November 14, 2022

OeKB CSD et Montran fournissent une plateforme d’émetteur CSD aux clients de OeKB CSD

OeKB fournira une véritable numérisation de bout en bout à ses segments de clientèle en Autriche via les solutions de nouvelle génération de Montran

VIENNE, 14 novembre 2022 /PRNewswire/ — OeKB CSD, le dépositaire central autrichien de titres, et Montran, l’un des principaux fournisseurs de logiciels pour le marché des capitaux, ont annoncé aujourd’hui la mise en œuvre réussie de la plateforme d’émetteur CSD de OeKB : une plateforme de gestion numérique des titres basée sur la solution de dépositaire central de titres (CSD) de Montran. Les deux sociétés ont célébré ce lancement réussi avec un événement de mise en service à Vienne.

Il s’agit d’une étape majeure dans la numérisation de l’infrastructure de conservation sur le marché autrichien des capitaux, rendue possible par la récente modification du règlement national sur les dépôts. Cette nouvelle plateforme permet l’émission numérique de titres et gère l’ensemble du cycle de vie des titres dans un système unique. Elle prend en charge l’intégration complète avec les systèmes des clients pour créer un processus transparent et sans papier. Les clients peuvent désormais bénéficier d’une numérisation de bout en bout avec un niveau accru de flexibilité, de rapidité et de commodité. OeKB CSD et Montran sont toutes deux convaincues que cela permettra une nouvelle dynamique pour le marché autrichien des capitaux et constituera une base solide pour la poursuite de la numérisation et de la croissance.

« Ce projet a été véritablement transformationnel, non seulement du point de vue technologique, car nous avons rationalisé considérablement et remplacé le dernier élément de « legacy » (héritage) de notre architecture informatique, mais il a également impliqué un grand changement organisationnel », a expliqué Laura Hauser, la directrice technique d’OeKB CSD. « Ce fut un excellent travail d’équipe et un effort exceptionnel pendant une période difficile. Nous sommes très reconnaissants à notre équipe, à notre partenaire de solution logicielle, Montran, dont l’équipe s’est avérée fiable avec une expertise exceptionnelle dans notre domaine, en tenant toutes ses promesses ».

Raegan Esca, le directeur général de Montran Europe, a déclaré : « La polyvalence de notre solution CSD nous a permis de fournir une plateforme d’émetteur robuste et efficace pour OeKB CSD. Nos fonctionnalités CSD ont permis la mise en œuvre d’une application moderne pour OeKB CSD afin d’offrir à ses clients une intégration de bout en bout pour la gestion du cycle de vie des titres. Les avantages de cette nouvelle plateforme seront visibles pour toutes les principales parties prenantes, y compris les émetteurs, les fournisseurs de services, les banques et les investisseurs. Nous sommes convaincus que cela deviendra une pierre angulaire pour stimuler l’innovation et la croissance sur le marché autrichien des capitaux. Nous sommes ravis de lancer la plateforme des émetteurs avec notre partenaire stratégique, OeKB CSD. Ensemble, nous sommes impatients de fournir les solutions d’avenir dont OeKB CSD et ses clients ont besoin. »

À propos du groupe OeKB

Les entreprises du groupe OeKB, avec leurs plus de 500 employés, fournissent des services essentiels et pertinents pour l’industrie d’exportation autrichienne, le marché des capitaux et l’industrie du tourisme, offrent des services pour le marché de l’énergie et font partie du financement du développement autrichien. Toutes ces activités ont un avantage économique évident, renforcent l’Autriche en tant que site économique et soutiennent l’économie autrichienne dans la concurrence mondiale. OeKB agit de manière neutre sur le plan concurrentiel, intersectorielle et durablement responsable.

À propos d’OeKB CSD

OeKB CSD Ltd., une filiale à 100 % d’OeKB AG, est le dépositaire central autrichien de titres, un fournisseur d’infrastructures critiques du marché des capitaux jouant un rôle central sur le marché des capitaux autrichien. OeKB CSD accepte des titres d’émetteurs qui lèvent des capitaux pour la garde et l’administration au nom des investisseurs, fournit des services de règlement de titres et traite l’ensemble des opérations sur titres pour les actifs détenus en dépôt.

