In a new book, “Amina’s Voice,” a Pakistani Muslim pre-teen girl deals with middle school and Islamophobia. VOA’s Yahya Albarznji spoke with young American students, teachers and the award-winning author about this book and the hope that it will help people understand Islam.
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Fernando Alonso will be hoping to return to his McLaren Formula One day job next week with an Indianapolis 500 victory and another jewel in motor racing’s Triple Crown.

For over a century, the Indy 500 has been a magnet to motor racing giants and thrill-seekers eager to test their skill and bravery on the sprawling 2.5-mile oval known as the Brickyard.

Alonso, a two-time Formula One world champion, is the latest driver to accept the challenge in a one-off bid to match the late Briton Graham Hill — the only man to claim the Triple Crown of motor sport with victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Alonso, 35, has no experience at Le Mans either, but he’s indicated that that challenge will have to wait a while.

 

When the Spaniard was granted leave by McLaren to skip the Monaco Grand Prix to chase Indy 500 glory on Sunday, it seemed a farfetched dream for a driver who had never sat in an IndyCar, never mind trying out oval racing on one of the most notorious and dangerous tarmacs in all of motorsports.

But he has proven to be a quick learner and has already showcased his immense skill by coming to grips with the nuances of oval racing to qualify in fifth place.

“I feel ready,” Alonso said. “Lacking experience, for sure, because [it is] my first time with everything that is going to happen, from rolling starts and all these things, but at the same time I have worked very, very hard over the last month, so I cannot be better prepared than I am.

“Maybe it is not enough, but I could not do anything more than this.”

High-octane action

No amount of time in the cockpit of his McLaren Andretti Autosport Honda could prepare Alonso for what awaits him Sunday. Drivers say there is nothing that compares to the sight of 300,000-plus spectators filling the sprawling grandstands for a day of high-octane action.

Held on the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the heart of the U.S. Midwest, where the winner chugs a quart of milk rather than expensive French champagne, the Indy 500 is a unique American event.

This year 33 drivers, including four rookies, from 10 countries and both sexes will take the green flag.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 winner, grabbed pole position last weekend on a Sunday full of drama that began with his taking P1 and ended with a gun pointed to his head during a robbery while he was buying fast food at a drive-through restaurant.

Lining up alongside the popular New Zealander in the front row will be Indianapolis native and two-time pole sitter Ed Carpenter and last year’s winner, Alexander Rossi.

‘We come here to win’

“This is the biggest event on the calendar each year, and it’s the one we set out to win first,” said Dixon. “We finished second here a couple of times, and it’s almost the worst place to finish when you come so close.

“We come here to win, and that’s the only goal. If we don’t achieve that, we’re disappointed.”

Row Two will see Japan’s Takuma Sato and American J.R. Hildebrand flanking Alonso.

Brazil’s Helio Castroneves, a four-time pole sitter and three-time champion, signaled his readiness to fight for an elusive fourth win after clocking the top speed in final practice on Friday.

In more than a century of racing at the famed speedway only three men — A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears — have won the 500 four times, and Castroneves is aiming to become the first non-American to join that club.

The Brazilian is part of the powerhouse Team Penske stable that includes  two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia, reigning IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud of France, Australian Will Power and American Josef Newgarden, all trying to give team owner Roger Penske a 17th trip to Victory Lane.
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U.S. pop singer Ariana Grande says she will return to Manchester, England, to play a benefit show to raise money for the 22 victims and families of this week’s terrorist attack.

Grande had just finished her show Monday night when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowded lobby of the Manchester Arena. She was unharmed, although deeply shaken by the attack, and canceled her concert dates for the next two weeks.

No date has yet been set for the benefit concert, which Grande announced in a letter posted on Twitter Friday:

“Our response [to the bombing] must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder, and to live more kindly and generously than we did before. I’ll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend some time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their families.”

She said she would share details of the concert as soon as they are confirmed.

Grande is expected to resume the European portion of her world tour next month, with shows in France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Manchester native Salman Abedi, 22, killed himself in the Manchester attack, detonating a bomb filled with nuts and bolts that he carried in a backpack. In addition to the 22 dead, at least 116 children and adults were wounded.

Many of the victims were young girls, who make up a large part of Grande’s fan base. Others were parents who had gone to arena to meet their children after the concert. The youngest victim was 8 years old.

British authorities detained eight people in connection with the attack, and Abedi’s father and a brother, who live in Tripoli, Libya, were taken into custody there. Details on how they may be tied to the bombing have not been released.
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An Indian film that addresses social themes and stars actor Aamir Kahn has captivated audiences in China. The film is thriving, despite the fact that India was the only major country to boycott Beijing’s Belt and Road Forum earlier this month.

But the irony and sharp contrast of those two developments was largely lost on the millions of Chinese viewers who have helped keep the Hindi language film land in the top slot, despite the fact that it has subtitles and no voice-over dubbing.

