Both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton plan to attend meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum later this week.
The President will also visit Japan, China and South Korea while he is in the region. While in Singapore, Clinton will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from the region.
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The aim of World Food Day, proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the FAO of the United Nations, is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The Day marks the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945.
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President Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace on Friday, 9 October.
In his remarks, President Obama noted, ”… throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.”
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Neil Armstrong has written a letter to commemorate all those who had worked in the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla. The letter was read as part of the commemorative activities on the anniversary of the moon landing.
President Obama met with the leaders of the Group of 8 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom) on 8 July. Group of 8 members are discussing ways to ensure sustainable growth and to tackle the interlinked challenges of the economic crisis, trade, climate change and development.
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The Chargé d’ Affaires ad interim Daniel Clune wrote to The Australian newspaper in response to an inaccurate article they published on Friday, June 12, 2009 regarding the U.S. position on a proposed Asia Pacific Community initiative. His letter was printed in The Australian and you can find it on The Australian website.
“Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change” is the theme of World Environment Day 2009. Each year on 5 June the United Nations strives to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and to enhance political attention and action.
The UN General Assembly established this day in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
The best phone number for Australians to call to enquire about the fire emergency in Santa Barbara, California, is the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services main number at 0011 1 805 560 1081.
The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services is at http://countyofsb.org/ceo/oes.aspx?id=376
The Santa Barbara Red Cross is http://www.sbredcross.org and the phone number is +1 805 687 1131
Librarian
Three Australian women basketball players made it through to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and one, Tegan Cunninghan (Oklahoma State) from Melbourne, will be playing in the final four for the championship against Louisville in St. Louis, Missouri. Gabby Fage (Arizona State) from Melbourne and Alison Lacey (Iowa State) from Canberra were in the top eight teams. Stanford and UConn face off in the other semi-final game.
We’ve just posted the latest issue of Web Alert, a list of freely-available internet resources on a wide range of topics. This edition has a special section on women’s history month and non-violent paths to social change.