À propos de Montran

Fondée en 1979, Montran est le principal fournisseur de solutions et de services d’infrastructure de paiement et de marché des capitaux pour de nombreuses institutions financières parmi les plus importantes au monde, leur permettant de garder une longueur d’avance dans le paysage de plus en plus difficile de l’industrie financière d’aujourd’hui. Ayant des installations et des opérations critiques dans plus de 80 pays, Montran est un leader mondial dans le domaine des technologies financières. Pour plus d’informations sur les produits et services de Montran, rendez-vous sur www.montran.com.

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November 14, 2022

Government of St Kitts and Nevis does NOT accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its Citizenship by Investment programme

Basseterre, Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The government of St Kitts and Nevis, along with the Citizenship by Investment Unit of the country, have refuted claims that investors interested in gaining citizenship to the country can pay using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment programme is the oldest in the world, having been established in 1984 – it has been providing investors from across the globe with one of the quickest, easiest, and most affordable routes to second citizenship.

Underpinned by a robust multi-layered due diligence process undertaken by international security firms from the USA and the UK, investors need to go through a formal application process consisting of eight main steps, which include:

Step 1: Pre-approval by a verified St Kitts and Nevis government agent and preparation of the application
Step 2: Submission of the citizenship application
Step 3: Application processing by the Citizenship by Investment Unit and internal and external due diligence checks
Step 4: Approval in principle letter issued
Step 5: Contribution to either the Sustainable Growth Fund or pre-approved real estate
Step 6: Bank clearance of source of funds
Step 7: Certificate of Registration issued
Step 8: Citizen can apply for a St Kitts and Nevis passport

Throughout the whole process, an investor will engage with an approved government agent who will facilitate the application and any payments will be made via registered banks using fiat money – a government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity such as gold. An example would be the United States Dollar, Euro or Chinese Yuan.

Investors cannot make payments to a government-approved agent or the Citizenship by Investment Unit by using cryptocurrencies directly. These would need to be liquidated into fiat currency first and an applicant would need to provide a supporting affidavit regarding their source of funds as part of the application process.

St Kitts and Nevis has not yet passed any legislation regarding cryptocurrency. The country is participating in the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) pilot program, which aims to study the utilisation of cryptocurrency as a fiat currency.

The program’s purpose is to provide a safe and secure digital financial system by utilising the advantages of blockchain and is designed to exemplify the viability and functionality of the ECCB’s ability to issue Digital Eastern Caribbean Dollars.

The ECCB is the fiscal authority for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).

Speaking at the Electronic Cash Conference 2022, which was held on November 12 2022, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, expressed that while Bitcoin Cash – another form of cryptocurrency – is used as a method of tender by some businesses in the country, due diligence checks are presently being prioritised by his government ahead of any major decision concerning that cryptocurrency’s official use.

Prime Minister Drew stated that the financial safety and security of citizens is a matter of high priority, and the government, with the guidance of the ECCB, is prepared to explore the possibility of Bitcoin Cash being introduced as legal tender in the local financial space.

The Prime Minister explained that once all the crucial financial safeguards were in place, Bitcoin Cash could become accepted legal tender in St Kitts and Nevis by March 2023.

Benefits of gaining second citizenship to St Kitts and Nevis

Citizenship by Investment is a legal process to grant individuals – and, in some cases, their families – dual citizenship in exchange for a financial contribution to the country’s economy. The initiative permits countries to channel generated funds into developing healthcare, education, infrastructure, and more.

Being a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis offers investors a myriad of benefits including family reunification, global mobility, enhanced security, and increased economic opportunities.

St Kitts and Nevis offers award-winning and internationally acclaimed education institutions like veterinary and medical universities, attracting global-minded professionals. People from all over the world come to St Kitts and Nevis, over a million a year to be exact, because of its booming tourism sector.

In recent years, the nation has seen growing numbers of American visitors. Around 1,000 US citizens currently reside on the islands. Now, with more work-from-home policies than ever, many see the Caribbean as the perfect destination to get away from the bustle of big cities while continuing to be connected when business calls.

In addition to citizenship and global mobility, St Kitts and Nevis offers its citizens who choose to become tax residents a wide variety of insurance services in a tax-friendly environment. For example, the country guarantees financial privacy by not making any information about offshore business owners and top managers public.

Portfolio diversification is the first step in dispersing your investments so that your exposure is not limited to just one type of asset. An investment in property in St Kitts and Nevis would allow you to diversify your investment portfolio and potentially make a return upon selling that your share in real estate after the end of the minimum hold period.

This will also ensure that you retain a certain amount of your wealth outside of your home country. In uncertain political and economic climates, knowing that a portion of your portfolio is free from the grips of a potentially corrupt government can give you tremendous peace of mind.

