Newsletter Archive

Just how far into sensitive border territory Islamabad allows China’s presence is evident in a coal mining company built in the middle of the Pakistan desert. The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company was set up after Beijing offered to excavate a massive coal deposit discovered beneath terrain bordering India. Nearby Chinese-run power plants will convert the coal to energy. It’s all happening with the cooperation of the desert people who live there and are now training to take on jobs related to the excavation of the world’s seventh-largest coal reserves.

VIDEO: Large parts of south Florida, where the streets are barely above sea level, could be underwater a few decades from now. As the seas rise with climate change, the water won’t stay put. The city of Miami Beach is trying to get ahead of the problem. A planned retreat might be necessary for the city that carved itself out of a swampy wilderness.

Gay sex is a crime in India but at a recent Queer Pride parade in the Indian capital, the drums beat louder than usual and the dancing was more exuberant. That’s because after a long and torturous journey, there is renewed optimism the colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex is close to being overturned.

They look like the militants they’ve vowed to fight, with their long hair and irregular fatigues. But the sometimes motley-looking crew of men is actually funded by the US government. They’re part of the Afghan Local Police, in charge of day-to-day security while the Afghan military focuses on clearing Islamic State out of Eastern Afghanistan. VOA travels to the Achin district to learn more about the controversial local police force.

With backlogs in home repair, Houston’s recovery after Hurricane Harvey could take years. Rebuilding is a day-to-day work-in-progress with many builders dealing with their own losses. That gap could open business opportunities for lower-wage immigrant communities, but some members of the city’s sizable Vietnamese population are running into major stumbling blocks.