Newsletter Archive

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The customers who plunk down $3 for a falafel at this shop in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood aren’t just feeding themselves, they’re also feeding refugees.  Let VOA’s June Soh introduce you to Ahmad Ashkar, an entrepreneur whose business success in the U.S. is directly impacting hungry people around the world.

As uncertainty about the health of critically ill Chinese Nobel Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo grows, analysts and activists say that, ultimately, his fate is in the hands of Xi Jinping. But the country’s powerful leader may less likely to allow the dissident to travel abroad for treatment due to concern it may affect his standing in China’s Communist party ahead of a high level political reshuffle later this year.

Getting unbiased news is challenging in Venezuela, thanks to restrictions on journalists and poor internet access.  But a group of journalists found a creative, low-tech solution: El Bus TV reporters deliver news bulletins to riders while framing their faces with cardboard TV screens. One of El Bus TV’s founders talked to VOA.

For most people, hula is all about pretty girls in grass skirts waving their arms.  But native Hawaiian artist Patrick Makuakane blends traditional hula movements with modern choreography, music and costumes to breathe new life into what might otherwise be a dying art form.

QUICK TAKE VIDEO: Islamic State militants were driven out of Iraq’s Kirkuk region, but the villagers there are left with deadly reminders: Land mines planted by IS limit the ability to move freely.  A shortage of technicians able to locate and remove the ordinance means it will be a long time before life gets back to normal in Kirkuk.

As Angola prepares to elect its first new leader in almost 40 years, many wonder what will become of Sonangol, the African nation’s state-run oil company.  The oil giant, which is  headed by Africa’s richest woman — who also happens to be the current president’s daughter – plays a huge role in Angola’s economy.