PR St Kitts and Nevis
Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8696223

November 14, 2022

Winners in the 19th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business Announced

Women-Owned Businesses and Professionals Were Honored at an Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas

Winners named in 19th Stevie Awards for Women in Business program

Top female entrepreneurs, executives, and employees from around the world were named as Stevie Award winners at a ceremony in Las Vegas, NV U.S.A. on Friday, November 11.

FAIRFAX, Va., Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, winners in the 2022 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business were announced on Friday, November 11.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the prestigious International Business Awards® and American Business Awards®. The Stevie is widely considered to be the world’s premier business award.

With nominated working women and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced during a gala event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2022 competition attracted nominations from 27 nations.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations and individuals around the world were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 200 business professionals working in seven specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients. Winners were determined by the number of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards won in the competition. The Grand Stevie Award winners are:

The Audacious Agency, Coombabah, QLD, Australia (#1)
IBM, Armonk, NY, U.S.A. (#2)
Megaphone, Melbourne, Australia (#3)
Melissa Sones Consulting, New York, NY U.S.A. (#4)
Global Press Institute, Washington D.C., U.S.A. (#5)

The 2022 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Notable Gold Stevie Award winners in this year’s competition include:

Sandrine Pons, Regional Vice President, Head of Solutions Sales & Innovation, SAP, Paris, France, for Women Helping Women – Business
Ann Kaplan, Las Vegas, NV U.S.A, for Woman of the Year – Accounting and Finance
Susan McLaughlin, Senior Innovative Media and Creative Operations Manager, Vanguard, Malvern, PA U.S.A, for Woman of the Year – Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
Fatima Sultan Al-Kuwari, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Ooredoo, Qatar, for Female Executive of the Year – Business Products –More Than 2,500 Employees
Shama Hyder, CEO and Founder, Zen Media, Plano, TX U.S.A., for Most Innovative Woman of the Year – Social Media
Stephanie Wernick Barker, President, Mondo, New York, NY U.S.A, for Female Thought Leader of the Year – Business Services
Gehad Hamdy, Founder, Speak Up, Giza, Egypt, for Social Change Maker of the Year – Gender
Michelle John, Founding Director, PEGS, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, United Kingdom, for Woman of the Year – Government or Non-Profit
Kelley Higney, Founder & CEO, Bug Bite Thing, Port Lucie, FL U.S.A, for Best Female Entrepreneur – Consumer Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
Allison Grafton, President and Founder, Rockwood Custom Homes, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for Best Female Entrepreneur in Canada

Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Babylist, Brandless, But Bite Thing, Caroline Kennedy Group, Everise, Flock DC, Global Press Institute, Halkbank, Harman International, LickYourPhone Media, Luma Brighter Learning, Megaphone, Primrose Schools, Rockwood Custom Homes, Rubi Laboratories, Sidus Space, and The Tambellini Group.

HCLTech, the global technology company delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering and cloud, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products, sponsored awards in four categories called HCLTech Women in Technology Awards. Among notable Stevie winners in those categories are:

Monica Williams, Senior Vice President – Digital Products and Content Distribution, NBCUniversal, for New Normal Digital Transformer
Karen Oerter, Director of Information Technology, Land O’Lakes, for New Normal Digital Transformer
Abby Knowles, Vice President Global Technology Solutions, Verizon, for Leading Through Uncertainty
Susan Doniz, CIO & SVP of Information Technology & Data Analytics, The Boeing Company, for Leading Through Uncertainty
Tia Ballard, Head of Cloud and Automation, Sempra, for Leadership in Next Gen Technology
Constance Metcalfe, Associate Vice President – Enterprise Infrastructure Transformation, Canadian Tire Corporation, for Excellence in Transforming Business

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards staged the fifth edition of its Women|Future Conference virtually on November 8-10 in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. More than 250 women shared three days of programming highlighted by a keynote presentation by Rashmi Verma, head of D&I at Hugo Boss.

Entries for the 2023 (20th) edition of the awards will open in May. The 2023 awards ceremony will be held at the Marriott Marquis in New York, NY USA in November.

