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Seoul — As a South Korean baseball fan, Shin Jae-woong had many reasons to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres open the Major League Baseball season this week in Seoul. These are the first ever regular season MLB games in baseball-loving South Korea. And the games feature multiple Korean stars, including Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong. But the main draw is obvious for Shin and his two young sons, who traveled from the southeastern city of Gwangju. They came to see Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. “I think Ohtani is out of this world. He’s like another level of player,” said Shin as he watched the Dodgers practice ahead of the series opener on Wednesday. Ohtani, the do-it-all Japanese megastar – who in December signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers – draws massive crowds wherever he goes these days. Perhaps surprisingly, Ohtani also has throngs of fans in South Korea, which shares a fierce sports rivalry and complicated history with Japan. “He has a good personality. He’s tall. He’s good-looking,” said Eo Soo-young, a 38-year-old Seoul resident. “And that other stuff, that’s an old story.” This week, it’s all about positive vibes, as South Korea and …

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Seoul — South Korea’s “Squid Game” actor O Yeong-su has been found guilty of sexual misconduct, a local court said Friday, after he was charged with assaulting a woman in 2017. The 79-year-old in 2022 became the first South Korean to win a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a series for his performance as a seemingly vulnerable old man in the mega-hit Netflix dystopian thriller. The actor was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court told AFP. He has been also ordered to complete 40 hours of classes on sexual violence, the court added. The victim’s own records of the assault and her claims are “consistent … and appear to be statements that cannot be made without actually experiencing them,” judge Jeong Yeon-ju said, according to the court. O was indicted in 2022 without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a woman, who has not been identified, on two occasions. The incidents took place when O was staying in a rural area for a theatre performance in 2017, on a walking path and in front of the victim’s residence, respectively, according to the Suwon District Court. “Squid Game,” a series that depicts …

SANTA FE, N.M. — Defense attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust.” The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorneys in a new court filing accused prosecutors of “unfairly stacking the deck” against Baldwin in grand jury proceedings that diverted attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses. They say that prevented the jury from asserting their obligation to hear testimony from director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting while standing near Hutchins, as well as assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls and props master Sarah Zachry. “The grand jury did not receive the favorable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present,” said the court motion signed by defense attorney Luke Nikas. “Nor was the grand jury told it had a right to review and the obligation to request this information.” Prosecutor Kari …

This month’s Academy Awards ceremony saw a big first for Ukraine as Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” won the best documentary Oscar. The film is a first-person account of being in the eastern Ukrainian city during the first weeks of Russia’s invasion. Khrystyna Shevchenko talked with Chernov. Anna Rice has that story. …

The Nigerian film industry, often referred to as Nollywood, is the second largest moviemaker in the world in terms of volume, and is making strides both in terms of art and in popularity at the box office. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja. …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve legislation Wednesday that would force the popular TikTok video app to either separate from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance or sell the U.S. version of the software. The bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act “gives TikTok six months to eliminate foreign adversary control — which would include ByteDance divesting its current ownership — to remain available in the United States,” said Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the committee. “All TikTok would have to do is separate from CCP-controlled ByteDance. However, if TikTok chose not to rid itself of this CCP control, the application would no longer be offered in U.S. app stores. But TikTok would have no one but itself to blame,” the lawmakers said in a prepared statement. Here’s what we know about the legislation and what happens next in the U.S. Senate. Why is TikTok under scrutiny? “The concern is that TikTok could transfer personal information to its parent company ByteDance, who in turn could transfer it to the Chinese government,” …

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Los Angeles — Christopher Nolan has won best director at the Academy Awards for his blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer,” a long-awaited coronation for arguably Hollywood’s preeminent big-screen auteur. Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. In his acceptance speech, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old. “We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here,” said Nolan. “But to think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.” Cillian Murphy, the veteran Irish actor whose titanic performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer centered one of the year’s most acclaimed films, also won best actor. It’s the first Oscar for Murphy, a longtime Christopher Nolan regular handed a rare leading role in “Oppenheimer.” “I’m a very proud Irish man standing here tonight,” said Murphy. “For better or worse, we’re all living in Robert Oppenheimer’s world. I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.” Protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards on Sunday, where demonstrations for Gaza raged outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and awards went to …

