Newsletter Archive

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Kristopher Larsen always assumed he was a US citizen. He came to the United States from his native Vietnam at the age of 4 after being adopted by an American military family in 1975. It was only after committing a serious crime that he learned that — like thousands of other international adoptees across the country — he isn’t legally considered an American because his parents never followed through on the naturalization process. That means Larsen, who has no real memories of Vietnam, could face deportation.

VIDEO: VOA is on the ground in western Mosul where a drive through the city reveals that pretty much everything has been destroyed and almost no people remain. Islamic State militants controlled the area until a couple of days ago. The Iraqi military says the final fight to oust IS will take place in Mosul’s old city, which is when the real battle could begin.

Syria’s agricultural heritage is now being preserved in Lebanon. A nonprofit research team that was driven out of Syria is putting down roots in the Bekaa Valley. Although the group had to abandon its seed bank in Aleppo, the scientists have rebuilt their facilities in Lebanon and are continuing their work, with an eye toward eventually helping to rebuild their country.

There’s a spike in donkey poaching in South Africa, driven by a growing demand for donkey parts in China. The animals’ hides are boiled down and made into a gelatin the Chinese believe can treat a variety of ailments. Animal rights activists say the situation has escalated to the point where South African donkeys could soon be wiped out.

VIDEO: It was 75 years ago this week when Anne Frank began writing in her diary,  chronicling what life was like as a Jewish person living in hiding under Nazi domination in 1940s Europe. After Anne died in a concentration camp at the age of 15, her father, the only member of Anne’s family to survive the Holocaust, decided to publish his daughter’s diary. Another girl, who was in hiding on the same street as Anne, survived, and tells VOA about the surprising reaction to the diary when it was first published.

Advocates for three labor rights activists detained in China for investigating a factory that makes Ivanka Trump brand shoes are calling on the first daughter to speak out against the arrests. The case highlights widespread labor abuses and lax enforcement by Chinese authorities. Rights activists want more freedom to expose labor rights violations and they think Ivanka Trump can help them out.