and education. All were declared heroes when the pandemic struck. It didn’t take long for that to become a beat down. Noting that incivility can and does escalate to physical aggression and other violence, Axios dubbed it the rudeness pandemic. Crypto …

Barbara Walters, one of the most visible women on U.S. television as the first female anchor on an evening news broadcast and one of TV’s most prominent interviewers, has died at age 93, her longtime ABC home network said on Friday. Walters, who created the popular ABC women’s talk show The View in 1997, died Friday at her home in New York, Robert Iger, chief executive of ABC’s corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co., said on Twitter. In a broadcast career spanning five decades, Walters interviewed an array of world leaders, including Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, Saddam Hussein of Iraq and every U.S. president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon. She earned 12 Emmy awards, 11 of those while at ABC News, the network said. Walters began her journalism career on NBC’s The Today Show in the 1960s as a writer and segment producer. She made broadcast history as the first woman co-anchor on a U.S. evening newscast, opposite Harry Reasoner. …

Web searches reveal what America really cared about this year   …

Brazil and the world said goodbye Thursday to a man who many consider the greatest football player of the last century. Pele died in São Paulo at the age of 82. Brazilians took to the streets to honor their greatest idol in the country’s most popular sport. For VOA, Edgar Maciel reports from Sao Paulo. …

As the person who dressed the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, who died Thursday at 81, was synonymous with 1970s punk rock, a rebelliousness that remained the hallmark of an unapologetically political designer who became one of British fashion’s biggest names. “Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” her fashion house said on Twitter. Climate change, pollution and her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were all fodder for protest T-shirts or banners carried by her models on the runway. She dressed up as then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for a magazine cover in 1989 and drove a white tank near the country home of a later British leader, David Cameron, to protest fracking. The rebel was inducted into Britain’s establishment in 1992 by Queen Elizabeth, who awarded her the Order of the British Empire medal. But, ever keen to shock, Westwood turned up at Buckingham Palace without underwear — a fact she proved to photographers by a revealing twirl of her skirt. “The only reason I am in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity,’” Westwood said in her 2014 biography. …

Brazilian football legend Pelé has died at the age of 82, after battling cancer and cardiac problems the past year. Over the course of his legendary career, the man who led his national team to an unprecedented three World Cup titles became known as one of the sport’s greatest players. VOA’s Robert Raffaele has more on the life of the international icon. …

Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, the enduring debate in soccer about who was the greatest player centered on two men: Pele and Diego Maradona. It was an argument that played out for years on terraces and in bars, on radio and on television. Brazil’s Pele, a prolific goal scorer who died aged 82 on Thursday in Sao Paulo, won the World Cup an unprecedented three times as a player in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and put the small town of Santos on the map before conquering the United States with the New York Cosmos. Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in 2020, guided Argentina to the World Cup in 1986 with perhaps the most influential performance ever at a major tournament and lifted Napoli to unparalleled heights in Italy and Europe. The argument about whose legacy was greater so divided the football world that when Maradona was voted the player of the 20th century in a FIFA internet poll, there was widespread outrage, with many griping that Pele’s earlier career put him at a disadvantage with younger fans. FIFA held another poll voted on by its own “football family,” won by Pele, allowing the pair …

Brazilian football legend Pele, who burst onto the world scene as a goal-scoring teenager and led his national team to an unprecedented three World Cup titles, died Thursday at the age of 82. He was hospitalized in late November, and doctors said in December he was dealing with cancer that had advanced along with kidney and cardiac problems. In September 2021, he had surgery to remove a tumor from his colon. The Albert Einstein hospital, where Pele was being treated, said in a statement that he died of multiple organ failure. “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace,” daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram. Widely considered one of the greatest football players of all time, Pele dazzled on the World Cup stage for Brazil and in club games and international tours with his team Santos before helping generate a surge of excitement around the sport in the United States with a late-career stint with the New York Cosmos. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on Oct. 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, about 250 kilometers northwest of Rio de Janeiro, Pele signed with Santos at the age of 15. By 16, he was part of …

Former world number one Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia on Tuesday almost one year after he was deported for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, tennis officials said. The nine-time Australian Open champion was initially banned from the country for three years after losing a high-stakes legal battle in January over his vaccine status.  Australia has since lifted its requirement for visitors to show proof of vaccination against Covid. The government confirmed in November that the unvaccinated Serb was no longer barred and had been granted a visa allowing him to play in the opening Grand Slam of the year, which starts next month.  Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said he hoped local fans would embrace Djokovic’s return.  “We welcome him back to Australia,” he told reporters.  “I think as we speak, he’s landing in Adelaide, and I think that he is going to be again the player to beat.  “I have a great deal of confidence in the Australian public. I have a lot of confidence that the fans will react how we hope they will react.” Tennis Australia confirmed that Djokovic had touched down. Djokovic, who has won 21 Grand Slams, has been criticized for his part …

