A judge has freed Britney Spears from the conservatorship that controlled her life and money for nearly 14 years.

Here’s a look at how conservatorships operate, what’s unusual about hers, and how calls from her and her fans to #FreeBritney eventually worked.

How do conservatorships work?

When a person is considered to have a severely diminished mental capacity, a court can step in and grant someone the power to make financial decisions and major life choices for them.

California law says a conservatorship, called a guardianship in some states, is justified for a “person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter,” or for someone who is “substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence.”

The conservator, as the appointee put in charge is called, may be a family member, a close friend or a court-appointed professional.

Several states have recently used the attention that Spears has brought to the issue to reform their conservatorship laws. 

How does Spears’ work?

With a fortune of nearly $60 million comes secrecy, and the court closely guarded the inner workings of Spears’ conservatorship.

Some aspects have been revealed in documents. The conservatorship had the power to restrict her visitors. It arranged and oversaw visits with her two teenage sons, whose father has full custody. It took out restraining orders in her name to keep away interlopers deemed shady. 

It had the power to make her medical decisions and her business deals. She said at a June hearing that she has been compelled to take medication against her will, has been kept from having an intrauterine device for birth control removed and has been required to undertake performances when she didn’t want to.

Spears also said she had been denied the right to get married or have another child, but she has since gotten engaged to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari.

Who had power over Spears?

The ultimate power in the conservatorship fell to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny. She used it on Friday to end it.

Before his suspension in September, her father James Spears had the lion’s share of day-to-day power over his daughter’s choices for 13 years. In 2019, he gave up the role of conservator over her life decisions, maintaining control only over her finances. His replacement, John Zabel, now has a few minimal administrative powers to move Britney Spears’ money around as power over it transitions back to her.

Jodi Montgomery, a court-appointed professional, acted as conservator over her personal matters from 2019 until Friday. Her agreement was key when the termination finally came.

Why did so many called to #FreeBritney?

Some fans objected to the conservatorship soon after it began. But the movement, and the #FreeBritney hashtag, truly took hold early in 2019, when some believed she was being forced into a mental health hospital against her will. 

They pored over her social media posts to extract clues about her well-being and protested outside the courthouse at every hearing. 

They were long dismissed by Spears’ father and others as conspiracy theorists, but in the end their power was undeniable. 

They felt vindicated by two dramatic speeches she gave this summer, in which she confirmed many of their suspicions. They felt triumphant when her father was removed. And they felt truly jubilant when the conservatorship was terminated.

She was quick to give them credit, since first acknowledging in court filings in 2020 that they may have a point. “Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy” she said on Twitter and Instagram after Friday’s ruling, along with video of the celebrations outside the courthouse and the new hashtag #FreedBritney. 

Why was it imposed in the first place?

In 2007 and 2008, shortly after she became a mother, she began to have very public mental struggles, with media outlets obsessed over each moment. Hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her every time she left her house, and she no longer seemed able to handle it.

She attacked one cameraman’s car with an umbrella. She shaved her own head at a salon. She lost custody of her children. When she refused to turn over her boys after a visit, she was hospitalized and put on a psychiatric hold. The conservatorship was put in place within days.

Why did it go on so long?

A conservatorship can always be dissolved by the court. But it’s rare that a person achieves their own release from one, as Britney Spears essentially did.

They can last decades because the circumstances that lead to them, like traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, or dementia, are not things people just bounce back from.

Spears’ father and his attorneys justified the continued conservatorship by arguing that she was especially susceptible to people who seek to take advantage of her money and fame.

Normally a series of mental evaluations would take place before a conservatorship ended, but on Friday Penny said that with no one asking for any examinations, none would be required.

How does Spears feel about all of this?

For years it was largely a mystery. But allowed to speak publicly in court in June, she called the conservatorship “abusive” and “stupid” and says it does her “way more harm than good.”

And in her social media posts on Friday, she declared, “Best day ever … praise the Lord.” 

What happens now?

Regaining her personal and financial powers after so many years will take some untangling. Montgomery, along with therapists and doctors, have created a care plan for the transition, and her attorney Mathew Rosengart says a financial safety net is in place too.

Rosengart has vowed to pursue an investigation of James’ Spears handling of the conservatorship even after it ends. He could take action in civil court, and has suggested he may even turn over his findings to law enforcement for consideration of criminal charges. James Spears has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. 

Britney Spears is likely to hire financial managers, assistants and attorneys to perform many of the same duties previously performed by the conservatorship. But their decisions will be subject to her approval, instead of vice-versa.
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Actress and model Gloria Hendry became the first African American to play a so-called James Bond girl, debuting in the 1973 movie Live and Let Die. In an interview with VOA, Hendry reflected on what the role meant for her and other Black actresses at the time. More from Genia Dulot in Los Angeles.

Camera: Genia Dulot
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A fatal shooting during the production of a movie called “Rust” is raising questions about safety on movie sets. Authorities are still investigating the October 21st shooting south of Santa Fe, New Mexico. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with Tim Forrest, director of the film program at Central New Mexico Community College about safety measures on production sets.
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A pair of diamond bracelets that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, the famed wife of French King Louis XVI who met her fate at the revolutionary guillotine, sold for 7.46 million Swiss francs ($8.34 million) on Tuesday. 

The opulent bracelets, among the rare pieces of jewelry from the ill-fated French royal that are still up for public sale today, were among standout features to a Christie’s auction in Geneva.

They feature 112 diamonds and each weighs 97 grams (3.4 ounces) and include silver and gold. 

