Newsletter Archive

California is tossing out an 18-year-old rule mandating English-only classes in public schools. Last fall, Californians overwhelmingly voted to repeal the law, and now the state’s schools must implement the new policy. California has more foreign-born residents than any other state in the nation. In the Los Angeles Unified school district, for example, 49 percent of students start school speaking a language other than English.

What role, if any, did British security agencies played in the controversial Donald Trump dossier prepared by an ex-member of the country’s secret services? That’s what British lawmakers want to know. They’re worried lurid allegations about the president-elect in the 35-page report could impact relations between Britain and the United States.

VIDEO: President-elect Donald Trump’s climate change policies could run into market realities. Environmentalists cringed when Candidate Trump promised to reopen coal mines. But with the price of natural gas and renewable energy dropping, coal might not be king anymore.

The South China Sea standoff is a potential flashpoint if the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration are any indication. Key Trump Cabinet nominees have expressed serious concerns about China’s sovereignty claims in one of the world’s most strategically important waterways. Are they setting the tone for a much tougher U.S. stance on China?

Many eyes are on Ivanka Trump as speculation swirls about how much of a role she’ll have in her father’s administration. In Africa, the focus is on another first daughter. As Angola’s president prepares to step down after nearly four decades in power, all eyes are on his billionaire daughter. Known as Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos has taken over a major bank and is restructuring the state-owned oil company. Is she furthering her family’s wealth at the expense of Angola’s people?

VIDEO: Donald Trump has been a little ambiguous when it comes to some of his most significant policy positions. But some believe the president-elect has been particularly unclear when it comes to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. Here’s what we know so far.

When neighbors threatened to ‘beat the gay out of him,’ Trymore ‘Tiara’ Gendi of Zimbabwe went into hiding. Gendi’s story is not unusual. Zimbabwe is one of the least accepting countries in the world for gay, lesbian and transgender people. The country’s laws on the subject present something of a Catch-22 for the LGBT community. Technically, it’s not against the law to be gay in Zimbabwe, but it is illegal to act on it.

Ethiopians used to make fun of people who took their donkey to the doctor. The estimated 7 million donkeys in Ethiopia are used for transporting water, wood, building materials and people, but they’re not considered as valuable as oxen, sheep and cows. So if donkeys get sick, their owners abandon them or leave them to be eaten by hyenas. VOA reports from Mekelle, Ethiopia, where people are beginning to appreciate just how vital the animals are to rural communities.