Newsletter Archive

VIDEO: If anyone had told Liberian refugee Wilmot Collins 20 years ago that he’d one day be mayor of a small Montana town, he would have ‘laughed so hard.’ But he’s not laughing now. Last week, voters in Helena, Montana, elected Collins mayor and he now hopes to give back to the country that once gave him a second chance at life.

A group of US Muslim doctors set up a charity clinic to treat the under-served in San Bernardino, California, more than a decade ago. The Al-Shifa Clinic provides a range of services from internal medicine and pediatrics, to mental health and dentistry. Today, the staff of refugee and immigrant doctors provides free medical care to a mostly non-Muslim roster of patients.

Vietnam’s largest technology company is looking for a boost from a free trade deal brokered to replace the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which President Trump pulled out of shortly after he took office. Eleven member nations are part of the revamped pact, including Vietnam, which is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of freer trade as it rapidly expands exports, including technology.

VIDEO EXPLAINER: Even though many Rohingya families can trace their roots in Myanmar back to the 15th century, the government sees them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Considered the most persecuted minority in the world, about 611,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August. Many are sharing graphic firsthand accounts of beatings, torture, rape, killing and arson by Myanmar’s military and Buddhist nationalists. Here’s more on the plight of the Rohingya of Myanmar.

The world is wondering what’s next for Zimbabwe now that its leader of almost four decades has been forced from office. President Robert Mugabe is the only leader Zimbabwe has ever known. When he tried to purge the ruling party of supporters of the ousted vice president — setting up Mugabe’s unpopular wife to succeed him as president — the military stepped in. But the drama may be just beginning.

The number of new international students attending US colleges and universities has dropped for the first time in 12 years. The main reason for the decrease could be simple economics — higher education has become a lot more expensive over the past 30 years. It’s also much harder to get a visa to the US these days. But is America also seen as a less unwelcoming country in the ‘Age of Trump?’