May 2018 - Page 2 of 12 - WPMASK

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US Warns Again on Hacks It Blames on North Korea

05/29/2018 by WPit Leave a Comment

The U.S. government on Tuesday released an alert with technical details about a series of cyberattacks it blamed on the North Korean government that stretch back to at least 2009.

The warning is the latest from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation about hacks that the United States charges were launched by the North Korean government.

A representative with Pyongyang’s mission to the United Nations declined comment. North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyberattacks against other countries.

The report was published as U.S. and North Korean negotiators work to resuscitate plans for a possible June 12 summit between leaders of the two nations. The FBI and DHS released a similar report in June 2017, when relations were tense between Washington and Pyongyang due to North Korea’s missile tests.

The U.S. government uses the nickname “Hidden Cobra” to describe cyber operations by the North Korean government, which it says target the media, aerospace and financial sectors, and critical infrastructure in the United States and around the globe.

Tuesday’s report did not identify specific victims, though it cited a February 2016 report from several security firms that blamed the same group for a 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The alert provided a list of 87 IP addresses, four malicious files and two email addresses it said were associated with “Hidden Cobra.”

Last year’s alert was published on the same day that North Korea released American university student Otto Warmbier, who died days after his return to the United States following 17 months of captivity by Pyongyang.
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US Consumer Confidence Rebounds, House Prices Increase

05/29/2018 by WPbiz Leave a Comment

Consumer confidence rebounded in May, but households were a bit pessimistic about their short-term income prospects even as they expected strong job growth to persist, which could restrain consumer spending.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index rose 2.4 points to a reading of 128.0 this month from a downwardly revised 125.6 in April. The index was previously reported at 128.7 in April.

“If consumers don’t step up their spending … then the growth outlook this year may disappoint on the weak side,” said Chris Rupkey chief economist at MUFG in New York.

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data amid a deepening political crisis in Italy. The dollar rose to a 10-month high against the euro, while U.S. Treasury yields fell.

Stocks on Wall Street dropped, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average touching near three-week lows.

The Conference Board’s so-called labor market differential, derived from data on respondents’ views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, increased to 26.6 in May, the best reading since May 2001, from 22.7 in April.

That measure, which closely correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department’s employment report, suggests that labor market slack continues to shrink.

But consumers were less upbeat about their short-term income prospects. The share of consumers expecting an improvement in their income fell to 21.3 percent this month from 21.8 percent in April. The proportion expecting a decrease rose to 8.2 percent in May from 7.9 percent in the prior month.

Buying plans drop

The weak income readings are despite massive tax cuts which the Trump administration claimed would boost paychecks for American workers. The $1.5 trillion tax cut package came into effect in January.

Consumers also showed a reluctance to commit to purchases of big-ticket items this month, with intentions to buy automobiles, houses and appliances declining. Consumer spending braked sharply in the first quarter and there are signs that it picked up early in the April-June period.

A separate report on Tuesday showed the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas increased 0.5 percent in March after rising 0.8 percent in February. House prices gained 6.8 percent in the 12 months to March after rising by the same margin in February.

The solid gains are at odds with recent data which had suggested a cooling in house prices. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported last week that house prices edged up 0.1 percent in March from February.

The regulator’s index is calculated by using purchase prices of houses financed with mortgages sold to or guaranteed by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

“While the weakness in the FHFA house price data raised some concerns that the trend in house price appreciation had started to shift lower, so far, the Case-Shiller data do not support that view,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

The house price inflation is being fueled by an acute shortage of homes available for sale, which is hurting the housing market.
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France to Beef Up Emergency Alert System on Social Media

05/29/2018 by WPit Leave a Comment

France’s Interior Ministry announced plans on Tuesday to beef up its emergency alert system to the public across social media.

The ministry said in a statement that from June during immediate threats of danger, such as a terror attack, the ministry’s alerts will be given priority broadcast on Twitter, Facebook and Google as well as on French public transport and television.

