Rihanna made her long-awaited return to the stage at the Super Bowl with a career-spanning medley of pop bangers, but it was her baby bump that dominated the conversation.    The megastar appeared in the stadium midair on a floating stage, donning a clingy, all-red ensemble featuring a molded bustier — and a belt below what many viewers deduced was another mini RiRi in the making.    Representatives for the singer confirmed the speculation to trade magazines Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter: Rihanna is pregnant with her second child.    The 34-year-old welcomed her first child, a son, with rapper A$AP Rocky in May.    Musically speaking, fans who hoped for some fresh tracks were disappointed: Rihanna’s night on the world’s biggest stage offered a nostalgia tour of hits from the past.  She delivered her club smashes including “Where Have You Been” to “Only Girl (In the World)” and the time-tested “We Found Love.”    “Rude Boy,” “Work” and “All of the Lights” were also on the setlist, as a sea of dancers performed stunning acrobatics.    “Wild Thoughts,” “Run This Town” and, of course, “Umbrella” and “Diamonds” rounded out the show.    She did not, as many stars do, bring out any guest artists, commanding the …

A court run by Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels on Sunday upheld a five-year sentence against a female actor and one of her companions who were convicted of committing an indecent act and having drugs in her possession, her lawyer said. The arrest of Intisar al-Hammadi and the three other women in February 2021 — as well as the court proceedings against them — have been widely criticized by international rights groups. The case has mirrored widespread Houthi repression and crackdown on women in areas they control in war-torn Yemen. Al-Hammadi and one of the women were first sentenced in November 2021 to five years. The other two were handed one and three years in prison, respectively. The Court of Appeals in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa upheld the sentences against al-Hammadi and Yousra al-Nashri, who was also handed a five-year sentence, according to lawyer Khalid al-Kamal, who represents all four women. Al-Hammadi, who is also a model, was born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother. She has worked as a model for four years and acted in two Yemeni soap drama series in 2020. She was the sole breadwinner for her four-member family, including her blind father and a …

There is no bigger cheerleader of awards season than Richard E. Grant.  He brings joy to the red carpet, snapping selfies with stars and posting congratulations to nominees on social media.  Now this enthusiasm has been tapped to host the EE BAFTA Film Awards on February 19 at the Royal Festival Hall.  “I’m an unabashed fan of movies and of talent and always have been. I’ve never been disingenuous or, you know, blasé about that,” he says. “I probably have to restrain myself from permanently taking selfies with every nominee and winner coming up on the stage.”  “From that point of view, I am the right fit for the job, hopefully,” he says.  Grant also knows how it feels to participate in awards season and sit, nervously, waiting for that career changing envelope to be opened. He was nominated as supporting actor at both the BAFTAs and Oscars in 2019 for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”  And he’s aware that, as a working actor, hosting has its challenges.  “Traditionally if you’re a comedian, your role is very clear to roast the audience. Whereas I’m an actor and, you know, even though I’m the vast vintage that I am now, I …

A halftime show that Rihanna promises will be “jam-packed” will sit at the center of the celebrity supplements to Super Bowl 57.  But the 13-minute mini-extravaganza, her first live event in seven years, is only one part of the entertainment sideshow surrounding Sunday’s big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  Chris Stapleton, who has dominated country music awards in recent years, will take on the challenge, and scrutiny, of singing the national anthem.  “The national anthem’s not an easy song for singers. It’s one that can go horribly wrong as we’ve seen many times in the past,” Stapleton said at a media event during the leadup to the game. “But if you’re gonna do it, this is the place to do it. I’m gonna go out there and play. And play it like I play it.”  The length of the anthem has become one of the countless game elements up for betting. Oddsmakers have put the over-under on Stapleton’s “Star Spangled Banner” at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.  This being the Super Bowl, one anthem is not enough. R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.”  And “Abbot Elementary” star Sheryl …

Visitors to one of Florence’s most iconic monuments — the Baptistry of San Giovanni, opposite the city’s Duomo — are getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see its ceiling mosaics up close thanks to an innovative approach to a planned restoration effort. Rather than limit the public’s access during the six-year cleaning of the vault, officials built a scaffolding platform for the art restorers that will also allow small numbers of visitors to see the ceiling mosaics at eye level. “We had to turn this occasion into an opportunity to make it even more accessible and usable by the public through special routes that would bring visitors into direct contact with the mosaics,” Samuele Caciagli, the architect in charge of the restoration site, said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Caciagli called the new scaffolding tour of the baptistry vault “a unique opportunity that is unlikely to be repeated in the coming decades.” The scaffolding platform sprouts like a mushroom from the floor of the baptistry and reaches a height of 32 meters (105 feet) from the ground. Visits are set to start Feb. 24 and must be reserved in advance. The octagonal-shaped baptistry is one of the most visible …

