» AsianWeek Market Report
» Va. Governor’s Asian Advisory Group Meets
» Vigil To Be Held in Memory of Korean War Cease Fire
» LPGA Disqualifies Wie From State Farm Classic For Failing to Sign
» Vietnamese American Ex-FBI Agent Held in Alleged Robbery Plot
» Bay Area Asian & Pacific Islander Organizations Unite Against Immigrant Health Cuts
» Century-Old Fig Tree Becomes LA Landmark
» The F.A.C.E. of ‘AsianWeek’ Launches
» Wells Fargo Leads in Corporate Donations, Gives to Asian Non-profits
» Snoop Dogg and Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar Join Forces
» ImaginAsian Entertainment Targets Asian Pop Culture Viewers
» Bruce Lee’s Family Proposes Big Museum in Seattle
» Retired U.S. Marine Kidnapped, Released in Philippines, Daughter Still Held
» Indian American Surgeon Handed to Australia to Face Charges
Compiled by Ivan Natividad and Michelle-Linh Thuy Nguyen
AsianWeek Market Report
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEL_225 | Tokyo | 13,184.96 | 381.26 | 2.98% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 22,527.48 | -5.42 | -0.02% |
| KRX | Busan | 3,226.96 | -3.42 | -0.11% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 9,851.29 | -19.70 | -0.20% |
| BSE | Bombay | 14,104 | 254.16 | 1.84% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 457.88 | -12.94 | -2.75% |
| SET | Bangkok | 682.15 | -5.15 | -0.75% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 21.40 | -0.27 | (-1.25%) |
| Citigroup | C | 20.89 | 1.20 | (6.09%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 8.74 | -0.43 | (-4.69%) |
| Sybase | SY | 31.46 | 0.74 | (2.41%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 50.44 | 1.63 | (3.34%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 12.00 | 1.36 | (12.78%) |
NATION
Va. Governor’s Asian Advisory Group Meets
RICHMOND, Va. - An advisory group that examines issues facing Virginia’s Asian population is meeting in Richmond.
The Virginia Asian Advisory Board advises Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on ways to improve economic and other links between the state and Asian nations, as well as detailing concerns facing Asian American Virginians in areas like education and culture.
The board also prepares a report on the status of Asian Americans in the commonwealth.
The board was established in 2001 and meets periodically.
- The Associated Press
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Vigil To Be Held in Memory of Korean War Cease Fire
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Global Coalition for Korean War Reconciliation will hold a Candlelight Peace Vigil and Memorial Program in recognition of the 55th anniversary of the ceasefire of the Korean War.
The event will take place at the National Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 7:27 PM on July 27, 2008, to commemorate the National Korean War Armistice Day.
Honorees will recount their experiences of the War and reflect upon its lingering impact in an effort to raise awareness of the social, political and humanitarian implications of the armistice.
The commemoration is part of a larger movement to promote remembrance, recognition and reconciliation of the Korean War and to ultimately bring closure to the continuing War.
The event will also take place in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, as well as Seoul, South Korea.
For additional information, kw-reconciliation.org, remember727@gmail.com.
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LPGA Disqualifies Wie From State Farm Classic For Failing to Sign
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Michelle Wie finished the third round of the State Farm Classic alone in second on July 19 then was disqualified for failing to immediately sign her scorecard a day earlier.
Wie was playing her best golf of the year, finishing off a 5-under 67 to get to 17 under for the tournament, one stroke back of Yani Tseng.
That’s when Wie was disqualified by LPGA officials, who said they’d learned from tournament volunteers about the 18-year-old’s mistake.
“I don’t know why or how it happened,” said Wie, who had been crying moments earlier.
Wie said that after she finished her round on July 18, she left the tent where players sign their scorecards and was chased down by some of the tournament volunteers working in the tent who pointed out she hadn’t signed.
Wie returned to the tent and signed the card.
“I thought it would be OK,” she said.
- The Associated Press
BAY
Vietnamese American Ex-FBI Agent Held in Alleged Robbery Plot
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal magistrate has ordered a former Chicago FBI special agent held without bail after he was arrested for allegedly planning to rob a drug money stash house.
Vo Duong Tran was arrested by an FBI SWAT team late July 21 in the city of Fountain Valley after he allegedly traveled from his home in New Orleans to carry out the robbery.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Marc L. Goldman said that Tran was a danger to the community, in part because of secretly taped conversations in which Tran referred to other murders-for-hire and armed robberies.
Tran worked as a special agent for the FBI in Chicago until he was fired in 2003.
Tran, who is Vietnamese American, has a pending federal discrimination lawsuit against the agency.
- The Associated Press
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Bay Area Asian & Pacific Islander Organizations Unite Against Immigrant Health Cuts
OAKLAND, Calif. - Asian Health Services will host a town hall meeting on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, from 9 a.m. - noon at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (388 9th Street #290) to highlight the impact of the proposed state budget that cuts critical health coverage for immigrant communities.
This meeting will bring together over 400 clients and representatives of several Bay Area Asian and Pacific Islander community-based organizations united against the proposed cuts.
“This is a critical community issue since two out of three Asians are foreign born and one out of three Asians are not yet citizens. Banning legal immigrants from health insurance is bad policy. We should ask well-to-do families and corporations to pitch in during these hard economic times,” stated Sherry Hirota, CEO of Asian Health Services.
For more information, ahschc.org.
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Century-Old Fig Tree Becomes LA Landmark
LOS ANGELES - A century-old fig tree in the Little Tokyo area of downtown Los Angeles is now one of the city’s historic and cultural monuments.
The Moreton Bay fig was formally designated last week as a landmark that symbolizes the founding of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple, which serves as a religious and community center for Japanese Americans.
