Newsletter Archive

Doctors in a Nigeria maternity ward race to prevent a woman in labor from developing a life-threatening condition. In 2015 alone, 58,000 Nigerian women lost their lives to pregnancy and childbirth-related causes. VOA spends a day at a hospital in the West African nation, which leads the world in the total number of maternal deaths per year.

A US cybersecurity firm may have erroneously used a report to buttress its claims of Russian hacking in the presidential election. The challenges to the firm’s credibility are significant because the company, called CrowdStrike, was the first to link last year’s hacks of Democratic Party computers to Russian actors.

VIDEO: Smart dog collars and electronic tattoos were some of the latest technologies showcased at the recent South By Southwest Festival in Texas. Some are in development while others have already made it to market. VOA was at SXSW. Here are the highlights from the Interactive Innovation Awards.

Churches across the United States have jumped into the fray to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants threatened with immediate deportation by the Trump administration. More than 800 churches and some synagogues have declared themselves to be sanctuaries. VOA visited one of them in the nation’s capital to learn how the congregation feels about sheltering illegal immigrants.

Bangladesh has proposed moving an influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to an isolated island that only emerged from the sea 11 years ago. At the moment, the island partially floods at high tide and disappears completely for three months during the annual monsoon season.

Meet the ‘sex queens’ of Nairobi. Nini Wacera and Karen Lucas co-host a popular podcast that openly discusses sexuality, providing information to people of all ages, particularly young people. They’re a rarity in a conservative country where explicit conversations about sex are often considered taboo.

Despite international sanctions, North Korea has willing partners across Africa who buy arms and make defense deals, according to a new UN report. The isolated Communist nation, which has angered world powers with nuclear tests and missile launches, isn’t just trying to make a buck, it’s also trying to win friends in Africa.