Newsletter Archive

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VIDEO: Most of these men are dead. The women all became IS sex slaves. This freeze frame from a wedding video captures dancing guests in Kocho, Iraq, several months before Islamic State came. It was one of the village’s last celebrations before IS slaughtered the men and older women, and kidnapped hundreds of girls. Through his original paintings, Lukman Ahmad of VOA’s Kurdish Service, tells the stories of these young women and girls who were beaten, raped and sold as sex slaves.

Another day, another missile launch. North Korea fired a missile Tuesday that passed over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Analysts say the launch was a political move intended to send a special message to Washington and its allies.

VIDEO: Candidate Donald Trump promised an America-first foreign policy that would be starkly different from President Barack Obama’s strategy. However, seven months into his tenure, as the broad outlines of President Trump’s foreign policy come into focus, he appears to be continuing along the same traditional US foreign policy path.

Last week in Rome, Italian police forcibly evicted hundreds of refugees from a building near the Piazza Indipendenza. The move comes amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe. Following an international outcry, 40 refugees — mostly children, elderly and people with disabilities — were told they’d be allowed to stay in the building for six months. VOA’s Amharic Service spoke with one of the evictees.

Total loss. On Sunday morning, Houston resident Paul Trinh watched helplessly as flood waters engulfed his house and garage — along with the two family cars. Finally, he and his wife decided to evacuate on foot, carrying their small children through waist-deep water to safety.

Flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey has forced several universities in southeast Texas to delay or cancel classes. But that hasn’t stopped some schools from opening their dining facilities during the storm at no charge.

VIDEO: Uganda banned plastic bags eight years ago, but the transition away from plastic has been a slow one. It’s easy to spot black plastic bags being used today in outdoor markets. But, as VOA discovered in Kampala, some Ugandan business owners are starting to see opportunity in going green.