In the first meeting of the Nepal Development Consortium, held in Seattle on Dec. 17, the members unanimously agreed to build Nepal’s infrastructure for tourism, clean energy, and a sustainable environment. At the meeting, chaired by former Congressman Jim McDermott, the Consortium decided to send one of its members—leadership development coach Murthy Kalkura—to Nepal in […]
Champion of Equal Education Rights Award to Holly Ham
On Dec. 19, the Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) awarded Holly Ham, former executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), with the “Champion of Equal Education Rights” award. Ham has dedicated her career in both the public and nonprofit sectors to increasing democratic representation of Asian Americans […]
First Asian and woman music director at San Francisco Opera
Eun Sun Kim, has been named the San Francisco Opera’s next music director. The South Korean conductor will be just the fourth person to occupy the position in the company’s nearly 100-year history, and the only Asian woman to hold an artistic leadership role with a major North American opera company. Born in Seoul, Kim […]
Asian, Black faces misidentified more often by facial recognition software
ASSOCIATED PRESS By Matt O’Brien, AP Technology Writer A study by a U.S. agency has found that facial recognition technology often performs unevenly based on a person’s race, gender or age. But the nuanced report published on Dec. 19 is unlikely to allay the concerns of critics who worry about bias in face-scanning applications that […]
Controversy hits Romance Writers of America over ‘exotic’ Asian women with ‘slanted’ eyes descriptions
By Associated Press NEW YORK — There’s not a lot of love at the Romance Writers of America this holiday season. Lots of passion, but not too much love. The organization, which bills itself as the voice of romance writers and cites 9,000 members, has been upended over the way it has treated one of […]
Serena Williams, Jay-Z buy stakes in SE Asian coffee chain
Billionaire rapper Jay-Z and tennis megastar Serena Williams are among global public figures who have invested their funds to back the growth of Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan. Williams invested through her venture company, Serena Ventures, while Jay-Z made the investment through his venture firm Arrive, Edward Tirtanata, CEO of Indonesia’s homegrown coffee chain confirmed […]
Hmong celebrate new year in California amid tighter security
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) —Thousands of people gathered on Dec. 27 in central California to celebrate the Hmong new year amid heightened security in the wake of a neighborhood shooting in November that killed four people. The celebration ran through Jan. 1 and featured Hmong foods, dance, music and games along with sports tournaments. It’s believed […]
JAL to give away 50,000 flights during Olympics
TOKYO — Japan Airlines (JAL) announced on Dec. 27 that it will give away 50,000 domestic return tickets to international visitors in the summer of 2020. Participants must be a JAL Mileage Bank frequent flyer member registered outside of Japan. The traveling period for the “Win a Trip with JAL” campaign will be between July […]
China convicts researchers involved in gene-edited babies
By KEN MORITSUGU BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese scientist who set off an ethical debate with claims that he had made the world’s first genetically edited babies was sentenced on Dec. 30 to three years in prison because of his research, state media said. He Jiankui, who was convicted of practicing medicine without a license, […]
Hope for Honolulu Chinatown revival via building restoration
HONOLULU (AP) — A restoration of the iconic Wo Fat Building could serve as a catalyst in a makeover of Honolulu’s Chinatown, developers said. The proposed $10 million restoration of the 86-year-old landmark is expected to include a cafeteria-style restaurant and 23-room hotel, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Dec. 26. The building along Honolulu’s historic […]