As legal sports gambling proliferates, the number of Americans betting on the Super Bowl and the total amount they’re wagering is surging — although most of the action is still off the books.  An estimated 1 in 5 American adults will make some sort of bet, laying out a whopping $16 billion, or twice as much as last year, according to an industry trade group.  Even as legal gambling has spread to two-thirds of U.S. states, independent analysts say only about $1 billion of the total being wagered on Sunday’s game will happen through casinos, racetracks or companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings, whose ads have become ubiquitous during sporting events.  The vast majority of people, in other words, are still betting with friends and family, participating in office pools or taking their chances with a bookie.  More than 50 million American adults are expected to bet on the national championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to the American Gaming Association, whose estimates are based on a nationwide online survey of 2,199 adults. That’s an increase of 61% from last year.  Experts in addiction say aggressive advertising is contributing to a rise in problem …

Australia has nominated a culturally sensitive Aboriginal area that is home to the world’s largest collection of rock art for United Nations heritage protection.  The Burrup Peninsula, 1,500 kilometers north of Perth, the Western Australian state capital, has 50,000 years of First Nations history, including millions of a type of rock carving called petroglyphs.   It is the world’s densest known concentration of hunter-gatherer petroglyphs. The site has been nominated as a United Nations World Heritage site.  If accepted by UNESCO, it would become the second site in Australia listed for World Heritage for its Aboriginal cultural heritage.  Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek told reporters Friday the site is a “natural wonder of the world.” “This place has to be protected forever, and it has to be managed for the benefit of people who have connection to it but managed for the benefit of all of humanity,” said Plibersek. Reece Whitby, Western Australia’s environment minister, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that the region has global significance. “It is putting it on par with such things as Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China, and I think it deserves that status,” said Whitby. “So, this is very important and …

When Enrique Vera opens the door to his workshop, an array of gleaming gold and silver matadors’ jackets shine in the sun. “It is little bit like a cave full of treasure,” he says. Vera painstakingly fashions the brilliant trajes de luces (suits of lights) which are worn by bullfighters when they face half-ton bulls in the ring. One of only seven sastres (bullfighting tailors) in the world, he used to be a matador. But he swapped the sword used to kill the bull for a needle and followed a family tradition to become a tailor. The iconic status of the matador’s suit has meant it has passed from the bullring to mainstream popular culture. Vera and his mother, Nati, also a seamstress, were called on to make matadors suits for films and the catwalk, working with Pink Panther star Peter Sellers, designer John Paul Gaultier and the late ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. From the moment a matador steps through the door into Vera’s office in Seville, southern Spain, it sets in motion an intricate process of measuring, sewing, ironing, and finally fitting the suits which can cost as much as $6,000 each. Meticulous process Vera’s team of 15 specialist …

Scientists have a mystery on their hands after the discovery of 330 stone tools about 2.9 million years old at a site in Kenya, along Lake Victoria’s shores, that were used to butcher animals, including hippos, and pound plant material for food. Which of our prehistoric relatives that were walking the African landscape at the time made them? The chief suspect, researchers said on Thursday in describing the findings, may be a surprise. The Nyayanga site artifacts represent the oldest-known examples of a type of stone technology, called the Oldowan toolkit, that was revolutionary, enabling our forerunners to process diverse foods and expand their menu. Three tool types were found: hammerstones and stone cores to pound plants, bone and meat, and sharp-edged flakes to cut meat. To put the age of these tools into perspective, our species Homo sapiens did not appear until roughly 300,000 years ago. Scientists had long believed Oldowan tools were the purview of species belonging to the genus Homo, a grouping that includes our species and our closest relatives. But no Homo fossils were found at Nyayanga. Instead, two teeth – stout molars – of a genus called Paranthropus were discovered there, an indication this prehistoric …

Nairobi’s public buses and vans, called “matatus,” and their custom graffiti brighten the busy streets of Nairobi. The idea is the glitzier the vehicle’s design, the more customers it will attract. Hubbah Abdi has this report from the Kenyan capital. Narrated by Michele Joseph. (Camera: Joseph Ochieng) …

Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94. The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning Bacharach died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, publicist Tina Brausam said Thursday. Over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivaled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods, whether “Alfie” and “I Say a Little Prayer” or “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “This Guy’s in Love with You.” Dionne Warwick was his favorite interpreter, but Bacharach, usually in tandem with lyricist Hal David, also created prime material for Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and many others. Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra were among the countless artists who covered his songs, with more recent performers who sung or sampled him …

NASCAR, the American stock car racing company, is celebrating its 75th anniversary and striving to bring diversity to the sport. Genia Dulot visited a preseason NASCAR race in Los Angeles and spoke to Daniel Suarez, the first Mexican-born racing driver to win a NASCAR cup series. Camera: Genia Dulot …

