Newsletter Archive

Donald Trump is set to cap his stunning rise to the peak of Republican politics tonight as he officially accepts his party’s nomination for president after taking one of the most unlikely paths to political prominence in U.S. history.

A few miles away from the glitzy Republican National Convention is another side of Cleveland that the cameras rarely capture. Mount Pleasant is a struggling neighborhood filled with hundreds of vacant and crumbling homes. VOA stopped by there to see whether the city’s poorest residents believe Trump, or his policies, will make a difference in their lives.

Millions of undocumented immigrants are living in limbo while Republicans rail against illegal immigration at their party’s national convention. The Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to reconsider whether President Obama can defer deportation, and grant work permits, to about one-third of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The high court deadlocked on the case last month. What are the chances of a redo?

Living at the South Pole is an experience few will ever know. During his time at the bottom of the world, VOA blogger Refael Klein has been dazzled by crystal clouds, brilliant stars and dancing auroras. But, two-thirds of the way through his year-long assignment, he’s experiencing another, darker, side of the polar experience.

The race to become the next UN chief is getting interesting. Candidates include daughters of former presidents, a history buff, a former president, an honorary citizen of Timbuktu, and an assortment of foreign ministers. In all, a dozen candidates have declared their desire to become the ninth secretary-general, and for the first time, half of them are women.

Kurdish-led forces got hold of sprawling oil fields that stretch into the desert when they took over Shaddadi in northeastern Syria in February. Their advances against Islamic State have given the Kurds an opportunity to take charge of their local affairs, including oil production. On a visit to the oil fields, VOA learned more about what the Kurds are doing with the oil and where it’s going.

VOA went to the quiet neighborhood where the Tunisian trucker who killed 84 people in Nice, France, used to live. Some of the people who knew Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel are quick to denounce him as a brawler, playboy, pork eater and wife beater.

Pokémon is a no-Go for security forces in Lebanon. VOA is there as players of the hit reality game hunt virtual monsters in the real world using their phones. That doesn’t sit well with camera-shy security, police and army personnel, who sometimes find themselves in the crosshairs of a few unwitting Pokémon hunters.