The statement said that Twitter will give “special visibility” to the ministry’s alerts with a banner.

In a specific agreement, Facebook will also allow the French government to communicate to people directly via the social network’s “safety check” tool, created in 2014.

The ministry said that this is the first time in Europe that Facebook has allowed public authorities to use this tool in this way.

This announcement comes as a much-derided attack alert app launched in 2016 called SAIP is being withdrawn after malfunctions.
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Weinstein’s Lawyer Concerned About Publicity, ‘Pressure’ on Prosecutors

05/29/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

The lawyer defending movie mogul Harvey Weinstein against rape charges said Tuesday he was concerned that publicity surrounding the case and “inappropriate pressure” on prosecutors could be unfair to his client.

The lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, spoke to reporters after a closed-door proceeding before New York Supreme Court Justice James Burke in Manhattan, which he said he had requested to raise his concerns about the case. Brafman said he expected Weinstein would be exonerated of the charges, which he called “absurd.”

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, in some instances dating back decades, has denied having nonconsensual sex with anyone.

Brafman said he could not discuss the substance of the proceeding in detail and did not say exactly what action, if any, he had asked the judge to take. Weinstein did not appear at the proceeding.

“One of my concerns is that by virtue of some of the publicity that has occurred over the weekend, that the ability for people to keep an open mind is of concern to me,” Brafman told reporters outside the courthouse. “I also think that the pressure that is being brought to bear on the [Manhattan] District Attorney’s office demanding that an indictment or prosecution of Mr. Weinstein proceed is inappropriate pressure.”

Brafman did not elaborate on the source of the “pressure.” “I’m not certain whether there is any remedy but I wanted to make it clear that I was not happy with those issues,” he said.

The District Attorney’s office declined to comment.

Weinstein has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation by the New York Police Department. Authorities did not identify the two women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.

Brafman said Tuesday that Weinstein was accused of raping one woman, and that he had a 10-year consensual affair with her both before and after the alleged rape.
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ABC Cancels ‘Roseanne’ Following Star’s Racist Tweet

05/29/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

The American Broadcasting Co. canceled Rosanne Barr’s new television show Tuesday after she posted racist remarks about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American who served as a White House adviser to President Barack Obama.

Barr, who is white, tweeted earlier in the day that Jarrett was a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes.

Barr later tweeted she was sorry “for making a bad joke” about Jarrett.

Before it was deleted, Barr’s tweet read: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”

Her offensive remarks triggered an intense backlash, resulting in ABC’s cancellation of her show, which had been renewed for a second season.

“Rosanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey.

Her TV show was a new version of her 1988-97 show Rosanne. It returned this year with Barr playing a character who is supportive of President Donald Trump.

Barr is an avid supporter of Trump, who hailed the new show two months ago for its strong ratings.

“Look at her ratings! Look at her ratings!” he said at a speech two months ago in Richfield, Ohio. “Over 18 million people, and it was about us. They haven’t figured it out yet; the fake news hasn’t quite figured it out yet. They have not figured it out. So that was great.”
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Trump to Impose Tariffs on $50B of China’s Tech Goods

05/29/2018 by WPbiz Leave a Comment

The White House says it plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods that contain “industrially-significant technology” as trade talks between United States and China continue.

The White House said Tuesday the proposed tariffs are in response to China’s practices with respect to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.  It will announce the final list of covered imports by June 15, 2018, and the tariffs will be imposed shortly thereafter.

The Trump administration made the announcement in a statement called “Steps to Protect Domestic Technology and Intellectual Property from China’s Discriminatory and Burdensome Trade Practices.”

Other punitive steps include implementing stronger investment restrictions and enhanced export controls for Chinese citizens and companies related to the acquisition of industrially significant technology to protect national security. 

The proposed investment restrictions and export controls will be announced by June 30, 2018 and adopted shortly thereafter, according to the White House.

Trade barriers

In addition, the Trump administration said trade talks with China will continue and it will request China remove all of its many trade barriers, including non-monetary trade barriers, and that tariffs and taxes between the two countries be “reciprocal in nature and value.” 

