Every year, Hollywood inevitably comes under criticism for its lack of racial diversity. But another lesser-known yet still pervasive problem also resurfaces: the lack of diversity in skin tone.It happened again with “In the Heights,” a big-budget film based on the musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which was called out this week for its dearth of dark-skinned, Black Latinos in leading roles.  Colorism — or discrimination against darker-skinned people within their same ethnic group — lurks deep among pretty much all communities with varying levels of melanin. But it doesn’t get talked about, and that could be a setback for the racial justice efforts that intensified after the police killing of George Floyd last year.Avoiding the conversation will hinder the battle for racial justice because the two are “fully and inextricably linked,” said Ellis P. Monk, Jr., a sociology professor at Harvard University who has been researching colorism for years.  Monk says the issue is prevalent in all communities of color and has been taboo in part because it’s uncomfortable to talk about internal strife while also fighting against broader discrimination based on race and ethnicity.  “In a way, colorism and skin tone stratification is an even more difficult problem …

More than 50 walls, over 27,000 square meters of wall space, dozens of artists and tons of paint. It’s all part of the Jersey City Mural Festival in the US state of New Jersey. Maxim Avloshenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Maxim Avloshenko …

Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal are sitting out Wimbledon, leaving the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament without two of the sport’s biggest stars as it returns after being canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, wrote Thursday in an email that the four-time Grand Slam champion does plan to head to the Summer Games after skipping Wimbledon.”She is taking some personal time with friends and family,” Duguid wrote. “She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”Osaka, 23, was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father. The family moved to the United States when she was 3 and she is still based there.Osaka has been ranked No. 1 and is currently No. 2. She is the highest-earning female athlete and was the 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year. She is 14-3 this season, including a title at the Australian Open in February.Last month, Osaka was fined $15,000 when she didn’t speak to reporters after her first-round victory at the French Open. The next day, she pulled out of the tournament entirely, saying she experiences “huge waves of anxiety” before meeting with the …

Spain’s Rafael Nadal will not play at Wimbledon or at the Tokyo Olympics, saying Thursday he has decided to skip the two tournaments after “listening” to his body.Nadal, who reached the French Open semifinals this month but lost to Novak Djokovic, won the title at Wimbledon twice. He also won the Olympic gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.”The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition,” Nadal said.He said the fact there was only two weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon “didn’t make it easier” on his body to recover from “the always demanding” clay-court season.   …

Did a small gesture by soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo really cause Coca-Cola to lose $4 billion?It’s hard to say. In a Monday press conference ahead of Portugal’s Tuesday match with Hungary in the Euro 2020 tournament, the Portuguese striker sat down at the microphone and moved two bottles of Coca-Cola away from him and lifted a bottle of water.“Agua” he said, appearing to encourage drinking water instead of soft drinks.Ronaldo, 36, is known to maintain a very healthy diet, which included eating up to six small meals a day.Earlier this month, he tweeted “My body is my weapon. It’s the most important thing to me. In football, we are always told to eat well and train well to have a longer professional career.”My body is my weapon. It’s the most important thing to me. In football, we are always told to eat well and trainwell to have a longer professional career, but to me, recovery is a key ingredient. That’s why I choose the best in recovery – @Therabodypic.twitter.com/G8Uwy67miQ— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 2, 2021Coca-Cola is a sponsor of the Euro 2020 tournament, and on Monday, the share price closed at $56.16. On Tuesday, shares fell to $55.23 at the …

Rita Moreno emigrated with her mother from Puerto Rico at age five. By six, she was dancing at Greenwich Village nightclubs. By 16, she was working full time. By 20, she was performing in “Singin’ in the Rain.””I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever met in the business who lived the American dream more than Rita Moreno,” Norman Lear says in the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”In the decades that followed, Moreno has won a Tony, a Grammy, an Emmy and Oscar, for “West Side Story.” (Her entire acceptance speech: “I don’t believe it.”) With seemingly infinite spiritedness, she has epitomized the best of show business while also being a victim to its cruelties. That has made Moreno, who co-stars in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “West Side Story” remake, a heroic figure to Latinos, and to others. “I have never given up,” she said in a recent interview by Zoom from her home in Berkeley, California.The reason for the conversation was Mariem Pérez Riera’s intimate and invigorating documentary, which opens in theaters Friday after playing virtually at the Sundance Film Festival and at an outdoor premiere at the Tribeca Festival. The film opens with …