Last year, Koyasan members named the tree Aoyama after the temple’s founder. The Reverend Shutai Aoyama started the temple in 1912 and moved it eight years later to a building next to the fig tree.
Temple members say the tree helps maintain Little Tokyo’s cultural heritage.
- Los Angeles Times
COMMERCE
The F.A.C.E. of ‘AsianWeek’ Launches
AsianWeek has recently formed an employee group - the Fabulous AsianWeek Contributors and Employees (F.A.C.E.).
“We were inspired by employee resource organizations like the Corporate Asian American Employee Network and Wells Fargo’s Asian Connection. They are great examples of supportive professional networks for Asian Americans,” said AsianWeek’s Community Editor and F.A.C.E. President Angela Pang. “We wanted to follow their lead and encourage our members to utilize and embrace their Asian American heritage and identity to further their professional careers.”
F.A.C.E.’s goals include outreaching and networking with other Asian American Associations; recognizing and appreciating employee successes and efforts; building upon and strengthening work relationships; embracing and sharing Asian cultural heritage; and providing services/programs to benefit the community. F.A.C.E. will host monthly networking socials for all staff and contributors past and present to attend. The first event, a bowling night, took place on July 18.
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Wells Fargo Leads in Corporate Donations, Gives to Asian Non-profits
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Business Times named Wells Fargo the Bay Area’s #1 corporate giver among financial institutions for the seventh consecutive year. Wells Fargo set a milestone in corporate giving to Bay Area nonprofits in 2007, donating a record $14.4 million with 1,860 grants contributed to local non-profits and schools serving the Bay Area last year.
“Wells Fargo team members are committed to making a difference in our communities,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s San Francisco Bay Area Regional President.
Although local schools remain Wells Fargo’s largest area of focus, many Asian Pacific American non-profits have benefited from the generosity. API Cultural Center Inc., Asia Society of Northern California, Asian Art Museum and the Asian Community Mental Health Services are just among the over 100 APA non-profits that received funds from Wells Fargo this year.
ARTS
Snoop Dogg and Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar Join Forces
CHICAGO - Mega producers Rhythm Dohl Bass are fusing Hollywood with Bollywood by bringing together American rapper Snoop Dogg and Indian actor Akshay Kumar for the innovative “Singh is Kinng” music video.
As a Grammy Award-nominated rapper, singer, record producer and actor, Snoop Dogg has released his latest album, Ego Trippin which debuted at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
Akshay Kumar had a breakthrough performance in the action flick Saugandh in 1991. Since then he has built a name for himself as both the classic action hero and the romantic comedy leading man of Bollywood.
The two talents are coming together in July in Chicago to produce the music video, which is the title song for the movie of the same name.
For more information, lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca.
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ImaginAsian Entertainment Targets Asian Pop Culture Viewers
NEW YORK - ImaginAsian Entertainment unveiled its new prime time line up for the 2008-2009 TV season, featuring programming that targets fans of the rapidly growing Asian pop culture craze.
The lineup emerges from a counter-programming strategy that targets primetime with unique shows on each night of the week. They have approved four new prime time originals: The Popper, Chix Kix Flix, Uncle Morty’s Dub Shack and Comedy Zen.
“As the only network in America for the exploding Asian pop culture scene, iaTV is excited to be in business with some of the top entertainment studios in the space,” said President of entertainment Adam Ware. “Our new season lineup is compelling on every night of the week and features programming that appeals to fans of Asian pop culture including our core demo of Asian Americans.”
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Bruce Lee’s Family Proposes Big Museum in Seattle
SEATTLE - Relatives of Bruce Lee have proposed a three-story museum filling a city block in Seattle to honor the late action movie star.
The proposal to build a Bruce Lee Action Museum, which relatives are calling BLAM, was announced July 20 at a commemoration of the 35th anniversary of his death, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It would cost as much as $50 million. Plans are being drafted by Carson Architects of Marina del Rey, California.
Lee was born in San Francisco, grew up in Hong Kong, attended the University of Washington and taught martial arts in Seattle.
He died in Hong Kong in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain and is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Seattle next to his son, actor Brandon Lee.
- The Associated Press
GLOBAL
Retired U.S. Marine Kidnapped, Released in Philippines, Daughter Still Held
MANILA, Philippines - Gunmen kidnapped a retired U.S. Marine and his daughter from their Philippine home but released the former serviceman three hours later after demanding a ransom for his daughter, police said July 21.
Four armed men barged into the house of Filipino American Ver Loyola in the resort city of Tagaytay, tied up his wife and maid and then drove away with Loyola and his 19-year-old daughter, Cristina, a regional police report said.
The assailants also took two cell phones, assorted jewelry worth $1,570 and $1,900 in cash, the report said.
Three hours later, the kidnappers abandoned Loyola and the car in a nearby town but demanded a ransom for the daughter.
He said the kidnappers were demanding $67,400 for her release.
- The Associated Press
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Indian American Surgeon Handed to Australia to Face Charges
BRISBANE, Australia - An Indian-born American surgeon was returned to Australia recently to face manslaughter charges for what authorities say were botched or unnecessary operations that killed three people.
Dr. Jayant Patel, 58, was escorted without handcuffs by two Australian police officers on a flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane.
He appeared at a Brisbane court hearing to face three counts of manslaughter and other charges for grievous bodily harm and fraud. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of any of the manslaughter charges.
The judge granted Patel bail and ordered that he be freed from custody pending a trial that likely won’t start until the second half of 2009.
Patel was employed at Bundaberg Base Hospital from early 2003 to early 2005. In late 2003, he was promoted to director of surgery.
A government inquiry concluded that Patel may have contributed directly to 13 deaths due to an “unacceptable level of care” at the hospital, but he has not been formally charged in all those cases.
- The Associated Press