Newsletter Archive

Phony polls? Donald Trump accuses Democrats of making up polls that show he’s trailing Hillary Clinton in the run for the U.S. presidency. That got us thinking about polls, particularly who runs them and how they’re conducted. VOA caught up with one pollster who has partnered with big hitters like ABC, CBS, and the New York Times to survey the U.S. public on its election choices.

VIDEO: Have you ever wondered how a U.S. election works? Each individual state runs the voting process within its borders and the results are combined to determine the winners and losers in a national election. Here’s a quick rundown on the U.S. election process.

Yuh-Line Niou could soon become the first Asian-American ever to represent Manhattan in the New York State legislature. The 33 year old hopes to serve the ethnically diverse Chinatown and Wall Street community. Niou says she faces unique challenges as a young ethnic woman in what she describes as a ‘white patriarchal’ system.

You’ve probably heard or read something about the Dakota Access pipeline protests. This weekend dozens of people were arrested when they trespassed on private property that is in the pipeline’s right of way. Local police also confirmed that a drone flying above the scene of the protests was shot at by law enforcement. Here’s everything you need to know about the controversial pipeline.

Rehab for radicals: People playing soccer in the afternoon is a common scene in Somalia, but the young men playing behind a razor wire fence are different. The players are all former members of al-Shabab, the al-Qaida affiliate in Somalia, which is fighting a bloody insurgency against the country’s government. The soccer players in the secured compound are al-Shabab defectors who were selected for rehabilitation instead of jail time. But their past is never far away.

Hooray for Bollywood? India’s movie industry is the latest unlikely battleground for Indian and Pakistani tensions. Bollywood filmmakers are pledging not to use Pakistani talent while Pakistan is banning Indian films and television shows. VOA is in New Delhi exploring the cultural standoff between the South Asian rivals.

A major security flaw has been found in a type of control system used in nearly every modern automated factory or processing plant. The vulnerability affects one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computerized industrial control systems, setting up the potential for an industrial cyberattack that could create enormous damage.

The artistic beauty of the Quran is on exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Although the manuscripts — created over more than 1,000 years in the Islamic world — contain identical texts, each showcases the mastery and skill of some of the world’s greatest calligraphers.