The pair sold for much more than the presale estimate of between 2 million and 4 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million to $4.4 million). The final price included taxes and fees on top of the hammer price. The buyer was not identified.

After Marie Antoinette’s death in the French Revolution in 1793, the bracelets that had been commissioned some 17 years earlier were passed on from her daughter Marie-Therese and kept within royal lineage for over 200 years, Christie’s said. 

On Wednesday, as part of regular Geneva jewelry auctions, rival house Sotheby’s is set to put under the hammer a 26.8-carat oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds, and matching ear clips that once belonged to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia — pieces that were whisked out of Russia during the country’s 1917 revolution.

The trio is expected to garner as much as 480,000 francs ($525,800). 

On Thursday, Sotheby’s will auction a pair of high-top Nike sneakers from Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard who died in a helicopter crash in California last year. The basketball shoes are expected to fetch up to 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,400). 

Bryant wore the sneakers in a March 17, 2004, victory over the L.A. Clippers, according to the auction house. 

 
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The dramatic retelling of a decisive Korean War battle between Chinese soldiers and U.S.-led United Nations forces smashed box office records last month to become China’s third-highest grossing film of all-time, according to state media, amid a new push for patriotic-only historical accounts by the Communist Party. 

Released over China’s National Day holidays in early October, The Battle at Lake Changjin is set during November 1950 and recounts how Chinese soldiers forced a retreat of U.N. forces from the Choisin Reservoir in present-day North Korea. 

The film has already earned $875.5 million (5.6 billion RMB) since opening on September 30, according to the e-ticketing platform Maoyan, and it is still showing at some cinemas in China more than a month after opening.    

The Battle at Lake Changjin was commissioned by the Chinese government ahead of the Communist Party’s 100th anniversary this year, and it is the latest in a series of patriotic war-time films to hit Chinese theatres in the last few years. 

Other notable hits include The Korean War epic, The Sacrifice, The Eight Hundred, which recounts the 1937 Battle of Shanghai between invading Japanese forces and the National revolutionary Army, and The Wolf Warrior action film franchise about contemporary People’s Liberation Army soldiers.

In China, the Korean War is officially known as the war to “Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea,” and it has inspired multiple films — but this time the story has changed. According to a review by The Washington Post newspaper, The Battle at Lake Changjin emphasizes the defeat of the United States rather than China’s close bonds with North Korea.

“The Korean War has always been used as propaganda by Beijing — that’s nothing new — but I think what is new is in recent years the elevated level of nationalism as well as the new circumstances in which China and the United States find themselves in,” Adam Ni, a China watcher and editor of the newsletter China Neican, told VOA.   

“The Battle at Lake Changjin,” Ni said, “speaks to the moment” of souring U.S.-China relations — as well as the Party’s renewed emphasis on China’s history and an accompanying crackdown on “historical nihilism” that questions its official narrative of events.    

In one of the most high-profile incidents, Chinese journalist Luo Changping was detained in early October for criticizing The Battle at Lake Changjin, according to The New York Times. Luo wrote on social media that more than 50 years later “few Chinese people have reflected on the justifiability of the war.”  

Luo’s criticism could not have come at a worse time, however, as the Party celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 1. China’s historical narrative has remained front and center throughout celebrations and will be the subject of a resolution this week at the Sixth Plenum of the Central Committee — a meeting of more than 300 of China’s top leaders in Beijing.    

“The Party sees the construction of historical narrative as an integral part of its power and of its legitimacy, so that’s why it’s come down pretty hard on historical nihilism — people who have visions of historical events that are different from the Party in a way that the Party perceives them to be harmful,” Ni said.   

This trend is already making its way into popular culture where the Party is “rectifying the entertainment sector,” he said, by rewarding more patriotic films and pushing out more subservient ones. Less than a month after the success of The Battle at Lake Changjin, the government already announced a sequel — although other films may not be as lucky.  

“The Party has a lot of resources and if your agenda overlaps, if your aesthetic and creative agenda overlaps with the party it could be a lucrative market opportunity because the Party has leverage over market opportunities,” Ni said. “But the other hand you get to the case of ‘boy love’ (LGBTQ-themed) stories or fantasy stories … you could be successful creatively and commercially, but on the other hand, you run the political risk of upsetting the Party.” 
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The recent fatal accident on the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie, Rust, prompts calls for a ban on the use of real guns in TV shows and films. Genia Dulot in Los Angeles spoke with master armorer Mike Tristano about safety on movie sets.

Camera:Genia Dulot and Dana Preobrazhenskaya
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33,000 runners returned to the streets of New York City for the 50th New York City Marathon. The race was canceled last year due to the pandemic and with its return, the city is on an upswing. Tina Trinh reports.

Camera: Esha Sarai​

Esha Sarai  contributed to this report.
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Thousands of people flooded the hometown of late Brazilian country music star Marilia Mendonca Saturday to pay an emotional tribute to the beloved singer, a day after she was killed in a plane crash at age 26. 

Mendonca, a Latin Grammy-winning superstar of Brazilian “sertanejo” music, died with four other people Friday when a small plane carrying her to a concert crashed in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. 

Her body was flown Saturday to the central city of Goiania, her home, where crowds of distraught fans lined up to file past her white-draped casket at a massive public wake. 

Known for her soaring voice and sorrowful songs, Mendonca managed to break into a country music scene long dominated by men and machismo. She was a leading figure in a burgeoning sub-genre known as “feminejo,” or sertanejo music by women. 

But her massive fan base included men and women alike. Many mourners outside the stadium where the wake was held could barely find words to describe their sadness. 

