Newsletter Archive

It’s not clear what Donald Trump’s Iraq policy will look like, which worries some Iraqi soldiers currently battling Islamic State fighters near Mosul. There are those who are happy the president-elect seems tough on terrorism, which they like. Others are concerned Trump seems to dislike Muslims. ‘We have heard that he is a racist,’ one soldier tells VOA in Iraq, ‘but still, if he helps us, it will be good.’

The battle for Mosul isn’t going as smoothly as both Iraqi and U.S. officials thought it would thanks to a fierce and creative defense mounted by Islamic State fighters. The terror group’s commanders continue to adapt to the changing situation, switching tactics to keep Iraqi forces off-balance as they push farther into Mosul.

The wine capital of the world is an unlikely ground zero in France’s battle against militant Islam. After three major terrorist attacks and jihadists returning from the Middle East, France is scrambling to find deradicalization solutions. VOA travels to Bordeaux to learn how city officials are joining forces with the local Muslim federation to blunt the powerful lure of radical Islam.

VIDEO: A Vermont town once made prosperous by immigrants hopes Syrian refugees will help re-invigorate its faltering economy. Rutland is a small industrial enclave built by Italian, Greek and Polish immigrants that is now facing hard times, with businesses having trouble attracting workers. The mayor plans to bring in 100 Syrian refugees annually for the next several years, but not all of the townspeople are rolling out the welcome wagon.

Vietnamese officials who were excited about joining the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) —a trade deal Donald Trump might kill — are searching for other ways to stimulate their economy. Export manufacturing is a critical backbone of the Southeast Asian nation’s economic life, so Vietnam is now looking for free trade deals with China, Russia and the European Union.

VIDEO: 80 percent of young people in Kenya are unemployed, but an initiative that’s partially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) gives hope to youth who haven’t completed secondary school. The program trains disenfranchised and uneducated youth, equipping them with skills that will increase their employability. VOA visits a beauty school in Bungom, Kenya, where dropouts are welcome.