Virasat celebrating silver jubilee: Postal dept to release special postal cover
Mangaluru, Jan 1: With the Silver Jubilee celebration, the Alva's Virasat being conducted by the Moodabidri Alva's Education Foundation, will be held from Jan 4 to 6.
To mark the Silver Jubilee celebration, the Postal department will launch a special postal cover at the Alva's Virasat programme, said Foundation chairman Dr. Mohan Alva.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, he said that during the Silver Jubilee celebration, noted playback singer, Ghazal singer, Music composer Hariharan would be honoured with Virasat-2019 award.
The programme would be held at Vanajakshi K Sripathi Bhat stage at Vivekananda Nagar of Puttige. The inaugural programme would be held at 5.45 pm with the cultural procession and stage programme would be held from 5.30 pm to 6.45 pm. Nitte Group of Institutions Chairman Dr. N Vinay Hegde would inaugurate the Alva's Virasat 2019, he said.
Virasat cultural programmes
On Jan 4 from 7 to 9 pm, a musical event would be conducted by Colonial Cousins famed Hariharan and Lesley Levies. From 9.15 pm, Alva's students would perform Alva's cultural programmes like Mohiniyattam, Badaguthittu Yakshagana, Malla Kambala and Dandiya dance. On jan 5 from 6 to 8 pm, Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh and team would perform musical night and from 8.10 pm to 8.40 pm, Nrityantar Academy of Performing Arts Bengaluru would perform Odyssey dance, while Shyla Sudha Academy of Chennai would perform Kuchipudi dance from 8.45 pm to 9.30 pm and Alva's institution students would perform Banjara dance, Manipur Stick dance, Canadian dance of Sri Lanka and Kathak dance from 9.35 pm, he said.
On January 6 from 6 to 8 pm, Shankar Mahadeshwara, Siddarth Mahadevan and Shivam Mahadevan would perform, from 8.10 to 9 pm, Parampara Kolkata would perform Ranga Bharathi Colours of Bharatanatyam and from 9 pm, Alva's students would perform Bharatanatyam, Dholchalam of Manipur, Bangda dance of Punjab and Thenkuthittu Yakshagana, he added.
PRO Dr. Padmanabha Shetty was present at the press conference.
Artiste Surya Prakash of Hyderabad gets Alva's Varna Virasat award
Dr Mohan Alva said that this time, the Alva's Varna Virasat award would be presented on senior artiste Surya Prakash of Hyderabad. Surya Prakash has given more than 50 solo painting exhibitions in India and abroad and he was famous for his special work 'Jargon of the Junk', he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Canada's top envoy to US will resign before review of free trade agreement
Toronto (AP): Canada's ambassador to the US for the last six years said Tuesday she's resigning next year as the two major trading partners plan to review the free trade agreement.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman said in a letter it is the right time to put in place someone who will oversee talks about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is up review in 2026.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Hillman “prepared the foundations for Canada in the upcoming review" of the agreement.
Carney noted she's one of the longest-serving ambassadors to the United States in Canada's history.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent Hillman to the embassy as deputy ambassador in 2017. She became the first woman to represent Canada as ambassador in the US in 2019.
Hillman helped lead the trade negotiations during US President Donald Trump's first term as deputy and as ambassador worked with US and Chinese officials to win the release of two Canadians detained in China.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-US trade, and Hillman had been leading trade talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said on social media that Hillman has been an “awesome and well-respected” contributor to the US-Canada relationship.
“I value your friendship and wish you all the best in your next adventure. You will be missed,” Hoekstra said.
Trump ended trade talks with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US, which upset the US president. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump's insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Asked this week when trade talks would resume, Trump said, “we'll see.”
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada's exports go to the US Most exports to the US are exempted by the USMCA trade agreement but that deal is up for review.
Carney aims to double non-US trade over the next decade.
About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports as well.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
