Newsletter Archive

Much of Africa’s cultural heritage lies outside the continent — stolen, sold or otherwise expatriated by European soldiers, missionaries and Africans themselves. French President Emmanuel Macron says returning treasures to former African colonies is a top priority and the topic is expected to be front and center when Benin’s president visits France next week. France’s example could be a tipping point for other former colonial powers, which collectively house several hundred thousand African artifacts.

South Africa’s parliament is exploring the possibility of seizing private land without compensation. It’s a move that resonates deeply in a country where the white minority still controls much of the farmland, the result of hundreds of years of colonial exploitation. But that’s prompted fears South Africa will head down the same path as neighboring Zimbabwe, where forced seizures of white-owned farms are blamed for the nation’s economic and political instability. Instead of owning their property outright, South African landholders could be facing an own-to-lease-to-lose scenario.

No Native American woman has ever served in Congress, but three candidates are out to change that. Debra Haaland, Sharice Davids and Eve Reyes-Aguirre are all Native American women who are running this year and hope to serve in the House or Senate. Just by competing in 2018, the women are already making history.

California’s Little Saigon, the oldest and largest Vietnamese-American community in the United States, has elected its first Vietnamese-American mayor. Tri Ta is the mayor of Westminster, located in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, which is unofficially known as the ‘capital’ of overseas Vietnamese.

Armed teachers are already a reality in several US states. President Trump’s suggestion to have teachers nationwide carry weapons after the deadly school shooting in Florida has stirred fierce debate. But dozens of school districts in small communities across Texas have already taken up arms. One district even places large signs in front of its school buildings warning that armed teachers are on the property.

VIDEO: There’s a unique group of competitors that literally has an axe to grind. They belong to Bad Axe Throwing, an international, competitive axe-throwing league in Washington. VOA dodges the axe to get the story.