“Avatar: The Way of Water” sailed to the top of the box office in its second weekend, bringing in what studios estimate Sunday will be a strong $56 million in North America — a sign that the sequel may stay afloat into the new year and approach the massive expectations that met its release. James Cameron’s digital extravaganza for 20th Century Studios has made $253.7 million domestically in its first 10 days of release, compared to $212.7 million in the same stretch for 2009’s first “Avatar,” which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time. While Cameron’s films like the “Avatar” original and “Titanic” tend to have serious legs at the box office, sequels tend to open big and decline quickly, complicating guesses on where the film will end up. Its second-weekend drop-off from the $134 million it made in its first was not precipitous, given the way blockbusters open. “This is James Cameron’s first $100 million opener,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore “For this movie to have opened that big and only dropped 58%, it shows it has staying power.” Globally, “The Way of Water” is already the third highest-grossing film released in …

The streets of Bethlehem are crowded for Christmas again, after two years of COVID-related restrictions. In the Church of the Nativity, the faithful celebrated Jesus’s birth as the number of Palestinian Christians continues to dwindle. Christian tourists from around the world have come to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus. While the numbers have not quite reached pre-pandemic levels, hotels and restaurants are almost full bringing an economic boost to the West Bank. Thousands filled the Church of the Nativity, on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, for the traditional midnight mass which was broadcast around the world. Palestinian officials including President Mahmoud Abbas attended the service in Bethlehem. Latin Patriarch Pierbatista Pizzabella said that the world is no longer focusing on the Palestinians, who are still waiting for their right to live in dignity and freedom. He said that Palestinians are living through difficult challenges, but the message of Christmas is a message of peace. Christmas comes as the Palestinian population in the West Bank has dwindled to less than 1% of the total population. Hani al-Hayek is the mayor of Beit Sahour, one of the few places in the West Bank that still has a …

Maxi Jazz, the lead singer of the British electronic band Faithless, has died at the age of 65, the group announced Saturday. The musician and DJ, whose real name was Maxwell Fraser, passed away at his home in south London, according to the dance music act behind 1990s hits including Insomnia and God is a DJ. No details were given for the cause of his death. “We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died peacefully in his sleep last night,” Faithless tweeted, paying tribute to one of its legendary 1995 founding members. “He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and a message to our music,” they said. “He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible.” Faithless first emerged in the mid-1990s, earning widespread recognition and critical acclaim with their album Insomnia. They were seen as pioneers of the emerging dance music genre at the time. The group, whose other core members included Rollo and Sister Bliss, went on to release six more studio albums as well as several compilation albums during their decades-spanning collaboration. The most recent release was 2020’s All …

Back when 2022 started, Kristina Kadashevych surely could not have envisioned ending the year in the city of Richmond, in the U.S. state of Virginia, performing as the sugarplum fairy (and two other roles) in Richmond Ballet’s annual holiday extravaganza, The Nutcracker. But then, the Ukrainian ballerina never could have imagined the year would turn out the way it has. Kadashevych arrived for our interview in a second-floor studio at the Richmond Ballet dressed in a leotard, leggings and soft, puffy booties to keep her feet toasty. She started off, apologizing in advance for her English. “My English is not perfect,” she said — but it was really good — and then she told her story. Last February, on the day before she was supposed to fly to Paris to join the Kyiv City Ballet for a tour as a guest principal dancer, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Instead of boarding a plane for Paris, Kadashevych, her 2-year-old son and her parents had to flee their home in Kharkiv, in the eastern part of Ukraine; crowd onto a train; and evacuate to the presumed safer western reaches of the country. “It was dangerous,” she said, “and we were scared.” What did …

Pope Francis on Saturday led the world’s Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to “consume even their neighbors.” Francis, celebrating the 10th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was the first with a capacity crowd of about 7,000 following several years of restricted attendance because of COVID. About 4,000 more people participated outside in St. Peter’s Square on a relatively warm night. As has been the case for the past several months, a knee ailment prevented Francis from standing for long periods, delegating a cardinal to be the main celebrant at the altar of the largest church in Christendom. Sitting to the side of the altar for most of the Mass, he wove his homily around the theme of greed and consumption on various levels, asking people to look beyond the consumerism that has “packaged” the feast, rediscover its meaning, and remember those suffering from war and poverty. “Men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbors, their …

