» AsianWeek Market Report
» New Judge Appointed for Eastern District on NY
» Asian Americans Can Play Big Role in Election, Report Says
» Asian American Males Live Longest
» Burmese Refugees Find Safety in Austin
» Two Men Arrested in Attack on Migrant Worker Camp
» Matsui Could Be Headed for Knee Surgery
» Mayor Dellums, City of Oakland Celebrate ‘Revive Chinatown!’
» Cambodia, Thailand Continue Troop Buildup at Disputed Border
» ‘Mummy’ Sequel Clears Chinese Censors
Compiled by Beleza Chan and Steffi Lau
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEL_225 | Tokyo | 12,803.70 | -84.25 | -0.65% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 24,874.19 | 139.47 | 0.64% |
| KRX | Busan | 3,120.59 | -34.24 | -1.09% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 9,588.40 | 300.03 | 3.23% |
| BSE | Bombay | 13,635.40 | 523.55 | 3.99% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 483.05 | -6.78 | -1.38% |
| SET | Bangkok | 464.87 | -4.76 | -1.01% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 22.32 | -0.12 | (-0.53%) |
| Citigroup | C | 19.87 | 1.90 | (10.57%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 9.35 | 0.06 | (0.59%) |
| Sybase | SY | 30.78 | -0.19 | (-0.61%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 45.32 | 0.14 | (0.31%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 10.55 | -0.49 | (-4.44%) |
NATION
New Judge Appointed for Eastern District on NY
NEW YORK - The federal court system has a new judge in New York.
The Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of Kiyo Matsumoto as federal judge in the Eastern District of New York.
Matsumoto is the second Asian American woman to become a federal court judge. Sen. Charles Schumer says her appointment to the bench will help close a gender gap in the federal judiciary.
Matsumoto is currently a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District and has previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office there.
The Eastern District court sits in Brooklyn and Central Islip.
-Newsday.com
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Asian Americans Can Play Big Role in Election, Report Says
LOS ANGELES - Asian Americans could play an important role in the upcoming presidential election, but more can be done to increase voter registration and citizenship rates, UCLA researchers say.
Super Tuesday of the 2008 presidential primary was a milestone in the emergence of Asian Americans in politics.
Asian Americans make 5 percent of the U.S. population, but 61 percent of the population is foreign born. This difference can influence what political issues Asian Americans are more concerned about.
Even as this population is naturalizing, they still find challenges in voter registration, because they do not know how or because they do not know the language. Nevertheless, there is room from improvement.
- The Hokubei Mainichi News
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Asian American Males Live Longest
Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed nation, according to a report from several US charities.
The report found that the U.S. ranked 42nd in the world for life expectancy despite spending more on health care per person than any other country.
The report combines measurements of health, education and income into one measurement - the human development index - based what is used by the United Nations.
Japan has the world’s highest life expectancy - 82.1 years - according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The U.S. report identifies obesity and the lack of health insurance for some 47 million Americans as the most significant factors in premature death.
Asian American males were found to have the highest human development index score and were expected to live 14 years longer than African American males, who had the lowest human development index rating.
-Independent
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Burmese Refugees Find Safety in Austin
AUSTIN, Texas - According to local refugee agencies, Burmese refugees are the largest refugee group in Austin last year. Since October, about 200 Burmese refugees, the majority of whom are of the Karen ethnic group, have arrived here.
With tens of thousands of Burmese having spent as many as 10 years in refugee camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border and the political situation in their country worsening, Burmese could not continue to stay in the camps indefinitely or go back to their country. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved their resettlement in the United States in 2006. Currently the Burmese make up the largest movement of refugees nationwide.
Burmese refugees, some of whom reject the name Myanmar, began settling in Austin in 2006. Refugee Services helps them from before they arrive in Austin through their first six months here.
The refugees work in housekeeping at downtown hotels, in a North Austin paint store or, depending on their language abilities, in supermarkets and factories. Most are paid between $7.50 and $9 per hour. Some work as interpreters and caseworkers with the refugee resettlement agencies.