About the Stevie Awards

The Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Contact:
Maggie Miller
Maggie@StevieAwards.com
+1 (703) 547-8389

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GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8695848

November 14, 2022

MGA Establishes MGA Studios with $500 million in Cash and Assets; Acquires Pixel Zoo Animation

The move signals MGA’s strong commitment to growing its dominance in the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape by pursuing strategic gaming and tech acquisitions or partners

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MGA Entertainment, Inc. (MGA), one of the world’s largest and fastest growing privately held toy and entertainment companies, announced today the formation of MGA Studios, an independent subsidiary of MGA, backed with more than a half billion dollars in cash and assets. This move underscores MGA’s continued commitment to a rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape. In fact, more than 35 years ago, when it wasn’t usual in the toy industry to incorporate entertainment, MGA embraced it and changed the company name from Micro Games of America to MGA Entertainment, Inc.

“While continued innovation in the toy category remains a key driver for our business, we understand the world is changing and are fully committed to carrying our winning legacy into this new and evolving digital landscape,” said Isaac Larian, Founder and CEO, MGA Entertainment, Inc. “In addition to growing our large catalogue of television, movie and streaming content, through MGA Studios we aim to create smaller and safer mini universes for our children to grow and develop in a seamless digital and physical entertainment ecosystem.”

MGA Entertainment also announced today that Pixel Zoo Animation, one of the leading digital animation studios globally, is MGA Studios’ first acquisition. During the past several years, Pixel Zoo has pushed the limits of high-quality animation and content for children and families. Paul Gillett, Founder and CEO of Pixel Zoo, will continue in his role supporting MGA Studios’ growth into a dominant position globally.

“During the past few years, we have been extremely impressed by MGA’s brands, how they partner with their suppliers, as well as their creative and execution capabilities. Intellectual Property development has always been an important part of our studio and this opportunity allows our team to show the world what we can do,” said Gillett. “Working with MGA has been one of the most rewarding experiences we have had, so partnering with them is the next natural step for us. I am excited for our studio to be the first foundational building block of MGA Studios.”

MGA Studios will be charged with independently developing and growing a digital presence through acquisitions, partnerships, and in-house development of innovative content and original intellectual property (IP). MGA Studios will leverage MGA Entertainment’s existing and future IP including L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes® Let’s Go Cozy Coupe®, Rainbow High, Bratz®, Baby Born®, Mermaze Mermaidz, Na! Na! Na! Surprise, and more, with great new content and brands coming soon.

“MGA Entertainment has demonstrated time and again our ability to create multiple blockbuster brands from the ground up. The purpose of MGA Studios will be to facilitate the expansion of these brands beyond the toy aisle and turn them into true transmedia franchises, including entertainment, gaming, and online experiences,” said MGA Studios President, Jason Larian. “We are committed to bringing new partners into the fold to help realize our vision and the Pixel Zoo acquisition is the first step of many on this journey.”

MGA Entertainment and Pixel Zoo have collaborated on many notable projects during the last several years including L.O.L. Surprise! The Movie, available on Netflix; L.O.L. Surprise! House of Surprises series, available on YouTube and Netflix; Rainbow High series, available on YouTube and Netflix; Mermaze Mermaidz series, available on YouTube; Let’s Go Cozy Coupe series, available on YouTube and Amazon; and more. Their latest project together, L.O.L. Surprise! Winter Fashion Show movie, premiered on Netflix this past October.

About MGA Entertainment

MGA Entertainment is one of the world’s fastest growing and largest privately held toy and entertainment companies. Headquartered in Chatsworth, Calif. and with offices globally, the company creates innovative, proprietary, and licensed consumer products and entertainment, including toys, games, dolls, apparel, consumer electronics, home décor, stationery, sporting goods, movies, and television series. The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes®, Rainbow High, Shadow High, Bratz®, MGA’s Miniverse, Na! Na! Na! Surprise, Mermaze Mermaidz Color Change, Micro Games of America, Baby Born® Surprise and Zapf Creation®. For more information, please visit us at www.mgae.com or check us out at LinkedIn or Twitter.

About MGA Studios

MGA Studios is an independent subsidiary of MGA Entertainment, Inc. and a Delaware C-corp. The company is focused on developing and growing a safe digital environment for children and families to come together and enjoy wholesome entertainment across digital and physical platforms. MGA Studios has rights to more than 7,000 trademarks, patents, and copyrighted works and has financial backing of MGA Entertainment, Inc. For more information, please visit www.MGAStudios.com

About Pixel Zoo

Pixel Zoo is a full-service animation studio that has focused on digital content in both short and long forms. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Pixel Zoo is at the cutting edge of animation, pushing the boundaries and developing new techniques that have continually kept them on top as the industry develops and changes around them. Lead by a team of creatives Pixel Zoo prides itself on delivering a product that speaks for itself.

