Newsletter Archive

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Texan Pamela Taylor voted for Donald Trump, but she’s not about to let him seize part of her ranch in order to build his border wall. Taylor lives along the US-Mexico border and a partial barrier already exists around her property. She and other border residents say they won’t go down without a fight.

Khemarey Khoeun is a trailblazer. Later this month, she’ll be sworn as a park district commissioner in Skokie, Illinois. The health tech specialist came to the United States as a baby. Her family lived in a Thai refugee camp after escaping the Khmer Rouge genocide. Now, the 36-year-old mother of two is making history as the first Cambodian-American woman elected to public office in the United States.

In between skirmishes with Islamic State, Iraqi soldiers take selfies, make jokes or grab something to eat to pass the time. Five full Iraqi divisions are fighting in the latest offensive to re-take Islamic State-controlled northwestern Mosul. VOA spends some down-time with troops waiting to finish IS off.

Instant divorce: A landmark Supreme Court hearing in India will determine the validity of a Muslim practice that allows men to divorce their wives by saying the word ‘talaq’ — which means ‘divorce’ in Arabic — three times in succession. The practice is banned in many Muslim countries. A quiet, middle class woman took the controversial practice to India’s top court, saying triple talaq violates the Indian constitution, which protects gender equality.

Some of Pakistan’s highly educated youth are gravitating toward violent extremism and radicalization, evidence that religious militancy isn’t limited to the disenfranchised, uneducated and poor. Security experts warn the problem could worsen as the country’s conservative streak deepens.

At a deradicalization camp for former Boko Haram fighters in Niger, you’ll find menacing looking men as well as teenagers who weren’t really fighters. VOA tours the camp in Diffa, which is home to about 150 people — mostly ex-jihadists accompanied by their wives and children — and learns how they ended up joining the extremist group.

VIDEO: Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective to capture the unique character of a city. Immigrant Val Proudkii filters his Washington, DC, experience through the lens of his camera. The Ukrainian-born photographer notices details that other Americans might ignore. VOA spends a day looking at the nation’s capital through his eyes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘Youth Army’ is making its debut in Moscow. Putin ordered the creation of the ‘patriotic’ youth organization in 2015. The military group now has more than 30,000 participants between the ages of 11 and 18. Analysts say it’s the Kremlin’s latest effort to rally support from Russia’s next generation.