All Canadians are invited and encouraged to join in the celebra- tion of Asian Heritage Month, said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney during an official launch ceremony on Parliament Hill. The theme of Asian Heritage Month 2010, organized in partnership with the Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society, is Asian Canadians: A Proud History, A Promising Future. “This month helps all Canadians appreciate the impor- tant role that Canadians of Asian ancestry have played and contin- ue to play,” said Mr. Kenney.
All Canadians are invited and encouraged to join in the celebration of Asian Heritage Month, said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today during an official launch ceremony on Parliament Hill. The theme of Asian Heritage Month 2010, organized in partnership with the Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society, is Asian Canadians:
A Proud History, A Promising Future. “This month helps all Canadians appreciate the important role that Canadians of Asian ancestry have played and continue to play, ” said Mr. Kenney. “It is appropriate that we acknowledge the contributions of Asian Canadians in this year, the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, where so many Asian Canadians fought against communism. “ “It is with a great sense of personal pride that Canadians of Asian descent can reflect on our rich history and contributions toward Canada, our country, ” said Commodore H.W. Jung, Canadian Forces Surgeon General, Commander of Canadian Forces Health Services Group, one of the highest ranking Asian Canadians in the Canadian Armed Forces.
A number of Asian-Canadian veterans of the Korean War attended the ceremony. “Asian Heritage Month highlights the significance of this history and provides an occasion for all Canadians to celebrate the advances and successes of the Asian community in Canada. ” Asian Heritage Month was first celebrated in May 2002. In December 2001, the Senate of Canada adopted a motion to designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada, a time to celebrate the contributions by Asian Canadians to our society. For more information on Asian Heritage Month, please visit the CIC website at www.cic.gc.ca/ asianheritagemonth.
Multiple forces are at play that could push the Canadian dollar past parity with the U.S. green- back this summer, according to a report from CIBC World Markets Inc. “Indeed, we’ve already seen the Canadian dollar gain several cents in recent weeks as the mar- ket began to firm up expecta- tions” of an interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, says Avery Shenfeld CIBC’s chief economist. “If as we expect, the Bank is out in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve by a couple of quarters, a higher Canadian dollar will help tighten monetary conditions. It’s easy to see the Canadian dollar running a few cents through par- ity after the first hike.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to ask a panel of experts to advise the world body on “accountability issues” relating to possible human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, his spokesman said on Mar 5th. In a telephone con- versation with Sri Lankan Presi- dent Mahinda Rajapaksa on Mar 4th evening, Ban said he intend- ed to “go ahead with the estab- lishment of a panel of experts,” Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky said. “He also explained that such a panel would advise him, the secretary-general, on the way forward on accountability issues related to Sri Lanka,” Nesirky said. Commenting on the UN move, Rajapaksa’s office said in a statement on March 6th: “President Mahinda Rajapaksa has pointed out that the intention of the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a panel of experts to advice him on Sri Lanka is totally uncalled for and unwarranted”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has highlighted the Indo-Canadian community ’s contributions to Canada during a Diwali celebration held on Oct 8th on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. “Diwali, or the ‘Festival of Lights, ‘ illuminates the universal hope of all people for the renewal of life and the triumph of good over evil, ” said the Prime Minister. “This is a journey that resonates with all Canadians and binds us together in our faith, dreams and aspirations for the future. ”
The Prime Minister noted that the growing Indo-Canadian commu- nity is at the forefront of Canada ’s quest to build an even better country for generations to come. From coast to coast to coast our country has been and continues to be immeasur- ably enriched by your contributions. “ “Just as the Indo-Canadian com- munity is growing ever larger, Canada ’s relationship with India is growing ever stronger, ” said the Prime Minister. “Since our Govern- ment came to office nearly four years ago, we ‘ve been working tirelessly to build stronger, better relations with India. ”
Canada and India have been working together on a number of agreements to enhance trade and investment. The Harper Government has opened new trade offices in Hyderabad, Calcutta and Ahmedabad in addition to its Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh and New Delhi offices.
U.S. President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, less than nine months into his presidency. Even the administration was surprised by the news. Mr. Obama says he is both sur-prised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland says, Mr. Obama has captured the world ’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. Jagland also credits Mr.Obama with creating “a new climate in international politics, ” by emphasiz-ing multilateral diplomacy.
“His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world ’s popula-tion, ” he said. Around the world, messages of congratulations began to pour in - from Nobel Laureates Mikhail Gorbachev and Wangari Mathaii, who ‘ve both won the Peace Prize. Critics of this year ’s announce-ment say it appears Mr. Obama won the Nobel Prize more for his rhetorical aspirations than concrete achieve-ments.
(Some information for this report was provided by VOA news)
Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan of the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. Dr Ramakrishnan shares the prize with Thomas A.Steitz of Yale University and Ada E. Yonath of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
Commenting after the award being announced, Dr Ramakrishnan said:
”I have to say that I am deeply indebted to all of the brilliant associ-ates, students and post docs who worked in my lab as science is a high-ly collaborative enterprise. The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Utah supported this work and the collegiate atmosphere there made it all possible. The idea of supporting long term basic research like that at LMB does lead to break-throughs, the ribosome is already starting to show its medical impor-tance.”
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born to C.V. Ramakrishnan and Rajalakshmi in Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, India in 1952.
Dr Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in physics (1971) from Baroda University in India and his Ph.D. in physics (1976) from Ohio University. He moved into biology at the University of California, San Diego, where he took a year of classes, then conducted research with Dr Mauricio Montal, a membrane biochemist.
Ramakrishnan will be awarded the Nobel Prize along with one-third of the total prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.4 million), in a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10. Thus, he became the seventh Indian or person of Indian origin to win the Nobel Prize. Tamil Nadu born Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Wins 2009 Nobel Prize For Chemistry Venkatraman Ramakrishnan