In response to the latest threat of tariffs from the White House, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a short statement it is “surprised” by the announcement but added it “also expects it.”

The Chinese ministry’s statement claimed the White House move “was apparently contrary to the consensus both sides reached recently.”

“China has the confidence, ability, and experience to safeguard its core interests, China urged the United Sates to act in accordance to the spirit of their recent joint statement,” it said.

In April, Trump announced he planned to impose tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese goods, and Beijing responded by declaring it will retaliate by imposing similar amount of tariffs of imported American goods.

China in violation

The Trump administration’s decision to take action is a result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Trade Representative under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether Beijing’s trade practices may be “unreasonable or discriminatory” and may be “harming American intellectual property rights, innovation or technology development.”

After a seven-month investigation, the USTR found the policies were in violation.

The United States and China subsequently conducted two rounds of trade talks aimed at avoiding a full-blown trade war. The last round of trade talks was concluded on May 19 after both sides reached a deal for Beijing to buy more American goods to “substantially reduce” the huge trade deficit with the United States. But there was no mention of any specific import and export targets in the statement agreed to by the two countries.

Following the trade talks in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the world’s two biggest economic powers have agreed to back away from imposing tough new tariffs on each other’s exports.

Trump initially touted the agreement, but later contended he was neither pleased nor satisfied with the result.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to go to Beijing this week to negotiate on how China might buy more American goods to reduce the huge U.S. trade deficit with Beijing, which last year totaled $375 billion.
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First-Year Hockey Team Beats Odds for Stanley Cup Final Berth

05/29/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights, the newest team in the National Hockey League, started their season last October as Las Vegas was recovering from the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

As Western Conference winners, the Knights are now competing for the Stanley Cup, the top award in professional hockey. They squared off against the Eastern Conference winners, the Washington Capitals, Monday evening in Las Vegas, winning the opening game 6-4 to continue a season of unlikely success that has boosted their city’s spirits.

On October 1, a shooter opened fire from a Las Vegas hotel room, killing 58 concertgoers at an open-air venue, and injuring more than 700. Police have never identified a motive.

Team outreach

The Golden Knights reached out as the city struggled to recover, said Bill Bradley, assistant managing editor for sports for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

They “went to blood banks, went to food banks, went to meet with first responders … (and) people felt like they cared,” Bradley said.

The Knights were the first expansion team in the NHL since 2000, and as they shattered record after record for an expansion team, they brought healing to a shattered city, he added.

The team’s season got off to a blazing start as the Knights won eight of their first nine games. Some losses and injuries followed, but the team had connected with its fans, with “600, 700, 800 people showing up for practices every day,” Bradley said.

WATCH: Knights win first game

At a recent practice, fan John Laubhan said supporters began to think the unthinkable, that the team could win a first-season championship.

“Everybody started to believe that this could happen,” Laubhan said, adding, “as the season went on, they proved it could happen. And look where we are — Stanley Cup finals!”

As the Knights accumulated wins, the city’s spirits lifted, said Laubhan’s son Brandon, who had also come to watch the Knights practice. “To have the team come at that time to lift the spirits of everybody, it was truly indescribable,” he said.

Energized the city

Las Vegas is energized, thanks to the team that beat the odds, Anthony Valdovinos said.

“People are happy, shaking hands, (saying) ‘Oh my God, you’re a Knights fan? I’m a Knights fan.’ It’s good for the city,” Valdovinos added.

Las Vegas is a city of transplants, said Camille Gabel, a former Chicago Red Wings fan who moved here from Michigan.

“Everybody moves here,” Gabel explained with only slight exaggeration, “so the Knights have really given the community something to band around.”

As the Golden Knights earned wins against the LA Kings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets, they nabbed the Western Conference trophy and won admirers like Jennifer Swenson, an immigrant from Ireland.

