Research into the voices of political candidates concludes how a contender speaks is critical — and lower pitch is better, largely because it is perceived as stronger and more confident and, to a lesser degree, because it is perceived as older.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech student Seung Hui Cho begins a shooting rampage against his fellow students and faculty members, killing 32 and then turning a gun on himself. The event, which, at the time was the worst mass shooting in American history, started when Cho killed two in a dormitory and fled the scene. He later went to a classroom building and opened fire for 10 minutes before killing himself. Police believe Cho, who had a history of mental illness, did not specifically target his victims.

VIDEO: An already bad situation in the West African nation of Burkina Faso appears to be getting worse. This month alone, more than 60 people have died in ethnic clashes inflamed by Islamist extremists seeking to gain a stronghold in the Sahel. VOA brings you a rare look inside the counter-terror war there, where the U.S. is hoping local forces can increase pressure on the militants, even as the U.S. military decreases its force numbers in the region.

Analysts see this month’s re-opening of an air link between Tehran and Caracas as the latest evidence of Iran’s growing role alongside Russia and Cuba in bolstering the multilayered security apparatus keeping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in power.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter and White House advisor, Ivanka, is heading to the Ivory Coast to continue her four-day trip aimed at increasing economic opportunities for women in the West African region.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been a busy man. He has met twice with U.S. President Donald Trump, three times with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, four times with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and once with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong. One name missing from that list: Russian President Vladimir Putin. That could soon change.