Newsletter Archive

During his first week in office, President Donald Trump has signed a number of documents setting out policy on issues ranging from rolling back the Affordable Care Act to bowing out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership multinational trade agreement. These are the latest additions to thousands of executive orders and memoranda that have been issued by past American presidents; they offer insight into U.S. history and reflect the priorities of each president and the times in which he served. What kind of power do these orders carry and what are some of the most famous ones?

This week, President Donald Trump pledged to ‘crack down on sanctuary cities’ by withholding federal grant money. Sanctuary cities limit help to federal authorities looking to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. Forty U.S. cities and 364 counties consider themselves sanctuary spaces. But Trump might not have the constitutional authority to cut off funding for sanctuary cities.

More than 1 million international students are studying in the United States, but getting a credit card — a staple in American society and commerce — can be more challenging than acing their latest exam.Traditional U.S. lenders want social security numbers and credit histories, which most of these students don’t have. It took a former international student from India to come up with a 21st century way to determine a foreign student’s creditworthiness.

India’s IT industry is bracing for a hit if President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance extends to limiting the number of skilled foreign professionals in the United States. Congress has introduced a bill to tighten foreign worker restrictions. VOA is in New Delhi, where Indian software firms profit from sending hundreds of Indian tech workers to the U.S., while critics blast some American companies for importing cheap foreign labor at the expense of the American worker.

After more than 100 days of fighting, much of eastern Mosul is in ruins after Iraqi forces took over the last Islamic State stronghold Tuesday on the eastern side of the Tigris River. VOA is on the ground speaking to residents who say they are relieved the fighting in their neighborhoods is over and that the terror group is gone. But the violence and isolation of the past two-plus years has shrouded the city in heartbreak and fear.

Most rapes go unreported and unpunished in Somalia, but a videotaped gang rape that sparked national outrage could usher in change. The alleged attack will also serve as a test case for the first law in all of Somalia to criminalize sexual assault. The new act draws on modern Western jurisprudence and is compliant with Islamic Sharia law. But there is no guarantee the law will prevail because Somalia’s government has little real control after decades of war.

VIDEO: The Netherlands is trying to speed up the integration process by having Dutch students, and recent graduates, live together with refugees who’ve received their residence permits. VOA tours the unique housing complex, which is open to people between the ages of 18 and 27, and finds out what happens when a Dutchwoman, a Syrian and an Eritrean come together.