Several spectators were treated in the hospital for injuries caused by a protester who parachuted into the stadium before France played Germany at the European Championship, UEFA said Tuesday.Debris fell on the field and main grandstand, narrowly missing France coach Didier Deschamps, when the parachutist struck wires for an overhead camera attached to the stadium roof.The governing body of European soccer called it a “reckless and dangerous” act and said “law authorities will take the necessary action.””This inconsiderate act … caused injuries to several people attending the game who are now in hospital,” UEFA said.The incident happened just before the start of the Euro 2020 match between the last two World Cup champions. Deschamps was shown ducking into the team dugout to avoid falling debris.France won the match, 1-0.”We as the German soccer federation condemn it of course, because it wasn’t just him, but others that he endangered and injured. It’s unacceptable from our point of view,” German team spokesman Jens Grittner said. “And the incident is being checked by the police, the authorities here in Munich and at UEFA. But of course we also condemn what happened there. It could probably have turned out much worse.”The protester’s parachute had …

Parts of the United States are being invaded by a mass brood of cicadas that emerges from the ground once every 17 years.  For most people the noisy insects are a nuisance, but for others, they’re a meal. VOA’s Alam Burnahan has details in this story narrated by Irfan Ihsan. Camera: Alam Burhanan, Irfan Ihsan, Ronan Zakaria …

Since the war in Syria broke out a decade ago, refugees have fled to countries in the Middle East and Europe as well as to countries in Africa that face instability, like Somalia. And, as Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu, Somali officials say Syrian refugees are enriching the host nation culturally and economically.Camera: Mohamed Sheikh Nor     …

A fully autonomous ship named for the Mayflower, the ship that sailed to what is now the eastern U.S. state of Massachusetts, left Plymouth Harbor in southwestern Britain Tuesday to retrace the original’s 5,000-kilometer voyage.If successful, the 15-meter Mayflower 400 would be the largest autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic. The $1.3 million ship was built by a nonprofit marine research organization named ProMare in partnership with the computer-tech giant IBM. It is powered by a combination of wind and solar energy, with a back-up diesel generator.ProMare co-founder and project director Brett Phaneuf said the ship is designed to test a variety of different technologies, as well as research the ocean. Computing and artificial intelligence systems supplied by IBM — and more commonly used by financial services firms — help it make decisions at sea without human help.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 13 MB720p | 31 MB1080p | 54 MBOriginal | 129 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioA New Mayflower: Fully Autonomous Ship Takes to the SeasA range of equipment including cameras and radar allow the craft to …

Sexual and gender minorities continue to suffer discrimination and harassment around the world. But in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, some transgender women are finding solace in religious teachings, as reported by VOA’s Rendy Wicaksana.Camera: Rendy Wicaksana  …

Christian Eriksen sent his first public message from the hospital on Tuesday, thanking supporters for their “sweet and amazing” well-wishes after his collapse at the European Championship. Eriksen remains in the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark’s game against Finland on Saturday, when he had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator on the field. “Big thanks for your sweet and amazing greetings and messages from all around the world. It means a lot to me and my family,” Eriksen wrote in a message that was shared by the Danish soccer association on Twitter. The message was accompanied by a photo of the 29-year-old Eriksen giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed. “I’m fine – under the circumstances,” he added. “I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay. Now, I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches. Play for all of Denmark.” Eriksen and the rest of the Denmark players have received an outpouring of support from all over the world since Saturday’s incident, including from fans of rival teams. Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said the flood of messages shows that “football is the biggest social …

An Argentine prosecutor began hearing evidence on Monday involving seven people accused of contributing to the death of soccer player Diego Maradona. Maradona, the revered former Boca Juniors and Napoli star who was addicted to alcohol and drugs for many years, died Nov. 25, 2020, from heart failure at age 60 after undergoing brain surgery earlier that month.   A medical board formally appointed to investigate Maradona’s death concluded that several members of the star’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner” and that he was not properly monitored before he died. Monday’s pretrial hearing had been delayed by an increase in coronavirus infections in Argentina. It began with questions to the nurse who, according to his own witness statement, was the last person to see Maradona alive. Questions will be put in the coming days to Maradona’s doctor, psychologist, neurosurgeon and personal physician, among others.   When the medical board’s report was presented to prosecutors in May, it accused the defendants of carrying out a plan with a “criminal purpose” and as part of a deficient care system around Maradona that contributed to his death.   If found guilty, all seven could face between eight and 25 years in prison.  …

