Newsletter Archive

US-backed forces are using biometrics to track Islamic State fighters and those who collaborated with the terror group. Coalition officials are trying to make sure that those affiliated with IS don’t go undetected in the event they try to unleash terror or wreak havoc later in Iraq, Syria or the West.

Japan is pushing its own version of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and hopes to get the US, India and Australia on-board. The move could be partially motivated by concerns — shared by all four countries and some European nations — about the world’s major infrastructure projects, like seaports and airports, being controlled by Chinese companies.

A breakaway neo-Nazi group says it’s recruiting anti-migrant hit squads as it vows to drive all migrants and refugees out of Greece. The group has already claimed responsibility for a Friday attack on the Athens home of an 11-year-old Afghan boy and his family at a time when recent opinion polls suggest anti-migrant sentiment is rising in Greece.

Fliers that screamed ‘Don’t let terrorism take over our town’ failed to stop voters in Hoboken, New Jersey, from electing the city’s first Sikh mayor. Democrat Ravi Bhalla, who has served on Hoboken’s city council for eight years, defeated five rivals and racist rumors to claim victory in the competitive race.

Turkey is quietly building strong ties across Africa with dozens of embassies, billions of dollars in trade, and a military presence with the opening of a base in Somalia. Turkey already had a long history of engagement with north African countries — what’s new is the country’s expansion into sub-Saharan Africa. Here’s why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making Africa a centerpiece of his foreign policy.

Costly gamble. The future of the Rohingya appears as bleak as ever after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked Myanmar police posts in August, triggering a violent military response that resulted in 600,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing the country. Near a refugee camp in Bangladesh, VOA speaks with ARSA recruits who say the group launched the uprising knowing it couldn’t score real victories on the field of battle, but gambled that a heavy-handed response would make the world pay attention to the plight of the Rohingya.