Newsletter Archive

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‘My brother’s wife burst into tears when she saw them.’ When Iraqi forces captured the Tenek neighborhood of Mosul from Islamic State militants in mid-April, local residents thought their IS nightmare was over. But then the Iraqi troops moved on, security in Tenek weakened, the unthinkable happened, and pandemonium erupted.

VIDEO: President Trump is set to make his first major public speech in Europe in Poland tomorrow. Ahead of the president’s visit, VOA speaks with Poles in Warsaw who are anticipating the presidential visit. Being next door to Russia makes Poland dependent on NATO security guarantees and economic security is also high on the agenda. Poland hopes to become a hub for one particular American import, which could free Poles from what some see as ‘Russian blackmail.’

As the old song goes, Breaking up is never easy, which Britain is learning as it attempts to navigate its departure from the European Union. The country’s politicians are split on whether to make a sharp break or nurture close ties with the EU. With the British economy faltering, polls show Britons believe trade should take priority in the departure negotiations, even though immigration was thought to be a key driver of last year’s Brexit vote.

Life on the edge of the Syrian conflict isn’t always easy for people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. VOA visits the occupied zone, where stray shells and gunfire spill over from the conflict next door. It’s a state of affairs that leads people who live in the area not to think about good or bad neighbors, but rather in terms of whether the situation next door is stable or unstable.

Some in Portland, Oregon, are confronting the city’s racist past after two white men were killed trying to protect two teen girls. The girls, one of whom wore a hijab, were being harassed by a suspected white nationalist. While overt acts of racial violence are relatively rare there, communities of color were not completely surprised by the tragedy.

VIDEO: Some Washingtonians recently stepped back in time to let loose at a party inspired by the iconic American novel ‘The Great Gatsby.’ The gathering was inspired by the wild parties thrown by the book’s protagonist. And although the story takes place in the 1920s, party-goers felt it has a modern message that still resonates today.