“They’ve just been amazing. The way they’ve just become a part of the community. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Swenson said of the team. Pointing to her family, she added, “So we’re diehard fans now.”

The Golden Knights are good, but can they win the Stanley Cup?

“Definitely,” Kevin Lewis said while attending a Knights practice with his wife, Ashley, and two young children. “We’ve got the momentum, baby. We’re going to win it.”

Heading into the finals, Las Vegas oddsmakers gave the team a slight edge, a dramatic shift from their 500-1 odds at the start of the season. Fans say whatever happens now, the Vegas Golden Knights are already champions in this city.
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The Golden Knights of Las Vegas Have Won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals

05/29/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

The newest team in the National Hockey League — the Golden Knights — is competing for the Stanley Cup, the top award in professional hockey. A best-of-seven series against the Washington Capitals opened Monday night in Las Vegas and the Knights took Game #1 by a score of 6-4. Las Vegas residents are hoping the Golden Knights, who won 51 games in their inaugural regular season, can pull off a miracle on ice and bring home the trophy. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan has more on the team.
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Polish Musician Makes Electric Guitars from Tongue Depressors

05/29/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

A man in Poland turned medical equipment into a musical instrument. Wooden tongue depressors used by doctors to examine mouths and throats are popular for making artwork. But an amateur musician spent six months turning 1,300 pieces of wood into a working electric guitar. Arash Arabasadi reports.
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Starbucks to Close Stores for Anti-Bias Training

05/28/2018 by WPbiz Leave a Comment

In an effort to stem the outcry over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores, Starbucks will close 8,000 U.S. stores Tuesday afternoon for anti-bias training for its employees.

On April 12, two black men went to a Philadelphia store and did not buy anything; instead, they told the store manager they were waiting for a friend to join them. They were asked to leave and an employee called police, which led to their arrest, prompting protests and accusations of racism.

A video of the incident that was posted on social media became a major embarrassment for the coffee chain.

Soon after, Starbucks announced a policy change, welcoming anyone to sit in its cafes or use its restrooms, even if they don’t buy anything.

Previously, it was left to individual store managers to decide whether people could access Starbucks premises without making a purchase.

“We are committed to creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome,” Starbucks said in a statement.

The company has asked employees to follow established procedure when dealing with “disruptive behaviors,” and are still asked to call 911 in case of “immediate threat or danger” to customers or employees.

The men who were arrested in April, settled with Starbucks earlier this month for an undisclosed sum and an offer of a free college education for each of them.

They also reached a deal with the city of Philadelphia for a symbolic $1 each and a promise from city officials to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.

Russian Art Gallery to Review Alcohol Sales After Attack on Masterpiece

05/28/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

One of Russia’s leading art galleries announced on Monday it would try to stop the sale of alcohol on its premises after a man attacked a masterpiece with a metal pole after drinking vodka there.

The incident at Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery on Friday caused serious damage to one of the country’s most famous paintings, which depicts Tsar Ivan the Terrible cradling his dying son in 1581, and raised awkward questions about how Russia protects its historical and cultural artefacts.

The damaged painting was completed by renowned Russian realist Ilya Repin in 1885 and was described by its curators on Monday as a masterpiece in the same league as the Mona Lisa.

In an interior ministry video, a 37-year-old man called Igor Podporin described how he had knocked back 100 grams of vodka in the gallery’s cafe, became “overwhelmed”, and then used a metal security pole to strike the canvas several times.

Zelfira Tregulova, director of the Tretyakov, said she wanted to stop the sale of alcohol on the gallery’s premises and would be holding talks with the lessees of an on-site cafe and restaurant.

“As we’ve now understood, there were small bottles of wine or cognac in the cafe. We’re going to talk to the cafe and ask them to remove them,” she told a news conference.

It would be harder to persuade a separate restaurant, accessible from both the gallery and the street, to stop selling alcohol, she said.

“The incident was awful and frightening and speaks to the aggression which reigns in society,” said Tregulova, complaining that people were increasingly unable to distinguish between works of art and the documentation of historical facts.

