Newsletter Archive

Not quite James Bond. Private intelligence companies are part of a booming business in London. The British government complains it’s losing talented agents to the high salaries and growth opportunities available in the private sector. The business of private investigators was once viewed as barely respectable and a little downmarket. But not anymore. In London, VOA checks out today’s private eyes, who’ve moved out of the gutter and into the boardroom.

New York City has a special Valentine for immigrants. Every year, in honor of Valentine’s Day, a romantic public art installation goes on display in Times Square. This year’s winning design highlights the role immigrants have played in the founding and development of the city. From the right vantage point, the 33 metal poles that make up the sculpture blend together to form an iconic heart.

VIDEO EXPLAINER: The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. Since we’ve never known anything else, Americans often take their First Amendment rights for granted. Some might not even know that the amendment protects the right of free expression. Here’s a quick refresher.

A woman believed to be the world’s heaviest is in an Indian hospital for surgery. The journey to Mumbai was Eman Ahmed’s first trip outside of her Alexandria home in 25 years. VOA is in India, where the 36-year-old Egyptian hopes surgeries aimed at drastically reducing her weight will give her a chance to live a normal life.

As Iraqi forces closed in on them, Islamic State fighters became more brutal. Dozens of former police offers were rounded up and they feared the worst. In Mosul, one of those former police officers tells VOA what happened when Iraqi forces finally arrived to liberate them.

The girls are back in school. Afghanistan reports a rise in girls’ enrollment rates across eastern Nangarhar Province, an area plagued by constant attacks and threats by Islamic State and other militant groups. Girls are traditionally deprived of education in the country’s remote areas and they weren’t allowed to go to school under Taliban rule. Today, there are still many stumbling blocks for girls seeking an education.

Americans love their chocolate and they get a lot of it on Valentine’s Day. That keeps one enterprising man, who creates award-winning chocolates, especially busy. We check out the chocolate factory Ben Rasmussen operates out of his basement, and learn why not all chocolate is created equal.