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 801st and 802nd career goals Friday against the visiting Winnipeg Jets, passing Detroit Red Wings great Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL’s all-time list. Ovechkin, 37, drew within 93 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals. Ovechkin’s second tally Friday night came into an empty net with exactly one minute left. The goal, from above the left circle just inside the blue line, capped Washington’s 4-1 win. “It’s nice to get it done at home in front of our house, family and friends,” Ovechkin said postgame. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a tremendous feeling. We just have to keep going and we’ll see what’s going to happen.” The Capitals played a video on the stadium screen from Mark Howe, Gordie’s son and himself a Hall of Fame hockey player. Mark Howe said, “I’ve had the opportunity to watch you play so many games as a scout, and you’ve been a pleasure to watch. You’re one of very few people in this game to me to bring a wow factor. You embrace the fans. You’re everything that my mother and father would be very proud of. I know if they …

After being arrested for creating antigovernment propaganda in 2010, the Iranian director Jafar Panahi was banned from making films for 20 years. Since then, he’s made five widely acclaimed features. His latest, No Bears, opens soon in U.S. theaters while Panahi is in prison. In July, Panahi went to the Tehran prosecutor’s office to inquire about the arrest of Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker detained in the government’s crackdown on protests. Panahi himself was arrested and, on a decade-old charge, sentenced to six years in jail. Panahi’s films, made in Iran without government approval, are sly feats of artistic resistance. He plays himself in meta self-portraitures that clandestinely capture the mechanics of Iranian society with a humanity both playful and devastating. Panahi made This is Not a Film in his apartment. Taxi was shot almost entirely inside a car, with a smiling Panahi playing the driver and picking up passengers along the way. In No Bears, Panahi plays a fictionalized version of himself while making a film in a rural town along the Iran-Turkey border. It’s one of the most acclaimed films of the year. The New York Times and The Associated Press named it one of the top 10 films …

Hundreds of high-profile figures from the global cinema industry called Wednesday for Iran to release actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who was jailed over her support for the country’s three-month-old protest movement.  Actors Emma Thompson, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen and directors Ken Loach and Mike Leigh were among a host of luminaries to sign an open letter demanding the star of “The Salesman” be freed.  “We demand the immediate release” of Alidoosti, “who was arrested on 17 December 2022 and has been taken into custody at Evin prison, Iran, where many other political prisoners also remain,” the letter says.  Alidoosti, 38, was arrested last Saturday, official media said, after issuing a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement, including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters.  The actor is one of the most prominent figures arrested in a crackdown by Iran’s hard-line regime that has seen the detention of lawyers, cultural figures, journalists and campaigners.  “The Iranian authorities have strategically chosen to arrest Taraneh before Christmas to ensure her international peers would be distracted,” the letter continues.  “But we are not distracted. We are outraged. Taraneh Alidoosti, like all citizens of Iran, has a right …

French authorities plan to use an AI-assisted crowd control system to monitor people during the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a draft law seen by AFP on Thursday. The system is intended to allow the security services to detect disturbances and potential problems more easily, but will not use facial recognition technology, the bill says. The technology could be particularly useful during the highly ambitious open-air opening ceremony  with Olympians sailing down the river Seine in front of a crowd of 600,000 people. French police and sports authorities faced severe criticism in May after shambolic scenes during the Champions League final in Paris when football fans were caught in a crowd crush and teargassed. The draft law, which was presented to the cabinet on Thursday, proposes other security measures including the use of full-body scanners and increases the sentences for hooliganism. Organizers and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have both argued in favor of using so-called “intelligent” security camera software that scans images for suspect or dangerous behavior. The use of such a system during the Olympics is an “experimentation”, the draft law says, but could be applied for future public events which face terrorism-related or crowd control risks. “No biometric …

Prince’s guitar, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Jim Henson’s original handmade Kermit the Frog — these are among the 200-plus items on display at the new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Videographer: Artyom Kokhan  …

Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of rape at a Los Angeles trial in another #MeToo moment of reckoning, five years after he became a magnet for the movement.  After deliberating for nine days spanning more than two weeks, the jury of eight men and four women reached the verdict at the second criminal trial of the 70-year-old onetime powerful movie mogul, who is two years into a 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York.  Weinstein was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. The jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, notably charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.   The jury reported it was unable to reach verdicts in her allegations and the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts.  Jurors were 10-2 in favor of conviction of the sexual battery of a massage therapist. They were 8-4 in favor of conviction on the rape and sexual assault counts involving Siebel Newsom.  Weinstein was also acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman.  He faces up to …

With images of snowy villages, nutcrackers, candy canes and more, Artechouse’s “Spectacular Factory: The Holiday Multiverse” brings to life the festive feelings of the season. Maxim Moskalkov visited the event. Camera: Sergey Sokolov …

An underground Catholic movement started in 2002 with the secret ‘ordination’ of seven women in Germany by official male bishops. The movement has grown to 250 women globally, despite the Catholic Church’s rules preventing women from becoming priests. VOA senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti takes us to several masses to explain the international controversy. …