Olympic champion Ryan Lochte failed to advance from the preliminaries of the 200-meter freestyle on Monday, his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.The 36-year-old Lochte, attempting to make his fifth Olympic team, posted a time of 1 minute, 49.23 seconds — only good enough for 25th place overall.The top 16 advanced to the evening semifinals, led by Kieran Smith at 1:46.54. Caeleb Dressel was second in 1:46.63.Smith won the 400 free on Sunday to earn his first trip to the Olympics.Lochte was set to swim another preliminary Monday morning, the 100 backstroke. He initially entered six events at the trials but scratched the 400 individual medley on Sunday.Lochte has won 12 Olympic medals, including six golds. Now married with two children, he hopes to make it to one more Olympics to erase the stigma of an incident at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where he lied about being robbed at gunpoint.   …

The Westminster Dog Show crowned a Pekingese named Wasabi its “Best in Show” Sunday, in the culmination of a reworked pandemic edition of the competition missing its usual pooch-loving crowds.   Normally held in February, the show was delayed and moved from its home in the heart of New York City to a country estate due to Covid-19.   Spectators were kept away, and it was the show’s first time being held outside Manhattan, but the singular passion of the event, now in its 145th year, was unchanged: dogs.     Three-year-old Wasabi was crowned best in show from a pack of seven group winners which also included Mathew, a French bulldog; Connor, an Old English sheepdog; and Striker, a Samoyed.   Bourbon the whippet came in second.   Speaking a day earlier when Wasabi won the toy group, his owner and handler David Fitzpatrick — who also won “Best in Show” in 2012 — lauded his pooch’s “charisma, movement and showmanship.”   “He’s in his prime and he just looks wonderful,” he added.   The event, an annual celebration of purebred dogs from across the spectrum in size, shape and fur types, brought together over 2,000 candidates from more …

For 14 years, a Khmer classical dance troupe in northern Cambodia has distinguished itself with its embrace of spirituality. But the impact of the coronavirus pandemic may end the troupe’s livelihood and spiritual identity, as VOA’s Chetra Chap reports. …

Ned Beatty, the indelible character actor whose first film role as a genial vacationer raped by a backwoodsman in 1972’s “Deliverance” launched him on a long, prolific and accomplished career, has died. He was 83.Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by friends and loved ones.After years in regional theater, Beatty was cast in “Deliverance” as Bobby Trippe, the happy-go-lucky member of a male river-boating party terrorized by backwoods thugs. The scene in which Trippe is brutalized became the most memorable in the movie and established Beatty as an actor whose name moviegoers may not have known but whose face they always recognized.“For people like me, there’s a lot of ‘I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?’” Beatty remarked without rancor in 1992.Beatty received only one Oscar nomination, as supporting actor for his role as corporate executive Arthur Jensen in 1976′s “Network,” but he contributed to some of the most popular movies of his time and worked constantly, his credits including more than 150 movies and TV shows.Beatty’s appearance in “Network,” scripted by Paddy Chayefsky an directed by Sidney Lumet, was brief but titanic. …

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas Sunday in the French Open final, clinching his 19th Grand Slam win 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.   “I want to thank my team, my box, my family, my coach,” Djokovic said after his win, acknowledging that while the game was “physically and mentally very difficult” he knew he was capable of the win.   The five-set match lasted four hours and 11 minutes, as the 34-year-old Djokovic made a comeback from losing the first two sets, in what he called an “electric ambiance” after the match.   Sunday marked the first time the 22-year-old Tsitsipas had made it to a Grand Slam final.   Djokovic, currently ranked the No. 1 male player in the world, defeated “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal in the semifinals last week.   …

It’s Pride Month, and gay Americans should have a lot to celebrate: A new president who has pledged to advocate for LGBTQ people, an easing of a pandemic that has disrupted their communal activism, and increasing public acceptance of their basic rights, including record-high support for same-sex marriage. Instead, the mood is somewhat bleak. Congress has so far failed to extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. Pandemic-related concerns are still disrupting the usual exuberant Pride festivals. And a wave of anti-transgender legislation in Republican-governed states has been disheartening “The same week I’m seeing all the ‘Happy Pride’ announcements, I received multiple calls from friends about trans kids having to navigate entering psychiatric hospitals because they were suicidal and self-harming,” said M. Dru Levasseur, a transgender attorney who is director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the National LGBT Bar Association. “I’m doing crisis management,” he added. “These untold stories about what life is like for trans kids are contrasting with ‘Happy Pride, everybody.’ ” On June 1, the start of Pride Month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill making his state the eighth this year to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports at public schools. Arkansas, one of those eight …