 

“It’s an emotion so strong we don’t even know how to express it. It’s an immense pain, for all Brazilians,” 22-year-old Matheus Alves told AFP. 

“It was a tremendous loss. It’s such a blow I don’t even have the words to explain it,” said 16-year-old student Gustavo Lacerda, before breaking into one of Mendonca’s songs, “Eu Sei de Cor” (I Know it By Heart). 

Fans started lining up at dawn outside the 15,000-capacity arena, where large floral arrangements arrived in a steady stream. 

About 100,000 people were expected to attend, said Goias state Governor Ronaldo Caiado. 

The star and an uncle who worked with her, also killed in the crash, were to be laid to rest later in a small private ceremony at a local cemetery. 

Mendonca’s producer and the plane’s two pilots were also killed in the crash, which left their twin-engine Beechcraft King Air C90A shattered against the rocks near a picturesque waterfall outside the city of Caratinga, where the artist had been scheduled to perform. 

Authorities said the plane hit an electrical tower just kilometers from the Caratinga airport, but it was unclear whether that caused the accident or if the aircraft was already on its way down. 

Air force officials were at the scene Saturday investigating. 

Nicknamed the “Queen of Suffering,” Mendonca was known for ballads of heartbreak and spurned lovers, but also for singing of women’s empowerment and the need to “overcome” — the title of one of her most famous songs. 

She had 22 million subscribers on YouTube, 39 million followers on Instagram and more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. 

Her death drew heartfelt tributes from figures ranging from Brazilian music legend Caetano Veloso to football superstar Neymar to President Jair Bolsonaro, who said the country was “in shock.” 

“She was one of the greatest artists of her generation,” Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter. 

Mendonca, however, was no fan of the far-right president, who has often been accused of sexist remarks and anti-women policies. 

The wake for Mendonca and her uncle was carried live on national TV, and drew wall-to-wall coverage in the Brazilian media. 
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Marília Mendonça, one of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, died Friday in an airplane crash on her way to a concert. She was 26. 

Mendonça’s press office confirmed her death in a statement and said four other passengers on the flight also died. Their plane crashed between Mendonça’s hometown Goiania and Caratinga, a small city in Minas Gerais state located north of Rio de Janeiro.

Minas Gerais state’s civil police also confirmed Mendonça’s death, without providing details about the cause of the accident, which occurred shortly before it was to land. Photographs and videos show the plane lying just beneath a waterfall; Mendonça had posted a video Friday afternoon showing her walking toward the plane, guitar case in hand.

The rising star performed country music, in Brazil called sertanejo. She was known for tackling feminist issues in her songs, such as denouncing men who control their partners, and calling for female empowerment.

On Friday evening, the news triggered an outpouring of sadness on social media from across Brazil, including fans, politicians, musicians and soccer players. Her Instagram account has 38 million followers. 

“I refuse to believe, I just refuse,” Brazil soccer star Neymar, who is a friend of Mendonça’s, said on Twitter after the news broke. Brazil’s government also offered its condolences. 

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also used social media to mourn the passing “of one of the greatest artists of her generation.”

“The entire country receives the news in shock,” he said. 

Her album “Em Todos os Cantos” album won her the 2019 Latin Grammy for best sertanejo album. She was nominated for the same award this year for her album “Patroas”. 

Mendonça was also famous for her romantic songs, often expressing the loss of loved ones. 

“You always make me cry, you’re unique and eternal,” said fan Michelle Wisla on Twitter.

Mendonça leaves behind a son, who will be 2 years old next month. 
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The United States on Thursday urged China not to restrict access and movement for journalists reporting on next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China this week said it was concerned about a lack of transparency from organizers of the Feb. 4-20 Games.

“We urge PRC officials not to limit freedom of movement and access for journalists and to ensure that they remain safe and able to report freely, including at the Olympic and the Paralympic Games,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a regular press briefing, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Activists are calling for the United States to impose a boycott or keep its officials from attending the games over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its northwest, which the United States has said constitutes crimes against humanity and genocide.

China rejects such accusations.

Price said he did not have an update on the U.S. position on participation in the Games. U.S. officials have in the past said they would consult allies on the matter.

All participants at the Games will be subject to daily COVID-19 tests. International media will be enveloped in a “closed loop” including three clusters of venues – one in downtown Beijing, one in the outskirts near the Great Wall, and one to the northwest of the city, in Hebei province.

International journalists’ attempts to cover the preparations have been “continuously stymied” in breach of International Olympic Committee rules and China’s promises made when it bid to host the Games, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said in a Twitter thread on Tuesday.

 

Organizers have denied or ignored requests for access, said the Beijing-based club, which shared testimony from members who said they were harassed and abused for trying to provide independent coverage of preparations for the Games.

At a regular press briefing on Friday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said that journalists were allowed to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics provided they abided by relevant laws and regulations.

China firmly opposed the politicization of sports and was opposed to “fake news” reports that smeared China and the Beijing Winter Olympics, the spokesperson said.
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A documentary about the impact of climate change in Africa is a highlight of the annual French film festival in Los Angeles this year. The festival, “City of Light, City of Angels,” draws filmmakers from Paris and fans from Los Angeles. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the documentary “Marcher sur L’eau” (released in English as “Above Water”), which is causing a buzz.
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Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges.

In a lengthy social media post that disappeared quickly, Peng Shuai wrote that Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier and member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had forced her to have sex despite repeated refusals following a round of tennis three years ago. Her post also said they had sex once seven years ago and she had feelings for him after that.

