Newsletter Archive

Marrying their daughters off early is how many Rohingya families who’ve fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar to escape persecution plan to ease the financial burden of looking after their families. VOA speaks with refugees in Bangladesh who say there aren’t enough food rations to go around. In order for their parents to have fewer children to feed at home, girls as young as 12 are being groomed for marriage.

‘Our story did not begin with slavery.’ Enslaved people were banned from continuing their cultural and religious practices and were forced to learn English when they arrived on American soil. During the Civil War, many archives documenting the arrival of slaves by boat were destroyed, making genealogical research more difficult. Faced with this loss, some African Americans are turning to DNA testing to rediscover their stolen ancestry.

Peacekeeping reform is one of President Trump’s major foreign policy goals. He wants the US, the largest funder of peacekeeping missions, to pay less and for the UN to cut costs. An attack last week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers and five Congolese soldiers. The killings highlight the risks these peacekeepers face and the need for funding to ensure the safety of soldiers currently serving in the 15 active UN peacekeeping missions worldwide.

VIDEO: Your image of Arabs might not be of fun-loving people who like to have a good time. But some spirited bakers are out to change any negative images people might have of Arabs. Serving up traditional food, the bakers dance, sing, and play drums while displaying the hospitality that Arabs pride themselves in.

‘As Cambodians, these words hit us hard.’ The power of words had some Cambodian Americans leaving a screening of First They Killed My Father in tears. The Angelina Jolie film is an adaptation of an English-language memoir of a woman who was 5 years old when she witnessed the 1975 Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia. The movie is in the Khmer-language with English subtitles. A number of the Khmer phrases in the film are difficult to express in English, but for many of those who attended the screening, certain words provoked a powerful emotional reaction.

France’s wind potential. With the smash of a champagne bottle, France launched its first floating turbine. Its builders say the turbine — the country’s first up-and-running foray into offshore wind power — can power up to 5,000 homes. France could become Europe’s second biggest wind energy producer by 2030, with wind generating roughly one-quarter of the country’s electricity.