Dohuk, Iraq — Huddled in the back of a van, Rebin Pishtiwan carefully scans one yellowed page after another, as part of his mission to digitize historic Kurdish books at risk of disappearing. Seen as the world’s largest stateless people, the Kurds are an ethnic group of between 25 million and 35 million mostly spread across modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. In Iraq, the Kurds are a sizeable minority who have been persecuted, with thousands killed under the rule of late dictator Saddam Hussein and many of their historic documents lost or destroyed. “Preserving the culture and history of Kurdistan is a sacred job,” said Pishtiwan, perusing volumes and manuscripts from Dohuk city’s public library in Iraq’s northern autonomous Kurdistan region. “We aim to digitize old books that are rare and vulnerable, so they don’t vanish,” the 23-year-old added, a torn memoir of a Kurdish teacher published in 1960 in hand. In Iraq, the Kurdish language was mostly marginalized until the Kurds’ autonomous region in the north won greater freedom after Saddam Hussein’s defeat in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. After the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled the dictator, remaining documents were scattered among libraries and universities or held in private …

Los Angeles — As Universal Pictures prepared for a big night at the Academy Awards with “Oppenheimer,” the studio also celebrated the No. 1 debut of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which collected $58.3 million in domestic theaters over the weekend, according to estimates Sunday. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” the first film in the DreamWorks Animation franchise since the third installment in 2016, got off to a better start than all but the 2008 original. That “Kung Fu Panda,” which began the mystical adventures of Jack Black’s panda warrior Po, launched with $60.2 million. Working in favor of “Kung Fu Panda 4”: It’s the first big family movie since “Migration” and “Wonka” hit theaters in December. “Kung Fu Panda 4” added $22 million internationally. The news was just as good for last week’s top film, “Dune: Part Two.” Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic sequel held strongly in its second week, dropping a modest 44%. It grossed $46 million in its second week, bringing its domestic cumulative total to $157 million for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Riding strong reviews, great word-of-mouth and plenty of sandworms, “Dune: Part Two” appears well set up for a long theatrical run. Most of Sunday’s Oscar nominees have …

Los Angeles — Hollywood’s glitterati gather on Sunday to celebrate the best performances in film at the annual Academy Awards, a ceremony expected to turn into a toast to blockbuster atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer.” Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel returns for the fourth time to emcee the film industry’s highest honors from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. “Oppenheimer,” the three-hour drama directed by Christopher Nolan, leads the field with 13 nominations. The movie is the frontrunner to win the prestigious best picture prize, capping its sweep of other major awards this year. “If the best picture isn’t ‘Oppenheimer,’ it will be one of the biggest upsets, if not the biggest upset, in the history of the Oscars,” said Scott Feinberg, executive editor for awards at The Hollywood Reporter. After 2023 was marred by actors and writers strikes, the Oscars give Hollywood a chance to celebrate two global hits. “Oppenheimer” and feminist doll adventure “Barbie,” another best picture nominee, brought in a combined $2.4 billion in a summer box office battle dubbed “Barbenheimer.” Oscar producers said they have planned unannounced cameos and other surprises to entertain audiences at home. “My biggest hope is that they go through a range of emotions …

New York — Six years ago, Nachiket Chanchani visited Angkor Wat for the first time. Inspired, the architectural historian began thinking about the relationship between the complexities of modern post-genocide Cambodia and the ancient temple complex. Chanchani, an associate art history professor at the University of Michigan, kept reflecting on Angkor Wat, juxtaposing the temple complex against art created since the Khmer Rouge killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. During the pandemic, his thoughts crystallized amid worldwide suffering, anxiety and fear. “I thought that this art, both from the deep past and from more recent times in Cambodia, can teach us lessons of how to kind of stay stable, find some way forward,” he told VOA Khmer Service via Zoom. The University of Michigan Museum of Art, or UMMA, one of the largest university museums in the United States, is now exhibiting 80 pieces of Cambodian art in a show guest curated by Chanchani in Ann Arbor. Titled “Angkor Complex: Cultural Heritage and Post-Genocide Memory in Cambodia,” it opened February 3 and runs through July 28. Featured artists Vann Nath, Sopheap Pich, Svay Sareth, Amy Lee Sanford and Leang Seckon, who live in Cambodia and the U.S., have …

