Newsletter Archive

‘We continue to support the Iranian people.’ The United States is considering taking action, such as further sanctions, against individuals or entities responsible for cracking down on protesters in Iran, which is in the throes of the largest anti-government demonstrations in almost a decade. A State Department official tells VOA that Washington plans to build an international coalition to support the Iranian people’s legitimate right to express discontent. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran Andrew Peek says the protests are indicative of what the US government has said all along — that the biggest victims of the Iranian government are the Iranian people.

LIVE BLOG:  Be sure to follow all of the latest developments and up-to-date content on the on-going protests in Iran by clicking here.

Iran’s leaders are split on what’s behind the widespread protests in the country. Some have singled out the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia as the culprits. Others point to economics and the youth of the protesters. But outsiders question whether the protests are a reflection of a deeper discontent with the nature of the Islamic regime.

They left Sierra Leone for a better life, joining the estimated 258 million people living some place other than their country of birth. But finding few opportunities once they leave home, and discovering firsthand that abuses of migrants can be rampant, some return to their native land. In Freetown, VOA meets two migrants who are happy to be back home.

Two years after lead-poisoned water led to a declared state of emergency in Flint, Michigan, residents are being told that their water is now safe to drink. But many are wary, even though these assurances come from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. VOA returns to Flint and meets residents who feel their battle for clean water isn’t over.

Is it hot in here? Or is it the 2018 pin-up calendar of New York taxi cab drivers? Foreign-born, middle-aged cabbies are the stars of a tongue-in-cheek send-up of the famous chisel-chested firefighter pin-up. The NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar is a not-so-steamy parody that celebrates the city’s diversity, while also doing a little good.

Cameroon’s president is handing out free computers to college students just months ahead of scheduled presidential elections. In Yaounde, VOA discovers the questionable timing isn’t the only reason some are criticizing the laptop gifts.

As an old-school politician whose political fortunes are tied to a president who relishes breaking the rules, Mike Pence walks a fine line as vice president. But the former Indiana governor seems to have embraced the role of presidential envoy. While publicly one of the president’s biggest cheerleaders, Pence also sometimes finds himself in the role of fixer — when he steps in to clean up after the president’s more controversial statements.