Newsletter Archive

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Detroit-area Iraqi Christians who mostly voted for President Trump are feeling the sting after recent immigration raids that resulted in the detention of 114 people — mostly Iraqi Christian Chaldeans — who now face possible deportation. The raids have had a chilling effect on many in the community who now live in fear that they’ll be next.

Indonesia’s president recently ordered police to shoot foreign drug dealers who resist arrest. Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo says the country is in a ‘narcotics emergency position.’ Those words seem to echo Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, whose infamous drug war centers on the cheap crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu, that’s gaining popularity in Indonesia.

Pakistan’s terrorists are going mainstream by moving into politics. A group the US considers a terrorist organization is forming a political party to make Pakistan ‘a real Islamic and welfare state.’ The group’s founder is the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. Despite that pedigree, the new party claims it will be a moderate political force in Pakistan.

VIDEO: Texting can be a real pain in the neck. For athletes, repetitive movements and muscle overuse eventually lead to strain and injury, and the same is apparently true of people who text. There’s a Pilates class in New York City that focuses on relieving the aches and pains related to our obsession with texting, which can result in a condition known as ‘text neck.’

The Trump administration is debating whether to supply lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. The current US policy is to provide non-lethal military gear, but critics argue that stance has not deterred Russian aggression in the 3-year-old conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists. Opponents of the move worry that supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine could provoke retaliation from the Kremlin.

QUICK TAKE VIDEO: Now that Iraqi forces have declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul, more horror stories are emerging about life under IS rule. VOA visits the government building residents say IS militants used to toss gay men to their deaths.