U.S. basketball star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer Tuesday.  James hit a two-point basket late in the third quarter in the game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to surpass the 38,387 career points held by Lakers’ legend and Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar, who was in Crypto.com Arena to watch the historic moment, had held the record since April 5,1984.   James entered Tuesday’s game needing just 36 points to break the record. He finished the game with 38 points, giving him 38,390 points for his career to date. But the Thunder won the game 133-130.  The record adds to James’s already illustrious 20-year NBA career, which began as an 18-year-old rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has since won four NBA championships, four season Most Valuable Player awards and four NBA Finals MVP awards.  Following James and Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring list are Karl Malone, the late Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, universally considered to be the greatest NBA player of all time. Another Lakers’ legend, the late Wilt Chamberlain, is in seventh-place with 31,419 points.  When asked in a post-game interview with retired great Shaquille O’Neal, who …

There are fans for all kinds of things, from sports to birds to stamps. This is true for trains as well. VOA’s Aunshuman Apte reports. …

British author Salman Rushdie said he finds it “very difficult” to write after being stabbed last year, in an interview published Monday ahead of the release of his new novel Victory City. Rushdie, whose “epic tale” of a 14th-century woman who defies a patriarchal world to rule a city hits U.S. shelves Tuesday, said the attack had scarred him mentally. “There is such a thing as PTSD you know,” the 75-year-old told the New Yorker magazine in his first interview since the August 12 stabbing at a conference in Chautauqua in upstate New York. “I’ve found it very, very difficult to write. I sit down to write, and nothing happens. I write, but it’s a combination of blankness and junk, stuff that I write and that I delete the next day. I’m not out of that forest yet, really,” he added. The award-winning novelist, a naturalized American citizen who has lived in New York for 20 years, lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand, his agent said in October. Rushdie told journalist David Remnick that “big injuries are healed” but he was not able to type very well because of a lack of feeling in some …

Iran-based singer Shervin Hajipour’s Grammy Award for a song he produced last year in honor of Iran’s peaceful protest movement against Islamist rule has prompted an outpouring of positive reactions from Iranian social media users. U.S. first lady Jill Biden announced Hajipour’s win of the U.S. Recording Academy’s first-ever Song for Social Change Special Merit Award at Sunday’s annual ceremony in Los Angeles. Hajipour produced the award-winning song “Baraye” in September with lyrics drawn from social media posts in which other Iranians stated what they were protesting “for” and “because of.” The song, which he posted on his Instagram account, became an instant hit and a protest anthem, garnering 40 million views in its first 48 hours. But it also led to his arrest by Iranian security forces on September 29. He was released on bail on October 4 but still faces charges of spreading anti-government “propaganda” and “instigating violence.” He also has been barred from leaving the country, according to Iran’s Human Rights Activist News Agency. Social media reactions to Hajipour’s Grammy were overwhelmingly positive, as observed by VOA Persian. The singer was seen reacting to his win early Monday morning Iran time in an Instagram video posted by …

Centuries-old weavings from the Caucasus, Iran and Turkey show the individual stories and intertwined histories of the region in a museum exhibit in the Western U.S. state of Colorado. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. …

The success of the critically acclaimed 2022 film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has put a spotlight on Asian representation in the U.S. film industry. Now, an American actor of Hmong descent and a Cambodian American filmmaker have made a new movie about the Asian experience in the United States. VOA’s Chetra Chap reports. …

Manchester City was accused by the Premier League on Monday of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period when the club was attempting to establish itself as a force in English and European soccer following its takeover by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. The explosive development came at the end of a four-year investigation by the world’s most popular soccer league in the wake of leaked club emails and documents from City officials that were published by German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018. The Premier League released a long statement detailing a list of about 80 alleged breaches of its financial rules by City from 2009-18, the first nine full seasons under Abu Dhabi ownership. In that time, the team won three Premier League titles — in 2012, 2014 and 2018 — in what has become the most successful period in City’s 143-year history. The league also accused City of 30 more breaches relating to its alleged failure to co-operate with the investigation since December 2018. The league said it has referred the breaches to an independent commission ahead of a confidential hearing. In a statement, City said it was “surprised” by the allegations, “particularly given the …

An Iranian singer who faces possible prison time for his song that’s become an anthem to the ongoing protests shaking the Islamic Republic wept early Monday after seeing he’d won a Grammy. Shervin Hajipour appeared stunned after hearing Jill Biden, the wife of President Joe Biden, announce he’d won the Grammy’s new song for social change special merit award for “Baraye.” An online video showed Hajipour in a darkened room, wiping tears away after the announcement. Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” or “For” in English, begins with: “For dancing in the streets,” “for the fear we feel when we kiss.” The lyrics list reasons young Iranians have posted on Twitter for why they had protested against Iran’s ruling theocracy. It ends with the widely chanted slogan that has become synonymous with the protests since the September death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Masha Amini: “For women, life, freedom.” Released on his Instagram page, the song quickly went viral. Hajipour then was arrested and held for several days before being released on bail in October. The 25-year-old singer faces charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “instigating the violence,” according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the monthslong protests. The …