Peng is a former top-ranked doubles player, taking 23 tour-level doubles titles, including Grand Slams at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014.

The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of her post, which was made late Tuesday night by her verified account on Weibo, a leading Chinese social media platform. The post was removed soon after, and a search on Weibo for Peng’s account now turns up no results. Neither she nor Zhang could be reached for comment.

The accusation is the first against a prominent government official since the #MeToo movement took hold in China in 2018 before being largely tamped down by authorities the same year. Earlier accusations were confined to the media, advocacy groups and academia.

The Communist Party’s response illustrates its determination to control public discourse and restrain social movements it can’t be sure of controlling. While social media has become ubiquitous in China, it remains firmly under party control.

Screenshots of the post have circulated on Twitter, which is blocked in China, reinvigorating discussion on that platform about gender relations in China, where men dominate the top levels in politics and business.

In the post, Peng, 35, wrote that Zhang, now 75, and his wife arranged to play tennis in Beijing about three years ago and that he later brought her into a room at his home where the assault occurred.

“I was so frightened that afternoon, never thinking that this thing could happen,” the post says.

Rumors and overseas reports about affairs between younger women and leading officials have long been staples of Chinese politics, starting with the founder of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong.

Cases brought against present and former officials under party leader and President Xi Jinping’s decade-long anti-corruption campaign also frequently feature accusations of “lascivious lifestyles,” along with bribery and abusing their positions.

Zhang retired in 2018 and has largely disappeared from public life, as is usual with former Chinese officials.

Peng hasn’t played at the top tier since the Qatar Open in February 2020. In singles, she reached the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open and the Round of 16 at the subsequent Australian Open, but hasn’t progressed beyond the third round at any major since Wimbledon in 2017.

The Communist Party has increasingly cracked down on civil society, including the #MeToo movement that has struggled to gain traction in the country.

Zhou Xiaoxuan, a former intern at Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, was shoved by bystanders in September as she went to court in a case against a well-known presenter.

Since then, the movement has been largely shut down by authorities as activists found their online posts censored and faced pressure from authorities when trying to hold protests.
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Indian police have detained or arrested at least a dozen Muslims for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s cricket match victory October 24 over archrival India in the T20 World Cup.  

Those arrested include a Muslim teacher in the western state of Rajasthan who was fired from her job for writing “We won” on her WhatsApp status following Pakistan’s crushing victory against India last week in Dubai. Authorities at a government hospital in Indian-administered Kashmir also terminated the job contract of a Kashmiri Muslim medical technician after she allegedly celebrated the victory on social media. 

In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, seven people, including three Kashmiri students, were arrested for celebrating Pakistan’s victory. The state’s chief minister said all would be charged with sedition, and the accused could face jail terms of up to seven years. 

Former Indian Supreme Court Justice Deepak Gupta said the celebration by any Indian of Pakistan’s cricket victory is “definitely not sedition and it is ridiculous to think it is.” 

India and Pakistan are cricket-frenzy nations, and the neighbors have been fierce rivals on the pitch since British India was split into two countries in 1947.  

But because of the bitter political enmity between the countries, the Indian government does not allow the Indian cricket team to play Pakistan except in an official International Cricket Council-organized contest such as the ongoing T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. 

India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India and has blamed its rival for many terrorist attacks in India-administered Kashmir and other parts of the country. While Pakistan denies the accusations, almost all exchanges between the nations have come to a standstill in the recent years. The bilateral cricketing ties between the two neighbors have been frozen for more than eight years.

Pakistan’s trouncing of archrival India in the October 24 match triggered ecstatic celebrations among some Muslims in India, according to police reports. In India, where the majority is Hindu, those celebrating Pakistan’s victory are viewed as anti-nationals or enemies of India. 

On October 27, police arrested Muslim teacher Nafisa Attari in Rajasthan’s Udaipur for her WhatsApp status in support of the Pakistani cricket team. The private school where she worked dismissed her immediately.  

The same day, police in Uttar Pradesh announced they had arrested seven people, including three Kashmiri students from a private engineering college in Agra, for allegedly celebrating Pakistani team’s victory on WhatsApp. The Kashmiris were suspended from school. 

In a tweet, Uttar Pradesh police said those arrested were “anti-national elements” who used “disrespectful words against the Indian cricket team and made anti-India comments which disrupted peace.” The Kashmiris also face charges of cyberterrorism, under India’s Information Technology Act.  

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath threatened that Indians found cheering Pakistani cricket team will face tough actions.  

Adityanath tweeted: “Those celebrating Pakistan’s victory will face sedition charges.” 

The charge of sedition, which is based on a British colonial-era law, can be used against anyone who “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law.”   

Nasir Khuehami, national spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, told VOA that Kashmiri Muslim students were violently assaulted in many states in India for allegedly celebrating the Pakistani cricket team’s victory.  

“This is perhaps true that those Kashmiri students celebrated Pakistani team’s victory in social media. But the Kashmiri students in Agra are being hounded more because of some Hindu groups’ charge that they shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans. This charge is completely untrue. The college authorities and some non-Kashmiri students from the Agra engineering college confirmed it to us that no Kashmiri students shouted anti-India or pro-Pakistan slogans. But mostly because of the bogus charge, the students are being viewed as anti-nationalists,” Khuehami said.  

In the presence of police, Hindu right-wing groups beat up three arrested Kashmiri students while they were being produced in the court, Khuehami said.   

“Several lawyer associations in Agra have decided not to provide legal support to the three Kashmiri students. It is obvious that once the three students are booked under sedition charges, their studies will be doomed. Slapping sedition charges against the students just on the basis of their WhatsApp statuses and congratulatory messages is an arbitrary and unwarranted act.” 