The first match of soccer’s European championship gets underway Friday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with Turkey taking on Italy.The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship was postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic that brought many of the world’s activities to a halt.It is notable that Friday’s opening match will be played in Italy, the first country outside of Asia to get hit by the pandemic and the world’s first to impose a nationwide lockdown.Euro 2020 was suspended last March as countries worked to contain virus outbreaks that have killed more than 1 million Europeans, including 127,000 Italians.Organizers of the tournament, the Union of European Football Associations, hope to allay concerns that it is still unsafe for tens of thousands of fans to gather in stadiums across Europe by undertaking several safety measures. They include crowd limitations, staggered fan arrival times, social distancing and hand sanitizer.Fans attending the match in Rome are required to show documentation they have been vaccinated, tested negative in the 48 hours before the match, or previously have had the coronavirus.Euro 2020, the 16th UEFA championship, is scheduled through July 11. For the first time, matches will be played across Europe. The host cities …

Hong Kong censors are to vet all films for national security breaches under expanded powers announced on Friday, in the latest blow to the financial hub’s political and artistic freedoms.Authorities in semi-autonomous Hong Kong have embarked on a sweeping crackdown to root out Beijing’s critics after huge and often violent democracy protests convulsed the city in 2019.A new China-imposed security law and an official campaign dubbed “Patriots rule Hong Kong” has since criminalized much dissent and strangled the democracy movement.The latest target is films. In a statement on Friday, the government said the Film Censorship Ordinance had been expanded to include “any act or activity which may amount to an offense endangering national security”. “When considering a film as a whole and its effect on the viewers, the censor should have regard to his duties to prevent and suppress acts or activities endangering national security,” states the new guidance, which is effective immediately.It also cites “the common responsibility of the people of Hong Kong to safeguard the sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China.” The move sparked concerns that Chinese mainland style political censorship of films had now arrived in Hong Kong. “This new censorship will make it even harder …

Jeopardy! needed a host, and Lucille Ball had an enthusiastic suggestion for creator Merv Griffin: The smooth-voiced, debonair emcee of the High Rollers game show.That was 1984. Decades later, filling the void left by the late Alex Trebek involves sophisticated research and a parade of guest hosts doing their best to impress viewers and the studio that’s expected to make the call before the new season begins taping later this summer.Think of Sony Pictures Television as clutching the rose, and Mayim Bialik, Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric and Jeopardy! champs Ken Jennings and Buzzy Cohen among the suitors so far, with more to come including Robin Roberts, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and LeVar Burton.Sony has “the most robust team of people I have ever seen looking at this and analyzing it in a very cerebral way,” said executive producer Mike Richards. “It’s a real change from the way casting has traditionally been done on television.””It’s usually been a gut instinct of the head executive: ‘How about that person?’” Richards said.That was producer-entertainer Griffin’s approach when he brought a syndicated version of Jeopardy! to TV, five years after the quiz show’s last network iteration wrapped in 1979 on NBC. A word from Ball, …

Soccer’s governing body in Europe, UEFA, ruled Thursday that Ukraine can keep a map that includes Crimea on its jerseys, but must remove part of a slogan that it said has military connotations.   Russia had filed complaints with UEFA about the jersey that Ukraine will wear at the 24-nation European Championships that begin Friday.   Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 in a move that has not been recognized by the international community.   UEFA said Ukraine must remove the slogan “Glory to the heroes” that appears on the inside of the jersey’s collar.   A second slogan, “Glory to Ukraine,” is allowed to remain.      UEFA said it previously approved “Glory to Ukraine” but it found after further analysis the combination of the two slogans had “historic and militaristic significance.”  …

Across the Eastern United States, billions of Brood X cicadas are emerging after 17 years underground. The noisy insects with the bright red eyes overwhelm predators by emerging in densities of 1 million per acre, scientists say. And the hum of mating males has been likened to the buzz of a chain saw. Cicadas have long fascinated one Washington, D.C.-based newspaper columnist, who has invited readers to muse poetic about cicadas. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has that story.    Camera: Laurel Bowman    …