MUMBAI, India — Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World at a glittering contest held in India on Saturday night. Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon was the first runner-up among 112 contestants in the competition held in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital. “Being crowned Miss World is a dream come true. I am deeply honored to represent my country and the values of ‘beauty with a purpose’ on a global platform,” Pyszkova said. After the reigning Miss World, Karoline Bielawska of Poland, passed the crown to her, Pyszková waved to the large crowd at the Jio World Convention Center and hugged some of the other contestants. The event showcased the rich tapestry of India’s culture, traditions, heritage, arts and crafts, and textiles to a massive global audience. The participants wore heavily embroidered skirts and blouses and danced to popular Bollywood songs. The beauty competition returned to India for the first time in 28 years. India’s Sini Shetty exited after making it to the final eight. Six Indian women have won the title, including Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999), Priyanka Chopra (2000) and Manushi Chillar (2017). The 71st Miss World beauty pageant …

Paris — The makers of “Game of Thrones” return with “3 Body Problem,” the adaptation of an iconic Chinese sci-fi trilogy.   It premieres this weekend at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas before launching on Netflix on March 21.  Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, coming off their huge hit with “Game of Thrones,” have liberally translated from the books by Liu Cixin, which has already been adapted for Chinese TV.   The trilogy of books, which began with “The Three-Body Problem” in 2008, jumps between countries, eras and protagonists as Earth confronts an existential threat. It is considered a sci-fi landmark.   “Making ‘Game of Thrones’ was the greatest experience of our lives, but we spent 10 solid years living in that fictional world, so we wanted something that presented a new set of challenges on every level,” Weiss said.  “It’s the story of an impending threat, but it’s tethered by and centered around this core group of characters,” said Benioff.  The cast includes three of the main actors from “Game of Thrones”: John Bradley as an Oxford scientist, Liam Cunningham as the head of an intelligence agency and Jonathan Pryce as an oil tycoon.   The showrunners …

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Washington — A U.N. report released Friday about the prevalence of female genital mutilation around the globe is drawing attention to the practice among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Muslim minority sect based in India. India is not on the UNICEF list of 31 countries released Friday. But the extent of FGM in India, although small relative to its population and long shrouded in secrecy, is coming into the open. The ritual is mostly practiced by the Dawoodi Bohras, a subsect of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam with an estimated 1 to 2 million followers around the globe. Recent surveys show that as many as 80% of Bohra girls undergo genital mutilation as a religious right of passage. “We are still significant, even if our numbers are few,” said Aarefa Johari, a Dawoodi Bohra activist and co-founder of Sahiyo, an anti-FGM advocacy group. “Injustices and harmful practices must be opposed because they are wrong, not because of the number of people they affect.” Affluent and politically influential, most Dawoodi Bohras live in India’s Gujarat province, with smaller communities thriving in Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, the Middle East, Australia and North America. The World Health Organization defines FGM, also known as …

WASHINGTON — The Islamic holiday of Ramadan is being observed this year as the Israel-Hamas war surges in Gaza, where the United Nations is warning of a growing humanitarian crisis. Imam Talib Shareef of Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque, in Washington said there will be differences in how Muslims observe this year because of the conflict. Other than organizing prayers for the community, the mosque is “more engaged in service and feeding; we actually feed at the masjid and [also at] shelters, and we also go to other faith communities,” said Shareef, who served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force and helped to establish the first Islamic military chaplain in 1993. “I do expect that … religious communities are going to be trying to come together,” he said, noting that his mosque also works with churches and gives food to others in the community. “Obviously [the conflict] is going to be on people’s hearts, on people’s souls, it’s bothering people,” Shareef said. Nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world will begin observing the Islamic holiday Ramadan, which is expected to begin on March 10 or 11, depending on the sighting of the moon. During the month of …

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