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The ruins of Old Mosul aren’t just monuments to the devastating battle to root out Islamic State, which captured the city in 2014.  The collapsed buildings of the Iraqi city are the unintended tombs of residents caught in the crossfire, and the streets are strewn with the bodies of militants undeserving of burial, according to the soldiers who fought them.  VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Mosul, where one soldier said he no longer notices the smell of the corpses.

With Iraqi forces poised to win the battle for Mosul city, locals fear that rebuilding infrastructure after the fighting will not be enough to end extremist brutality and create a lasting peace. Rebuilding lives will require more than just roads, a Mosul official told VOA.

The elevation and cool temperatures of Ethiopia’s highlands traditionally protected it from the mosquito-borne disease malaria. But a new study indicates that, thanks to climate change, more than 6 million people who once lived areas protected from malaria may have lost that protection.

Lowell, Massachusetts, has become a diverse melting pot, where members of ethnic and racial minorities are almost a majority of the population. Yet the school board and city council members are all white, which some residents blame on the way city officials are elected.  They’re calling for change.

VIDEO: Thousands of Egyptians gathered in one of Cairo’s largest prayer yards to celebrate Eid Al-fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

While the number of homeless people in the U.S. dropped by about three percent, in some urban areas, housing costs are driving more people to live on the streets.  In some parts of Los Angeles, where homelessness increased by 23 percent, homeless camps crop up alongside multimillion dollar homes.

VIDEO: Five months into his presidency, Donald Trump’s public approval rating hovers near 40 percent, a low mark for a president this early in his term.  But core supporters for the most part are sticking with him, as shown by the turnout at campaign-style rally last week in Iowa.