Newsletter Archive

Art is supposed to be provocative and a new installation that pays tribute to Syrian refugees has sparked controversy in Dresden, Germany. The artist says he didn’t intend for the monument to be a political symbol, but it has triggered a fierce debate about Dresden’s past, and Germany’s future, as it copes with an influx of refugees.

The first congressional recess of the new Trump presidency tested Republicans in their own districts, where voters turned out for boisterous town halls. But as lawmakers returned to Washington after their sometimes tumultuous break, critics vow to make sure their protests have lasting influence.

VIDEO EXPLAINER: Donald Trump gave his first address to Congress Tuesday evening. The U.S. Constitution requires presidents to ‘from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.’ But here’s why President Trump’s speech to Congress wasn’t really a state of the union address.

On second thought… The United States has long been the top choice for India’s best and brightest students who want to study abroad. There’s a growing nervousness that a possible change in policies by the Trump administration will make it difficult to stay and work in the U.S. Education consultants in India are calling it the ‘Trump effect.’

Cambodia’s government is threatening to expel several media outlets, including the Voice of America, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the press as justification for doing so. A government spokesman accuses the media outlets of threatening the country’s peace and stability. Critics warn more authoritarian governments could follow suit, using the Trump administration’s behavior as justification for their own press crackdowns.

VIDEO: More than one-third of young people in The Netherlands don’t vote, primarily because they just don’t care about politics. In turn, politicians traditionally ignore this entire potentially potent voting bloc. That could change now that what started as a Twitter conversation to get first-time voters to cast their ballot, has resulted in a nationwide initiative to get 850,000 young people to celebrate democracy by harnessing their voting power and getting to the polls.

Thai authorities continue their search for the leading monk of an influential Buddhist temple who has eluded arrest on money laundering charges. VOA reports from Bangkok, where the standoff between the temple and Thailand’s military government has pushed religious politics to the center of the country’s national debate.

Being poor can be deadly in Kenya right now. Doctors at the nation’s public health facilities have refused to work since December; they’re demanding higher salaries and improved working conditions. But the strike is taking a devastating toll on Kenya’s poor. In Nairobi, VOA speaks with grief-stricken families who say their loved ones died because no doctor was on duty.