Historical grudge?

Vladimir Aristarkhov, the deputy culture minister, said that jail time for such attacks should be sharply increased from a current three-year maximum, disclosed Russia’s museums had a shortfall of around 1,000 security guards, and called for the attacker to be made an example of.

The Tretyakov’s curator, Tatyana Gorodkova, told reporters that Podporin had shouted something at the time of his attack to the effect that Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. The painting depicts Ivan cradling his son after dealing him a mortal blow.

Some Russian historians and nationalists dispute the idea that Ivan murdered his son.

The painting, which will be protected by a bulletproof case after being restored, has never been valued because it has never been lent out, but another work by Repin was sold for over $7 million in 2011.

The painting was attacked in 1913, prompting the then gallery’s curator to commit suicide.

When asked if she took responsibility for the latest attack, Tregulova, the gallery’s director, quipped she would not be taking her own life and said the incident had been hard to stop.

“It was not possible to do anything. It was a question of seconds,” she said, saying the gallery nonetheless planned to review security.

Elton John Says Ireland Abortion Vote Shows Mindsets Can Change

05/28/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

Elton John, on a visit to Ukraine to raise awareness about AIDS, said Ireland’s vote to liberalize its abortion laws showed how mindsets can change.

The 71-year-old singer has traveled regularly to Ukraine and spoken out for gay rights in the eastern European country, including at an AIDS charity concert in Kiev during the Euro soccer championships in 2012.

“Believe me, I love this country. We will do everything we can to continue the fight against AIDS,” he said at an event organized by the Elena Pinchuk Foundation.

“It takes a long time for things to happen as I said,” he said. “Look what just happened in Ireland: the vote for abortion. Things change. People … they change their mind. And with a younger generation coming up, they are different kind of people, and they’re our future.”

Voters in Ireland, a once deeply Catholic nation, on Friday backed a change to abortion laws by a landslide.

Ukrainian authorities have increased their support for gay rights since a pro-Western government took power following the Maidan protests in 2014. In 2015, a law was passed banning workplace discrimination against the LGBT community.

But critics say homophobic attitudes remain widespread. Kiev was embroiled in gay rights row last year as it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest with a slogan to “Celebrate Diversity”. A plan to paint a Soviet-era monument in rainbow colors was resisted by hard-right groups.

The singer tried to adopt an HIV-positive baby in Ukraine 2009 but was refused permission by the authorities, who said prospective parents must be married and that Elton John’s civil partnership with David Furnish would not be recognized as such.

“We’ve made great progress but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
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Companies Look to Space As the Next Frontier

05/28/2018 by WPit Leave a Comment

The Trump administration is trying to give private companies a boost in their efforts to capitalize on space as a business venture.

U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday signed a space policy directive aimed at streamlining regulations on commercial use of space.

Trump signed the directive just days after Space X launched another rocket from California carrying satellites into orbit.

WATCH: Trump space policy

The launch and several others planned for June are examples of private industries’ growing interests in space for commercial and scientific research.

“It’s a bit of a renaissance, a bit of a space 2.0. Finally, the commercial sector is starting to come back and do some really interesting things,” said Will Marshall, co-founder and chief executive officer of Planet, a leading provider of geospatial data.

The company has put up approximately 200 satellites that image Earth’s entire land mass each day. Marshall said prior to Planet, satellite imagery was only taken every year or several years. The regular images of Earth can be used in many different industries.

“You can use that data to improve crop yields so farmers can use it to decide when to add fertilizer, when to add water because we can tell crop yield from orbit. Or, it can be used by a commercial consumer mapping companies that are trying to improve their maps you see online, or it could be used by governments for a wide range of things from border security to disaster response,” Marshall said.

Satellites also orbit the planet for purposes of national security.

“We just launched a few months ago a satellite that was just like this, but also had laser communication. We were able to send at 200 megabits per second high data rates down to the ground and the ability for satellites to actually talk to each other. The same satellites that are put up to look at the Earth could be looking around the neighborhood and doing neighborhood watch for the benefit of national security and space situational awareness,” Steve Isakowitz, president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Corporation, an organization that works with the U.S. Air Force and intelligence community.

