Newsletter Archive

Scenes of unimaginable carnage. Most children create happy pictures that reflect their innocence but Rohinyga children at a refugee camp in Bangladesh are drawing horrifying images of houses set on fire, helicopters firing from above, people being shot and sword-wielding mobs. Myanmar’s military and defacto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi deny that government forces are carrying out atrocities against Rohingya civilians but the children’s pictures tell a different story.

VIDEO: In Las Vegas, gun stores and shooting ranges attract tourists from countries with strict gun laws. Mass shooter Stephen Paddock, who killed 59 people and injured more than 500, bought his guns legally, but then he modified the weapons to make them even more deadly.

The nomination of an openly gay candidate is a sign of changing times in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The 40-year-old lawyer, LGBT rights advocate and single mother of two, is seeking a city councillorship in Tbilisi, the nation’s capital. Nominating an openly gay candidate it is not considered a winning strategy but it is a milestone for Georgian political culture, which historically shuts minorities out.

The world’s fastest growing economy has hit a speed bump. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promised to create millions of jobs for the country’s huge young population but an economic slowdown has tens of thousands struggling to find work and critics accusing Modi’s government of economic mismanagement.

There’s a Nigerian ethnic group with a history of killing babies that are perceived to be evil. On a visit to the Kaida village on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, VOA finds the infants considered to be born bad include twins, Albinos, those with a cleft palate, and newborns whose mother died during or shortly after childbirth. These children would be poisoned, suffocated, smashed to pieces or just left to die, if it weren’t for a shelter for so-called ‘evil children.’

VIDEO: Radical self expression, artistic freedom and unconditional giving are at the root of a desert festival in Nevada that draws 70,000 participants each year. There’s no internet and it’s a 3-hour drive to the closest city, but exercising extreme self reliance is part of the appeal at Burning Man where everyone tries to push the limits while rejecting the basic tenets of a modern capitalist society.

Still unable to reach their loved ones at home, anxiety and frustration mounts in New York’s Puerto Rican community. It’s been almost two weeks since Hurricane Maria hit the island territory leaving its 3.4 million residents stranded without electricity and basic needs. Concern about the slow federal aid response is adding to a growing sense of helplessness and anger.

Hoang Van Cuong plans to show his his love for Vietnam by selling off his antique collection. He hopes the funds will be used to support fishermen in the South China Sea and to beef up his country’s military. In Vietnam, fundraisers are a common way for citizens to show both their patriotism and displeasure with China.

VIDEO: George Washington’s favorite fruit might be making a comeback. The paw paw, which was grown by Native Americans and is indigenous to North America, pretty much disappeared in the US after American farmers decided that other crops would be more lucrative. The fruit tastes like a cross between a mango and a banana and paw paw enthusiasts hope to reclaim the long-lost native plant.

The future of shopping could include touchscreen dressing room mirrors that allow you to check out right there rather than wait in long lines at the register. With more and more consumers shopping online, brick-and-mortar stores sometimes seem like a thing of the past. But by embracing digital trends, a pop-up shop in New York City is combining the best of the digital and physical to enhance the in-store shopping experience.

Being able to measure Mount Everest is an issue of national pride in Nepal. Up until now, neighbors China and India along with other outsiders have determined the exact height of the world’s tallest peak. But did a powerful 2015 earthquake shrink the giant mountain? Nepal plans to find out with a 2-year project that’s designed to prove that the tiny Himalayan country can technologically measure up to the task.