-Associated Press
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Two Men Arrested in Attack on Migrant Worker Camp
KALISPELL, Mont.-Two men face hate-crime charges after an attack on migrant workers.
The migrants are of Asian descent, while those arrested are white.
Daniel J. Devine, 25, and Edwards L. Hubbs, 26, were arrested on suspicion of malicious intimidation or harassment relating to civil or human rights. Charges were expected to be filed Monday.
Deputies said two men brandished a baseball bat and a tire iron, used racial slurs and threatened migrant mushroom pickers at a Marion convenience store. One of the workers took a gun from his vehicle and fired two shots in the air, sending the parties into separate directions.
About two hours later, deputies say Devine, Hubbs and several other men attacked migrant workers at a campground, reportedly hurling racial slurs and beer bottles at the migrants.
Others at the campground told deputies the migrants did not provoke the attackers. One white man had a rifle and fired five or six shots in the air.
-Associated Press
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Matsui Could Be Headed for Knee Surgery
NEW YORK - Hideki Matsui’s left knee swelled, increasing the possibility he will need season-ending surgery and perhaps giving the New York Yankees reason to contemplate signing Barry Bonds.
General manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday that Matsui was running out of options to rehabilitate his knee, which has sidelined him since June 22 and kept him from playing the outfield since June 15.
Matsui will travel to New York from the team’s complex in Tampa, Fla., and is expected to be examined by team doctors. His return this season appears increasingly unlikely.
Cashman also said right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (injured foot) won’t return until September at the earliest.
-Associated Press
BAY
Mayor Dellums, City of Oakland Celebrate ‘Revive Chinatown!’
OAKLAND, Calif. - Mayor Ron Dellums will join representatives from the Asian Health Services, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and the City of Oakland to celebrate the completion of Revive Chinatown!, a $2.2 million community project focused on making Oakland Chinatown a safer, more pedestrian friendly, attractive and economically viable place.
In celebration of this project, the Chinatown community, City of Oakland and other community-based organizations will be holding a press conference followed by a Dragon Lion Dance performance at 11:00 AM in front of Silver Dragon Restaurant located at the intersection of Webster St. and 9th St. in Oakland Chinatown.
Revive Chinatown! improvements at central intersections in the Oakland Chinatown core include:
1) Four scramble systems (four-way crosswalks)
2) Bulb-outs (sidewalk extensions to decrease pedestrian distance)
3) Pedestrian countdown signals
4) High visibility crosswalks
5) Red and yellow colored Ching dynasty patterned intersections
6) Pedestrian-scale lighting with banners
7) Bilingual way finding signage
GLOBAL
Cambodia, Thailand Continue Troop Buildup at Disputed Border
PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia - Cambodia and Thailand stepped up their troop presence Thursday in the third day of a standoff in disputed border territory despite agreeing to hold talks next week to avoid military action.
Officials from both countries have said they are committed to avoiding a conflict after tensions escalated Tuesday when Cambodia accused Thailand of crossing into its territory. But they have continued to mass troops on the border, and Cambodia toughened its rhetoric July 17, saying it was ready for all “eventualities.”
Thailand raised the possibility its citizens might need to be evacuated.
The confrontation is the latest escalation of a long-standing dispute over overlapping claims to territory surrounding a historic temple near the countries’ border, which has never been fully demarcated.
-Associated Press
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‘Mummy’ Sequel Clears Chinese Censors
HONG KONG - Chinese officials have cleared the third installment of The Mummy, dispelling fears that the Hollywood thriller had run into problems with the government censors.
Earlier news reports said the China release of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor had been delayed, raising speculation that the Universal Pictures film had been held up because of content.
Although part of the production was shot in China, Chinese censors are known to be wary of movies about ghosts and superstition. The latest sequel sees explorer Rick O’Connell, played by Brendan Fraser, and his family battle a resurrected ancient Chinese emperor played by one of China’s biggest stars - Jet Li.
Distributor Bill Kong said Wednesday Chinese censors cleared the movie, asking only for minor edits.
But the movie will likely be released later than expected, probably after the Olympics.
- Associated Press