Newsletter Archive

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Underground tunnels are a popular form of transportation for drug traffickers along the US-Mexico border. More than 220 of these passages have been discovered since 1990. The sometimes-elaborate tunnels can include rails, lighting and even phone service. Along the San Diego portion of the border, it’s up to a team of people known as tunnel rats to stop smugglers who go deep to sneak drugs into the US.

She came to the US on a tourist visa and never left, fearing violence in her native Mexico. Maru Mora Villalpando, a 46-year-old single mother, organizer and activist, is what’s known as a visa overstayer, which some members of Congress see as a serious gap in the nation’s border security.

President Donald Trump’s visit to the Vatican today was  another spectacle for tourists to absorb. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump accused the pope of being a political pawn of the Mexican government, while the pontiff questioned Trump’s Christian faith. VOA hit the streets of Rome today to find out what people think about Trump’s meeting with Pope Francis.

Immigrants were among those who rushed to help the victims of Monday’s night’s bombing attack in Manchester, which killed 22 people and injured 59 others. Sikh temples kept their doors open to offer food and shelter, while passengers were taken to hospitals, hotels and other locations free of charge by immigrant taxi drivers, including natives of the Middle East and Africa.

Party of pensioners: Russia’s aging communist party needs a shot of youth. As Lenin’s party approaches the century mark, aging members insist the party isn’t dying and they’re intent on attracting younger members by using images from popular and Western culture, including laptops, e-cigarettes and a leather-jacket-wearing Karl Marx.

Attacks against foreigners appear to be an everyday danger in South Africa. A refugee and migrant rights group says it hears daily accounts of crimes against immigrants, and that South African authorities are often reluctant to intervene when foreign nationals are targeted. In Johannesburg, foreign shopkeepers tell VOA what it’s like to live with the constant threat of violence. 

President Trump’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this week drew a mixed reaction. He made a number of symbolic gestures during his visit to the Holy Land. Here’s why the presidential visit left Israelis elated and Palestinians disappointed.