Newsletter Archive

‘Refugees Got Talent’ allows young Syrians who fled their war-torn country to strut their stuff on stage. When VOA visited the Arbat Refugee Camp in northern Iraq, we found enthusiastic amateur performers anxious to prove they are more more than ‘just refugees’.

QUICK TAKE VIDEO: VOA followed the music to the streets of Istanbul where Syrian musicians play for passersby. Refugees have poured into Turkey by the millions to escape the ongoing conflict at home. For the refugee musicians, the street performances allow them to entertain their hosts, while also providing for their families.

‘Haraam’ (forbidden) and un-Islamic That’s the word on terrorism and violent attacks on non-Muslims, secular writers and activists, according to more than 100,000 Islamic scholars, legal experts and clerics who’ve signed a religious decree condemning those actions. They also explain what ‘jihad’ really is, according to the Quran.

The stench of flesh hangs in the air, gutters are clogged with sickly blue water and clumps of animal skin, while flies gather on cattle horns piled on the ground. A visit to Hazaribagh, a residential district that is also home to 90 percent of Bangladesh’s tanneries, reveals toxic conditions for both workers and residents. The country’s high court agrees, fining the tanneries the equivalent of $635 per day in the push to modernize Bangladesh’s $1 billion leather industry.

Polls show the “remain” camp is gaining in Britain ahead of Thursday’s referendum on whether England should leave the European Union. Some see that as an indication that the murder of anti-Brexit lawmaker Jo Cox, by a suspected right-wing extremist, might be tipping the balance in favor of keeping the status quo.

Speaking of Brexit, gamblers are also getting in on the action, feverishly betting on Britons choosing to stay in the European Union. Bankers, currency traders and investors also have a lot riding on the historic vote.

What does a politician look like? It depends on where you live. Americans want leaders who look like they’ll get things done while the Chinese prefer someone who appears good at getting along.

It’s the end of an era in Dakar, Senegal, where the government plans to permanently park the city’s most iconic, and colorful, mode of public transportation: the car rapide. The decades-old minibuses are being replaced by more modern buses that might run better but they’ll also be a lot less vibrant.