Tens of thousands flee Bangkok fearing beach of river banks. Click here for the full story.

Journalist Lisa Ling has developed a new sitcom, which has been picked up by ABC.

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Nearly 130 years after it voted to ban Chinese immigrants from entering the United States, the U.S. Senate expressed its regrets Friday for that law and decades of racial discrimination against Chinese Americans. Click here for the full story.

Today, January 1, 2012 marks the day that a major hotel chain, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH), owner of the Peninsula Hotels finally made it official - no more shark fins will be served. We hope many more hotels, restaurants, and fishermen will also stop killing the millions of sharks for their fins for soup.  

Let's make 2012 a year that you also take measures in your own hands to help our world become a better place. 

This is one of the most important stories of our lives, our Earth.

Not only is banning shark fins from menus one tiny step forward (and not ordering shark fins if it is still on other menus), eating fish, particularly the larger fish is not necessarily healthy.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, 75, scientist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence has been studying our oceans for more than 50 years. Dr. Earle urges everyone, "We have the power to make a difference and its time that we use that power positively not just for the dolphins, not just for the whales and the fish. It all comes back to us. We all share space on this little Blue Planet."

Earle told AsianConnections' Steven Joe at a Greenbuild Conference for GreenPlanet.TV "What we are doing to the oceans, we are doing to ourselves." 

8 year old USA Team member Awonder Liang of Madison, Wisconsin is the best chess player in the world for his age group. He won the gold medal at the World Youth Championship in Brazil in the Under 8 Open, November 26, 2011. 

This year's coach and World Chess Federation Senior Trainer (FIDE - Fédération Internationale des Échecs) was Michael Khodarkovsky. 

Photo (Left): USA Team member 8 year old Awonder Liang wins Gold Medal at World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil.

Photo by permission Andrea Rosen

 Here's a sample of the rankings from the American team competing at the World Youth Championship in Caldas, Novas Brazil this year:

Awonder Liang of Wisconsin earned a gold medal in the Under 8 Open with 7.5/9

Ruifeng Li of Texas earned a silver medal in the Under 10 Open with 7/9.

Sarah Chiang of Texas earned 4th place in the Girls Under 14Jeffrey Xiong of Texas earned 5th in the Open Under 12.

David Peng of Northbrook, Illinois earned 7th in the Under 8 Open.

Albert Lu of Southern California placed 12th in the Under 10 Open.

Kevin Wang of Maryland placed 15th in the Under 14 Open. 

Varun Krishnan of La Jolla, California placed 14th in the Under 14 Open. 

Click here for the story from NPR here for the story in the New York Times and
here to the