The parents of the three students, who are mostly poor, have urged that the Uttar Pradesh government forgive them and revoke all the charges on humanitarian grounds.    

In a video interview, Gupta said celebrating the Pakistani team’s victory over India may be offensive or unwise for an Indian “but it is not a crime. It is not illegal. A thing may be good or bad, but that does not make it a crime or illegal.” 
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The Tour du Faso, a 10-day bicycle race through the conflict-stricken West African country of Burkina Faso, began in the southern city of Banfora on October 29. One Burkinabe rider hopes to build on his Summer Olympics performance and secure victory despite security concerns. 

Paul Daumont is one of eighty cyclists taking part in this year’s Tour du Faso, Burkina Faso’s answer to the world-famous Tour de France bicycle race.  

Since October 29, cyclists have pedaled their way across the country, with a new stage each day.  

Daumont is back from the Olympics in Tokyo and hopes to improve on his performance in his home country.  

He says breaking into cycling was tough, but at just 22, it has already taken him all over the world, from Japan to Switzerland.   

“You could say that cycling, whether in Burkina Faso or in the rest of the world, is a sport that is difficult to get into, because you need a machine and the machines are relatively expensive. You have to be lucky enough to already have a bike — or someone who can lend one to you to get started,” Daumont  said.

He says that the cycling federation in Burkina Faso helped him with a road racing bike after he showed potential, but you need a good bike to get to that level in the first place.  

Despite difficulties with access, the sport of cycling is becoming more popular in Africa, and the Union Cycliste Internationale’s annual Africa tour takes in 11 countries, including Burkina Faso.   

Burkina Faso is in the midst of a six-year conflict involving terror groups linked to the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and local bandits, and security has deteriorated in recent months.  

The organizers and participants at this year’s event, however, were pushing ahead, and the atmosphere was festive. 

When asked about security, one of the organizers said it was a concern. 

“Yeah. Sure. It’s one of the big difficulties for us, because of course when we have, for example, European countries. We are not all the time sure, but we have a big organization. We have the military with us; we have to police with us,” Bezault said.

Contenders from Europe say they are not worried about security. 

“Oh, I don’t feel unsafe at all. I think everyone is very friendly and, yeah, like I said, I haven’t felt unsafe at all. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” Betten said.

Local riders say they are enjoying the cosmopolitan nature of the event but have their eyes on the prize. 

“I thank the foreigners who came, and I also thank the cyclists, the runners from Burkina Faso. May God give us the yellow jersey,” Sorgho said. 

Meanwhile, Daumont has already placed in the top 10 in the first two stages of the Tour du Faso, which will reach its conclusion on Sunday. 
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South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Wednesday with “The Promise,” a novel about one white family’s reckoning with South Africa’s racist history. 

Galgut had been British bookmakers’ runaway favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize with his story of a troubled Afrikaner family and its broken promise to a Black employee — a tale that reflects bigger themes in South Africa’s transition from apartheid. 

Galgut took the prize on his third time as a finalist, for a book the judges called a tour de force. He was previously shortlisted for “The Good Doctor” in 2003 and “In a Strange Room” in 2010. 

Despite his status as favorite, Galgut said he was stunned to win. 

Galgut said he was accepting the prize “on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent that I’m part of.” 

“Please keep listening to us — more to come,” he added. 

Historian Maya Jasanoff, who chaired the judging panel, said “The Promise” was a profound, forceful and succinct book that “combines an extraordinary story, rich themes — the history of the last 40 years in South Africa — in an incredibly well-wrought package.” 

Galgut’s ninth novel traces members of the Swart family — the word is Afrikaans for black — haunted by an unkept promise to give their Black maid, Salome, her own house. The book is structured around a series of funerals over several decades; Galgut has said he wanted to make readers fill in the narrative gaps themselves. 

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and J.M. Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999. 

“The Promise” was selected over five other novels, including three by U.S. writers: Richard Powers’ “Bewilderment,” the story of an astrobiologist trying to care for his neurodivergent son; Patricia Lockwood’s social media-steeped novel “No One is Talking About This”; and Maggie Shipstead’s aviator saga “Great Circle.”

The other finalists were Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam’s aftermath-of-war story “A Passage North” and British/Somali writer Nadifa Mohamed’s “The Fortune Men,” about a Somali man falsely accused of murder in 1950s Wales. 

Jasanoff said many of the shortlisted novels, including Galgut’s, reflected on the relationship between past and present. 

“This is a book that’s very much about inheritance and legacy,” she said of the winner. “It’s about change over a period of decades. And I think it’s a book that invites reflection over the decades and invites and repays rereading.” 

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers. Eligibility was expanded in 2014 to all novels in English published in the U.K. 

The judging panel winnowed their list from 158 novels submitted by publishers. Only one British writer, Mohamed, made the final six, a fact has renewed debate in the U.K. about whether the prize is becoming U.S.-dominated. 

Last year there also was only one British writer on a U.S.-dominated list of finalists, Scotland’s Douglas Stuart. He won the prize for “Shuggie Bain,” a gritty and lyrical novel about a boy coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow. 

For a second year, the coronavirus pandemic has scuttled the prize’s usual black-tie dinner ceremony at London’s medieval Guildhall. The winner was announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC radio and television. 

 
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Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves posted a dominating 7-0 victory over the host Houston Astros to clinch the best-of-seven 2021 World Series by a 3 games to 2 margin. 