 

Analysts, film critics, and social media pundits are still debating what drove hordes of Chinese viewers to this movie, which is not your standard Bollywood mix of songs, dance and bloodletting violence.

 

Breaking new ground

 

According to industry sources, this is the first time a movie that was not made in Chinese or English has emerged as the top seller in the world’s second-largest movie market. China imports very few foreign films a year, and non-Hollywood movies make up an even smaller portion of that share.

 

A wide range of reasons are being forwarded as explanations for the success of Dangal, which has grossed $124 million since its May 5 release in 9,000 theaters across China. On Friday, three weeks after its release, the movie finally slipped from the first to the second highest selling slot. The runner-up, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2, has brought in $98 million in China over the same period.

 

Perhaps an important reason for Dangal’s success is the celebrity status that Aamir Khan, the star and driving force behind the movie, has enjoyed in China for several years with his previous movies, PK and 3 Idiots, which did very well with Chinese movie-goers. Even before Dangal arrived on the Chinese scene, Amir had a bigger following on his Sina Weibo social media account than Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His following now stands at 600,000 fans compared to Modi’s 165,000.

 

Deft marketing including personal canvassing by Khan, who spent a week traveling across Chinese cities, also played a part.

 

But critics and social media pundits in China see an altogether different reason. Thousands of reviews, articles and social media posts have focused on the peculiar connection between patriarchal society in China and India.

Patriarchy vs feminism

The film revolves around a wrestler father who forces his reluctant daughters to take up the sport.

 

His authoritarian and strict parenting style is something audiences in China can easily relate to, said Edward Chan, a sociology professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

 

“I think the father role portrayed by the movie in India is quite similar to the culture, especially the traditional culture in China,” Chan said.

 

Tansen Sen, professor of history and Asian studies at the City University of New York said, “It has a story that resonates with the Chinese, both with regard to parent-child relationship as well as the fascination with sports.”

 

And while some feminists see the father’s behavior as problematic, they also see much to applaud in the story. For those that do, the movie is seen as empowering women.

Two feminist groups, Jianjiao Buluo (Screaming Pepper Tribe) and Cheng Yusan (Orange Umbrella) treated a group of 120 people to a free screening of the film in Guangzhou.

 

Lu, a 20-something entertainment industry employee, says the movie piqued her curiosity towards India, a country with a population as large as China. Lu says that many young Chinese like her want to follow their own dreams and have the support of their parents.

 

“I feel the father’s support for his children was especially moving and that parent’s strictness toward their children is for their own good,” Lu says.

 

The party-backed tabloid, the Global Times, slammed the movie for celebrating the values of a domineering father, who pushes his two reluctant daughters into wresting as a career choice. The paper said the film has sparked off a major controversy over different aspects of feminism in China, and whether modern day girls should completely reject the values of patriarchal society.

 

But the paper also quoted viewers who had a different viewpoint. “It made me think of my father,” the Times quoted one person as saying. “His reticent love for us. I wanted to call him, say nothing, just cry, and cry like a river to release myself from my deep regrets.”

 

Cao, a fan who says he has been watching Aamir Kahn’s movies for years said there are not enough films like Dangal in the Chinese market. He said he admires Kahn for his dedication to his profession (how he lost and gained weight) and the effort he put into addressing a social cause through the film.

 

“Just like people are saying online, he is influencing all of India as a country and all of its people,” Cao says “And I think that’s really great!”

Next Bollywood blockbuster?

 

Another Hindi movie, Tubelight, is waiting to access the Chinese market. It features Chinese actress and singer Zhu Zhu, and the story revolves around the 1962 India-China war. Analysts are asking if Beijing will allow its entry given its reluctance to discuss this war publicly.

 

“The two governments should just let the people know each other through free-flowing exchanges and interactions. Sometimes this will result in negative perceptions and misunderstandings, but it will eventually lead to a more nuanced and balanced views of each other,” Sen added.
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Laura Biagiotti, an Italian fashion designer who conquered global markets with her soft, loose women’s clothes and luxurious knits that won her the nickname “Queen of Cashmere,” died Friday following a heart attack. She was 73.

 

Biagiotti suffered the heart attack Wednesday evening at her estate outside of Rome. Doctors were able to resuscitate her, but by then serious brain damage had occurred.

 

Her daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, announced her mother’s death on Twitter, conveying the news with a Biblical passage: “In the house of my father there are many places. If not, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.”

Began designing in 1960s

Biagiotti began designing women’s clothes in the 1960s and by the 1980s was making her mark.

 

In 1988, she became the first Italian designer to put on a fashion show in China, presenting dresses and blouses in silk and cashmere, and in 1995 was the first to have a show inside the Kremlin walls in Moscow.

 

She expanded into men’s clothing as well, and created a plus-size women’s line, Laura Piu, and a line for children.