Beyonce’s four wins were one of many highlights of Sunday’s Grammys, making her the artist with the most Grammys ever. Beyonce, the Queen Bee, can now proudly wear the crown of most decorated artist in Grammy history, breaking the 26-year record held by the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti. However, she was not in the room when she broke Solti’s record. Host Trevor Noah said she was stuck in traffic, clearly news to some of her Beehive fans, and showing that the Queen suffers some of the same problems as mere mortals. Beyonce was up for album of the year but was beat out by Harry Styles for that honor. Sunday’s show was a lively mix of music, musicians, fans and U.S. First Lady Jill Biden. In fact, a 70-plus-year old fan read the card announcing Styles’ best album victory. Earlier in the show, there was video of the senior citizen fan attending a Styles concert with her granddaughter. Beyonce bypassed Solti’s record with her win for best dance/electronic music album for “Renaissance.” After thanking her family in her acceptance speech, she also thanked “the queer community for your love and for inventing the genre.” Biden introduced a new category …

Here is a list of winners in key categories for the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles. Beyonce led the field with a total of nine nominations and scooped up four awards, making her the winningest artist in Grammys history. Harry Styles won the Album of the Year award, while Lizzo, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Brandi Carlile and Bonnie Raitt also took home golden statuettes.   Album of the Year: “Harry’s House,” Harry Styles Record of the Year, recognizing overall performance of a song: “About Damn Time,” Lizzo Song of the Year, recognizing songwriting: “Just Like That,” Bonnie Raitt Best New Artist: Samara Joy Best Dance / Electronic Music Album: “Renaissance,” Beyonce Best Dance / Electronic Recording: “Break My Soul,” Beyonce Best Pop Vocal Album: “Harry’s House,” Harry Styles Best Rap Album: “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” Kendrick Lamar Best Rock Album: “Patient Number 9,” Ozzy Osbourne Best Pop Solo Performance: “Easy on Me,” Adele Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Unholy,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras Best Americana Album: “In These Silent Days,” Brandi Carlile Best Country Album: “A Beautiful Time,” Willie Nelson Best Music Video: “All Too Well (The Short Film),” Taylor Swift …

For Wilfred Cadet, buying soup on Sunday is the equivalent of going to church.   Seated on plastic chairs next to a street food stand tucked in an alleyway, the 47-year-old Haitian slurps orange-colored soup out of a metal bowl next to his 9-year-old son. Haitians mill past them cradling larger plastic containers, each eager to get a giant spoonful of the stew boiling in two human-sized pots behind them. Made of pumpkin, beef, carrots, cabbage – ingredients produced on the island – soup joumou is a cultural staple in Haiti. And in a moment of deepening crisis in the Caribbean nation, it’s one of the few points of enduring national pride. To this day, when you mention the soup, Haitians are quick to crack a smile. “It’s our tradition, our culture. It makes people proud. No matter what happens (in Haiti), the soup is going to stay around,” said Cadet. During the colonial period, slaves were banned from eating the spicy dish, and would have to prepare it for French slave owners. But Haitians claimed soup joumou as their own in 1804 when they staged one of the biggest and most successful slave rebellions in the Western Hemisphere. The …

  — Best alternative music performance: “Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg — Best alternative music album: “Wet Leg,” Wet Leg — Best rock album: “Patient Number 9,” Ozzy Osbourne — Best rock performance: “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile — Best rock song: “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile — Best rap performance: “The Heart Part 5,” Kendrick Lamar — Best rap song: “The Heart Part 5” by Kendrick Lamar — Best melodic rap performance: “WAIT FOR U” by Future featuring Drake & Tems — Best R&B album: “Black Radio III,” Robert Glasper — Best R&B performance: “Hrs & Hrs” by Muni Long — Best traditional R&B performance: “Plastic Off The Sofa” by Beyonce — Best progressive R&B album: “Gemini Rights,” Steve Lacy — Best audio book, narration and storytelling recording: “Finding Me” by Viola Davis — Best traditional pop vocal album: “Higher,” Michael Buble — Best solo country solo performance: “Live Forever,” Willie Nelson — Best country duo/group performance: “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde — Best country album: “‘Til You Can’t,” Cody Johnson — Best jazz vocal album: Samara Joy — Best dance/electronic recording: “Break My Soul,” by Beyonce — Best metal performance: “Degradation Rules” …