Also orbiting Earth is the International Space Station, or ISS, an outpost of great interest to some major companies and research institutions. The ISS National Laboratory and astronauts inside conduct a wide range of experiments that would not be possible on Earth.

“When you remove the gravity vector out of the equation which is what we’re used to here on Earth, we see certain impacts and phenomena associated with that, such as lack of sedimentation, lack of convection, lack of buoyancy,” said Jennifer Lopez, commercial innovation technology lead at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS, which manages the ISS National Laboratory.

The space station orbits Earth 16 times a day, with exposure to extreme temperatures and radiation, providing a unique environment for experiments.

Some experiments, including those geared to helping people with bone loss and injuries, may benefit life on Earth; however, the findings can also help with future human exploration into deep space. Lopez notes there is research is “looking at bone loss and muscle wasting in a space environment and the effects that a microgravity environment can have on our biological systems.”

“There is so much opportunity right now in space; Mars is one of those opportunities,” said Chad Anderson, chief executive officer of Space Angels, which invests in the space industry.

While NASA works on sending humans to the moon and Mars, the space near Earth and beyond will become busier as businesses explore this final frontier.
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Reality Behind Horror: Exorcism as a World Practice

05/27/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

In 1973, William Friedkin made one of the most iconic horror movies of all time – The Exorcist. Forty-five years later, he brings us the story of real exorcisms. Azra Dolberry from VOA’s Bosian Service reports.
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Businesses Looking At Space as the Next Frontier

05/27/2018 by WPit Leave a Comment

Space X recently launched another rocket from California carrying satellites into space – accelerating interest by more businesses and research facilities that now view space as an opportunity. At this year’s Milken Institute Global Conference, those in the space business describe why orbiting the Earth is so exciting. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has details from Los Angeles.
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New York Clothing Store Sells Gender Neutral Lifestyle

05/27/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

New shops appear in New York City every day, but Phluid Project, which recently opened its doors on Broadway, is different. One of the first gender-fluid boutiques in the world, Phluid Project sells clothing for men, women and everyone in between. Both the clothes and the mannequins here are gender-neutral, and as an added selling point, its store owners say the prices are more than affordable. Elena Wolf visited the one-of-a-kind store, where no one feels out of place.
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Senegal’s Biennale Art Expo Opens Opportunities for Local Artisans

05/27/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

Since its first edition in 1990, the Dak’Art Biennale in Senegal has become a key event in the world of African contemporary art. This year, the main international expo features the work of 75 artists from 33 countries. But the biennial also offers a chance for local Senegalese artists to showcase their work. Sofia Christensen reports from Dakar’s historic Medina neighborhood.
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Thousands of Flags Honor the Fallen at Arlington National Cemetery

05/26/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

Thousands of flags wave proudly this weekend at tombstones in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just outside Washington. For more than 60 years, the army’s ceremonial unit, known as the Old Guard, has been placing the flags at graves in the huge military cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day. The national holiday, observed the last Monday in May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the military. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us to the annual tradition known as “Flags in.”
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The Origins of the US Flag

05/26/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

To many Americans the Star-Spangled Banner, also known as Old Glory, is almost a religious icon. That hasn’t always been the case. Back in the late 1700s, during the American Revolutionary War, regiments of George Washington’s Continental Army used various flags to declare their independence from Great Britain. VOA’s Nikoleta Ilic spoke with an expert on U.S. flags about the origins and the various iterations of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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Messages to Graduates Touch on Strength, Integrity, Fearlessness, Courage

05/26/2018 by WPart Leave a Comment

It is commencement season in America, when high school and university students gather for graduation ceremonies featuring advice from prominent Americans. This year, at a time of heightened political divisions in the country and accusations of “fake news,” many speakers are featuring political themes and talking about integrity. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports.
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