Imagine assembling your next house with help of a 3-D printer.  This 3-D-printed home was unveiled in Texas this week. The world’s poorest people will be among the first to benefit from this new technology that  can produce stronger, cheaper homes in just 12 hours.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 16, 1995, Mississippi finally formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state in the nation to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment became part of the Constitution on December 6, 1865, one day after Mississippi initially rejected it. (Photo: Whipping scars of an enslaved man named Gordon who escaped, observed during medical examination at a Union camp in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1863.)

Nothing can truly compensate parents who’ve lost their sons to violence. Just ask Kenyan mothers Benna Buluma and Sarah Wangari, who believe their children were gunned down by Kenyan police officers. VOA speaks with the women in Nairobi as they and many other parents demand that  their children’s killers be brought to justice.

A man with a long track record of handling tough situations is expected to be China’s go-to person when it comes to dealing with the United States. Many thought the nation’s once powerful anti-corruption chief, Wang Qishan, was heading toward retirement. VOA is in Beijing where the 70-year-old now appears poised for a comeback at a time when trade tensions between China and the US are rising.

Syrian refugees are bonding with their Arizona neighbors through food – specifically dessert. Volunteers are helping the Syrian bakers sell their homemade pastries at farmers markets, special events and bookstores. The names of the sweets — namoura, ma’amoul, barazek — are unfamiliar to American consumers, but the tastes of honey, cinnamon and nuts are not.

VOA INTERVIEW: A Russian chemical weapons specialist who helped develop the poison believed to have been used in the attack in Britain tells VOA’s Russian Service he believes Moscow was sure that no one would trace the substance back to Russia. Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russia’s military intelligence, and his daughter were poisoned in the attack. Russian emigre to the US Vil Mirzayanov says, ‘It is obvious to me that Moscow hoped that no one would catch them.’

VIDEO: South by Southwest is a pop-up marketplace of ideas.  Held in Austin, Texas, the event combines music and film festivals with a tech conference. African entrepreneurs gathered to discuss using technology to make daily life easier. From finance to education to food to the small fruit and vegetable vendors on the street, technology is booming in Africa as it improves people’s quality of life.