Atlanta pitcher Max Fried pitched six strong innings, giving up only four hits while striking out six Houston batters, with ace relievers Tyler Matzek and Will Smith holding the Astros to just two hits over the last three innings to complete the shutout for the National League champions. 

Atlanta’s sluggers had another huge night at the plate, highlighted by Jorge Soler’s mammoth 135-meter home run in the third inning that gave the Braves a 3-0 lead. Dansby Swanson followed with a home run in the fifth inning that drove in two runs, while Freddy Freeman capped the scoring by driving in a run in the same inning and a solo home run in the seventh inning.    

Soler hit three home runs during the Series’ and was named the Series’ most valuable player. 

This is the Braves’ fourth World Series championship in their 150-year MLB history. They won in 1914 when they were based in Boston and in 1957 as the Milwaukee Braves on a team that featured future Hall-of-Famer sluggers Eddie Matthews and Henry “Hank” Aaron, who would go on to break Babe Ruth’s iconic record of 714 career home runs. Their first win in Atlanta came in 1995.   

This was the third World Series appearance in four years for the Astros, who represent the American League, winning it in 2017. But that title has been marred by a scandal involving coaches using technology to steal hand signs from opposing teams during that championship season. The team was fined $5 million and some of its former coaches and executives were suspended for the violation.   

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.  
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Local media in Miami reported that rock star Jon Bon Jovi was forced to cancel a concert Saturday minutes before taking the stage after testing positive for COVID-19.

A Miami television station said a spokesman for the fully vaccinated singer told the audience Saturday evening that Bon Jovi had tested positive after he and members of his band took rapid response tests. The spokesman said the rock star “feels great” but would not be performing and was headed to bed. 

The band is reported to have stayed and played for the crowd without the lead singer. 

There was no word about whether the concert would be rescheduled.

Bon Jovi participated in public service campaigns last year encouraging people to mask up and practice social distancing. 

Earlier Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the more than 5 million COVID-19 deaths was “a global shame” and a reminder that much of the world is being “failed” by vaccine inequities. 

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Monday that the global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic reached its total just four months after the 4 million death milestone. 

In a statement, Guterres said these deaths are “not just numbers on a page. They are mothers and fathers. Brothers and sisters. Daughters and sons. Family, friends and colleagues. Lives cut short by a merciless virus that respects no borders.” COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus.

Guterres said the devastating milestone is a reminder that while wealthy countries are rolling out third “booster” doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, only about 5% of people in Africa are fully vaccinated. 

The U.N chief urged world leaders to fully support the Global Vaccination Strategy he launched last month with the World Health Organization, and through funding and vaccine donations, help meet the goal of inoculating 40% of people in all countries by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022. 

“The best way to honor those 5 million people lost … is to make vaccine equity a reality by accelerating our efforts and ensuring maximum vigilance to defeat this virus,” Guterres said. 

Meanwhile, Monday marks the easing of travel restrictions in Australia for its citizens and permanent residents who will no longer be subjected to a two-week quarantine when reentering the country. Australians will also be able to leave the country without getting special permission.

Thailand began allowing fully vaccinated tourists into the country Monday. Thailand’s economy has been pummeled by the tourist restrictions prompted by the pandemic. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that although she is fully vaccinated, she has contracted COVID-19, adding that she is exhibiting only mild symptoms and is in quarantine. Members of her household have also tested positive, she said in a Twitter post Sunday.

Psaki did not travel to Europe with U.S. President Joe Biden, who attended the recent G-20 summit of world leaders in Rome and then flew to Glasgow, Scotland, for a conference on climate change.

British health care workers began their plan Monday to visit more than 800 schools to inoculate students ages 12 to 15 with COVID-19 vaccines. 

Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said, “Thanks to the dedication of NHS (National Health Service) vaccine teams, we are making it as simple as possible for parents or guardians to book COVID-19 vaccines for their children.” 

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said Monday that nearly 7 billion vaccines have been administered worldwide. 

 
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Among the once-taboo professions emerging from Somalia’s decades of conflict and Islamic extremism is the world of arts, and a 21-year-old female painter has faced more opposition than most.

A rare woman artist in the highly conservative Horn of Africa nation, Sana Ashraf Sharif Muhsin lives and works amid the rubble of her uncle’s building that was partially destroyed in Mogadishu’s years of war.

Despite the challenges that include the belief by some Muslims that Islam bars all representations of people, and the search for brushes and other materials for her work, she is optimistic.

“I love my work and believe that I can contribute to the rebuilding and pacifying of my country,” she said.

Sana stands out for breaking the gender barrier to enter a male-dominated profession, according to Abdi Mohamed Shu’ayb, a professor of arts at Somali National University. She is just one of two female artists he knows of in Somalia, with the other in the breakaway region of Somaliland.

And yet Sana is unique “because her artworks capture contemporary life in a positive way and seek to build reconciliation,” he said, calling her a national hero.

Sana, a civil engineering student, began drawing at the age of 8, following in the footsteps of her maternal uncle, Abdikarim Osman Addow, a well-known artist.

“I would use charcoal on all the walls of the house, drawing my vision of the world,” Sana said, laughing. More formal instruction followed, and she eventually assembled a book from her sketches of household items like a shoe or a jug of water.

But as her work brought her more public attention over the years, some tensions followed.

“I fear for myself sometimes,” she said, and recalled a confrontation during a recent exhibition at the City University of Mogadishu. A male student began shouting “This is wrong!” and professors tried to calm him, explaining that art is an important part of the world.

