Newsletter Archive

Smart, handsome, adventurous and outgoing, Rasid Tugral won fans on social media for his mesmerizing photos of the night sky over his Turkish homeland. He entered a prestigious astrophysics graduate program in Finland, but still yearned for something more. The young Turk joined Islamic State in 2015 and fought in Syria. Less than a year later, he was dead. VOA explores what led a young man with a seemingly promising future down a path of radicalization to a violent end.

Decades of military rule had a crippling effect on Myanmar’s economy, but the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government is now encouraging foreign and local investment in job-creating export industries. VOA visits a factory in Yangon, part of the country’s garment industry, which hopes to be one of the nation’s largest employers. But the manufacturing industry is on a steep learning curve.

VIDEO: Christmas can be a tough time for struggling families who can’t afford items on their children’s wish list. That’s where the Salvation Army comes in. The faith-based organization provides toys to families and children in need. In the Washington, D.C.-area alone, 14,000 young people will receive gifts from the group this year, which demonstrates the true holiday spirit of giving.

Basketball is ‘unIslamic’ and a ‘threat to their faith,’ according to some influential Somali clerics who are warning women against playing the sport. The Somali Religious Council (SRC) issued the statement ahead of the country’s first national female basketball competition. Here’s what one of the female players has to say about that.

Show me the money. Zimbabweans are resorting to creative, and sometimes risky, ways to get cash into the country. The banks have rapidly run dry in the nation’s largest money crisis seven years. Some people hand carry wads of cash in from outside the country, while others send the funds into Zimbabwe with drivers. A lot of cash can get lost along the way.

Liar, Liar: Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about fake news and VOA is doing its part to separate truth from fiction. Our new fact-checking website is a resource for verifying the increasing volume of disinformation and misinformation being distributed and shared globally. Initially, the site focuses on statements involving relations between Russia and the West.