 

Her company produced sunglasses and perfumes, including the popular “Roma” fragrance, named after Biagiotti’s home city.

‘Your religion for life’

Born Aug. 4, 1943, Biagiotti studied to become an archaeologist but abandoned those plans to help her mother run a dressmaking business.

 

In those early years, she traveled frequently to the United States to learn business and technology. After collaborating with such famous fashion houses as Shubert and Capucci, she presented her own collection in Florence in 1972. 

 

“Being a fashion designer is like taking vows. It becomes your religion for life,” she told The Associated Press in 1987. 

 

She was always deeply proud of her native Italy, and for years wore a cashmere shawl woven in the red, white and green colors of the nation’s flag.

 

“I’m convinced that the true gold mine in our country is the ‘Made in Italy’ label,” she said in 2011. 

Her home a castle

 

Biagiotti lived in a 14th-century castle on a hilltop outside of Rome that she had restored, and which was the headquarters for her business.

 

Her husband, Gianni Cigna, who had also been her business partner, died of leukemia in 1996.

 

She is survived by her daughter Lavinia, who works as the creative director of the fashion house. 
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National parks traveler Mikah Meyer had plenty of fun among giant powdery dunes recently, as he celebrated a milestone. He’s exactly one-third of the way through his 3-year journey to visit all 417 sites within the U.S. National Park Service. The young adventurer shared highlights of his 139th site visit with VOA’s Julie Taboh.
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On the political and military front, U.S.-China relations have been an often-tense dance between governments. However, in arts and education, many say the relationship is deepening. There is debate among Americans as to whether the ties are positive or negative.

Some say this is progress that is reaping economic and cultural benefits for citizens in both countries.

“When people collaborate on making anything artistic, there’s an emotional pull inside of that and if it works well, you not only have a great business, you also have a great diplomatic cohesion between the two countries,” said Chris Fenton, U.S.-Asia Institute Trustee and the President of DMG Entertainment.

In August, Fenton will be taking a group of U.S. lawmakers to China to look at the country’s growing entertainment and media industry, with the hope of even more Chinese investment in Hollywood.

Chinese language and culture

China has also been investing in educating Americans in language and culture through its Confucius Institutes. Mandarin immersion kindergarten teacher Carol Chen says the University of California Los Angeles Confucius Institute has been a good resource for her and her students.

“For example, books and also resources of our Chinese cultures. One of the years, they actually brought Chinese folk culture tradition to the campus,” said Chen, who teaches at Broadway Elementary, a dual language immersion school.

Funded by the Chinese government, there are nearly 500 Confucius Institutes globally, most on university campuses. The UCLA Confucius Institute taps into the local Mandarin-speaking population to develop a pipeline of Mandarin teachers. It also provides cross-cultural programs in the arts.

 

“Bringing more artists together and exposing them to each other’s culture and to shared cultural experience with China, you’re sort of training, sort of a new generation of diplomats,” said Susan Pertel Jain, UCLA Confucius Institute Executive Director.

But long-time critic and academic Perry Link says Confucius Institutes are an example of China’s soft power.

“Soft power is cultural or educational things that cause people in other countries to view one’s own country in a more friendly way. To reach out into the world with soft power is a new thing from the Chinese government’s point of view, but an important thing because the rest of the successful world seems to be doing it,” said Link, who is the University of California Riverside’s Chancellorial Chair for Innovation in Teaching Across Disciplines.

But Link says the presence of the Confucius Institutes on university campuses is dangerous because it often limits academic freedom to discuss China’s human rights issues.

“It’s induced self-censorship. That is, ‘We are going to give you these funds and you can invite speakers about China and the fund comes from Beijing and you know that and we know that.’ Now, as the director of a Confucius Institute, do you think, ‘Oh, I’ll invite the Dalai Lama’ to speak? No.Of course you don’t do that,” Link said.

But Jain said the UCLA Confucius Institute does not back away from touchy topics.

“Whether it’s artists that we present there who were active in sort of [an] anti-government movement or whether it’s the screening of films that are maybe not officially approved by the government, we don’t shy away from that, but what we always tell our colleagues in China is that we promise to always present everything in a fair and balanced way,” said Jain.

Entertainment industry

In the past, Hollywood movies have been America’s example of soft power.

Last fall, 16 members of Congress wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office to express national security concerns about the growing number of Chinese investments in the United States, including in the media and entertainment industry.

“There is definitely a self-censorship. There is no doubt. I think the most obvious version of that was when self-censorship was not used and it really backfired,” said Fenton.

China is close to becoming the top global market at the box office and one that is much desired by Hollywood executives. If China closes that door to certain production studios in Hollywood, it will hurt financially.

“It’s a very large piece of the pie because it’s roughly seven billion in dollars,” Fenton said. “If you’re thinking like a business person, there is a certain creative vision you should have for the content you’re making that if you want to call it self-censorship that’s fine, or you call it just good business.”
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