Many people in Somalia don’t understand the arts, Sana said, and some even criticize them as disgusting. At exhibitions, she tries to make people understand that art is useful and “a weapon that can be used for many things.”

A teacher once challenged her skills by asking questions and requiring answers in the form of a drawing, she said.

“Everything that’s made is first drawn, and what we’re making is not the dress but something that changes your internal emotions,” Sana said. “Our paintings talk to the people.”

Her work at times explores the social issues roiling Somalia, including a painting of a soldier looking at the ruins of the country’s first parliament building. It reflects the current political clash between the federal government and opposition, she said, as national elections are delayed.

Another painting reflects abuses against vulnerable young women “which they cannot even express.” A third shows a woman in the bare-shouldered dress popular in Somalia decades ago before a stricter interpretation of Islam took hold and scholars urged women to wear the hijab.

But Sana also strives for beauty in her work, aware that “we have passed through 30 years of destruction, and the people only see bad things, having in their mind blood and destruction and explosions. … If you Google Somalia, we don’t have beautiful pictures there, but ugly ones, so I’d like to change all that using my paintings.”

Sana said she hopes to gain further confidence in her work by exhibiting it more widely, beyond events in Somalia and neighboring Kenya.

But finding role models at home for her profession doesn’t come easily.

Sana named several Somali artists whose work she admires, but she knows of no other female ones like herself.
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Jay-Z added another title to a resume that includes rapper, songwriter, Grammy winner, billionaire business mogul, and global icon — Hall of Famer.

The self-proclaimed “greatest rapper alive” was inducted Saturday night as part of an eclectic 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class that included Foo Fighters, Carole King, Tina Turner, The Go-Gos and Todd Rundgren.

Once a drug dealer on the tough streets of Brooklyn, New York, Jay-Z rose through the rap world with hard, straightforward songs that often portrayed the struggles of Black people in America.

His catalogue includes songs like Hard Knock Life, 99 Problems and Empire State of Mind, as well as 14 No. 1 albums.

Following a video introduction that included President Barack Obama, LeBron James and David Letterman, Jay-Z was inducted by comedian Dave Chappelle, who praised him for being an inspiration.

“He rhymed a recipe for survival,” Chappelle said. “He embodies what the potential of our lives can be and what success can be.”

Paul McCartney welcomed Foo Fighters, who have carried the mantle as one of rock’s top arena acts. Initially, the band was little more than a side project for front man Dave Grohl, who was previously inducted as Nirvana’s drummer.

McCartney described the parallels between himself and Grohl as both were part of massively popular bands that broke up.

“Do you think this guy is stalking me?” McCartney joked.

Foo Fighters and McCartney closed the show with the Beatles’ Get Back.

Rapper LL Cool J was enshrined for musical excellence along with keyboardist Billy Preston and guitarist Randy Rhoads.

 

Electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, singer-poet Gil Scott-Heron and Delta blues legend Charley Patton were inducted as early influencers, and Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Cool J recruited some of his heavyweight musical friends to usher him into rock immortality. He was joined on stage by Eminem and Jennifer Lopez for a powerful career-spanning performance.

With New York street style and swagger, Cool J remains a relevant artist more than 40 years after he first spit lyrics.

“What does LL really stand for?” asked rapper/producer Dr. Dre in his induction speech. “Ladies love? Living large? Licking lips? I’m here because I think it stands for living legend.”

Cool J then did a medley of his hits, including Rock The Bells accompanied by a bearded Eminem before he was joined by J-Lo for All I Have. Cool J wrapped up his blistering set with one of his biggest hits, Mama Said Knock You Out.

Superstar Taylor Swift opened the show with one of King’s best-known songs, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, which appeared on Tapestry her seminal 1971 album — a soundtrack for a generation.

Swift gave a heartfelt induction speech for one of her musical idols.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know Carole King’s music,” Swift said, saying her parents taught her several important lessons as a child with one of the most important being “that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time.”

King thanked Swift “for carrying the torch forward.” She noted other female singers and songwriters have said they stand on her shoulders.

“Let it not be forgotten,” King said. “They also stand on the shoulders of the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. May she rest in power, Miss Aretha Franklin.”

King then introduced Jennifer Hudson, who performed a stunning, rafter-shaking performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman before King sang You Got A Friend.

The 81-year-old Turner, who found her greatest success when she left abusive husband Ike Turner, lives in Switzerland and did not attend the ceremony.

“If they’re still giving me awards at 81,” Turner said in a video message. “I must have done something right.”

Keith Urban and H.E.R. performed It’s Only Love, a duet Turner did with Bryan Adams, before Mickey Guyton took on her most iconic song, What’s Love Got To Do With It. Then Christina Aguilera belted out River Deep, Mountain High.

 

Considered the greatest female group in rock history, The Go-Go’s emerged from Los Angeles’ punk scene in the 1980s. The quintet broke rules and smashed gender ceilings in a male-dominated industry with hits like We Got The Beat, My Lips Are Sealed and Head Over Heels.

“They’ve been in my personal Hall of Fame since I was 6 years old,” said actress Drew Barrymore, who mimicked the cover of the band’s debut album, Beauty and the Beat, during her induction speech by wrapping her body and hair in bath towels and applying face cream.

“Now,” she said. “My childhood fantasy is fulfilled.”

Best known for soft ballads like Hello It’s Me and Love Is The Answer, Rundgren also had a long path to induction. He’s been outspoken about the hall’s selection process and skipped the ceremony in protest.

“Ever defiant,” Patti Smith said in a video presenting Rundgren.

This year’s ceremony was held for the first time at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the 20,000-seat home of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and a venue familiar to Jay-Z and Foo Fighters, who have played shows in the arena before.

It was a return to normalcy for the event, which was forced to go virtual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artists are not eligible for induction until 25 years after release of their first recording.

There are lively debates every year over omissions, and as Public Enemy’s Chuck D noted during a plaque induction ceremony on Friday at the hall, patience is sometimes another requirement for entrance.

“It ain’t no overnight thing,” he said. “You can’t stumble into this place.”

That was certainly the case for King, who had been eligible for enshrinement as a solo artist since 1986. She went in previously as a songwriter with Gerry Goffin, her late husband, in 1990.

The ceremony will be shown on HBO on Nov. 20. 

 
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Candyman, the latest film by Jordan Peele and director Nia da Costa, is a remake of the 1992 original of the same title, by Bernard Rose. The reimagined Candyman addresses the racial divide, gentrification, and police brutality in Chicago. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.
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Afghan artists and activists say the Taliban have replaced their murals with their logo and slogans, making it impossible for them to continue working in Afghanistan. VOA’s Yalda Baktash has more. Roshan Noorzai contributed.
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Efforts by Chinese diplomats to stop cultural events deemed critical of the government in Beijing have met with mixed results in Europe, succeeding in Germany but being rebuffed by a city government in Italy.

The incident in Germany concerned a new book, Xi Jinping — The Most Powerful Man in the World, by two veteran German journalists, Stern magazine’s China correspondent Adrian Geiges, and Die Welt newspaper publisher Stefan Aust.

Confucius Institutes at two German universities had planned online events on Oct. 27 to coordinate with the book’s launch. But the book’s publisher, Piper Verlag of Munich, said the events were canceled at short notice “due to Chinese pressure.”

The company accused Feng Haiyang, the Chinese consul general in Düsseldorf, of intervening personally to quash the event at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Duisburg and Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

At Leibniz University in Hannover, the Tongji University in Shanghai — which jointly operates the Confucius Institute there — forced the cancellation of an event, according to the company. Neither the publisher nor the institute offered details on what triggered the cancellation.

The institutes, run by China’s education ministry, are seen by Beijing as a way to promote its culture. Many Western countries have become wary of the influence the institutes exert on campuses by subsidizing classes, travel and research.

Dozens of Confucius Institutes have been closed or are closing in Europe and Australia. At least 29 shuttered in the U.S. after the State Department in August 2020 designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a “foreign mission” of the Chinese government.

In a statement, Piper Verlag quoted a Confucius Institute employee as saying that “One can no longer talk about Xi Jinping as a normal person, he should now be untouchable and unspeakable.”

Felicitas von Lovenberg, head of Piper Verlag, called the cancellation of the events “a worrying and disturbing signal.”

Aust of Die Welt said the incident confirmed the book’s basic thesis: “For the first time, a dictatorship is in the process of overtaking the West economically, and is now also trying to impose its values, which are against our freedom, internationally.”

The book presented China in a very differentiated way as it also talked about China’s success in overcoming poverty, co-author Geiges said. “Apparently, such balanced reports are no longer enough for Xi Jinping. Stories are no longer enough — he now wants a cult around his person internationally, just as he does in China itself.”

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Berlin said events at Confucius Institutes were planned to bring about better understanding between the two peoples, and they “should build on the basis of comprehensive communications between the partners.”

China supports the development of the institutes as “a platform to understand China comprehensively and objectively,” the embassy spokesperson added. “But we strongly object to any politicization of academic and cultural exchange.”

Both Confucius Institutes said in their respective statements that there were different views between the German and Chinese partners, making it impossible to carry on. The Institute for East Asian Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen had expressed interest in hosting the event, according to the university’s Confucius Institute.

German human rights activist David Missal told VOA Cantonese there has always been pressure from the Chinese side when it comes to critical events, but the tactics were rarely exposed. He took it as a positive development that these incidents are coming to light.

“I think this is the only way to fight this kind of influence in a democracy — you have to make these things public, make them transparent, and then there will be political responses to these incidents,” Missal said.

Reinhard Bütikofer, a German member of the European Parliament who is critical of China, said the next German federal government must draw clear lines about its China policy. “Chinese censorship at German universities? Does not work at all. These so-called ‘Confucius’ institutes, which are in fact CCP aides, have no future,” he tweeted.

 

Earlier this month, the Chinese Embassy in Rome attempted to stop a critical art show, but failed.

A museum in Brescia, an Italian city about 100 kilometers east of Milan, will continue with its plans to open a solo exhibition of the work of Australia-based Chinese exiled activist Badiucao. Scheduled to run from Nov. 13-Feb. 13, the exhibition is entitled “China is [not] near.” It will feature the artist’s work criticizing issues such as China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

The Chinese Embassy in Rome sent the Brescia city council a message on Oct. 21, contending that Badiucao’s works twisted facts, spread false information, would mislead the Italian people’s understanding of China while seriously damaging Chinese people’s feelings, and jeopardize friendly relations between China and Italy, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency.

Brescia Mayor Emilio Del Bono told the Il Foglio newspaper the show will not be canceled, adding, “I think it is important to show that you can stay friends while criticizing some things.”

Badiucao told VOA Mandarin via phone on live TV that he was not surprised by the embassy’s position. “I am very excited that the city government and the museum stood strongly with me. I can say very confidently that my exhibition will not be canceled. I will not amend my exhibits or commit any self-censorship.”

VOA Cantonese asked the Chinese Embassy in Rome for comments but received no response.

This story originated in VOA’s Cantonese Service.
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