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NOTE TO EDITOR: Video clips and stills available of animated series and movie on request.

Attachments

Alan Hilowitz
MGA Entertainment, Inc.
+1.818.221.4431
news@mgae.com


GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8695466

November 14, 2022

YOFC participates in the World Optical Fibre & Cable Conference 2022

Leverage “BRIGHTS” to Capture New Growth Opportunities of Digital Economy

WUHAN, China, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC), a world-leading optical communications company as a partner and major sponsor for the World Optical fibre & Cable Conference for many years, participated in the 2022 edition of the global event held in Milan on 7-9 November 2022. At the invitation of the organizer, YOFC executive director and president Zhuang Dan attended the roundtable forum held during the event on November 8, at which he discussed the current status of the fibre and cable industry with other executives from several cabling giants, including Europe’s Prysmian Group and US-based Corning Incorporated. Additionally, YOFC senior vice president Jan Bongaerts gave a keynote speech entitled ‘Leverage “BRIGHTS” to Capture New Growth Opportunities of Digital Economy’.

Given the digital transformation taking place across all sectors everywhere, and further accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the digital economy is becoming part of what makes the world run much faster than anticipated. Remote working, online teaching and medical diagonosis are becoming the new norm. As a result, high-speed, reliable broadband access has become one of the necessities of everyday life. Moving from people being connected to things being connected, from massive data to artificial intelligence, and from consumption to intelligent manufacturing, digitalization is emerging as a core driving force of economic development and social transformation in major countries worldwide, prompting governments to enhance capabilities in digital growth by continuously strengthening the information infrastructure.

China has witnessed the increased adoption of gigabit broadband, accelerated penetration of 5G, and launched the Eastern Data and Western Computing project that aims to boost data centers in the country’s economically poorer but energy-rich western regions this year. At the same time, many countries have also sped up the construction of 5G and FTTx infrastructure with significantly increased investments, resulting in increasing demand for optical fibres and cables. According to CRU, a British leading provider of analysis and consulting in the commodity markets, global demand for optical fibres and cables is expected to maintain an upward trend from 2022 to 2027. Mr. Zhuang also pointed out that China, which now accounts for over 50% of that global demand, is anticipated to see steady growth in the segment over the next few years.

Driven by global digital transformation, the optical fibre and cable sector is entering a new stage of growth. With huge potential, YOFC’s G.654.E fibre, the preferred choice for ultra-high-speed transmission technology, has been successfully applied in several trunk cable lines of China’s three major carriers and in State Grid Corporation of China’s ultra-high voltage transmission project, with the total core length deployed exceeding 1 million fkm. China’s aggregate demand for next-generation G.654.E fibre is expected to reach 10 million fkm(core length) by 2025. Large-scale global applications are foreseen as some carriers worldwide have started to consider deploying the fibre in trunk lines.

To leverage the unprecedented opportunities brought about by digital transformation across the whole sector, YOFC launched the all-optical “BRIGHTS” series of high-performance optical fibre and cable products and solutions featuring big bandwidth, reliability, intelligence, green, high quality, time saving and security.

Big Bandwidth

In light of the growing complexity of the network, the massive surge in the amount of data that needs to get transmitted, and increased pressure on bandwidth as we transition further into the digital economy, YOFC has rolled out a number of cutting-edge optical fibres, including the new-generation trunk line optical fibre G.654.E, a high bandwidth multi-mode fibre, as well as multi-core and hollow-core fibres, strengthening the backbone of the optical network.

Reliability

With a complete optical fibre and cable portfolio that can be used in access and backbone networks and meets the optical transmission needs of various application scenarios from land to ocean, YOFC has addressed the growing market segments while ensuring the stable operation of all-optical networks.

Intelligent

YOFC has also developed a number of intelligent solutions that can enhance the overall quality of all-optical connections by enabling quick fault detection and location, real-time monitoring of optical path performance, and quality prediction. The solutions include automated optical cable monitoring system, distributed temperature sensing system, etc.

Green

YOFC’s G.654.E fibre can reduce energy consumption by 20% at optical relay stations and 50% at electrical relay stations in long-haul trunk transmission. By integrating ultra-high density optical distribution frames, pre-terminated optical cables and optical modules, the Company’s data center solution improves the density of cabling space and reduces obstruction to hot and cold channels while enabling scalable bandwidth, helping reduce energy consumption.

High Quality

Based on its philosophy of seeking perfection, YOFC has been committed to developing various time-tested optical fibre and cable products by using premium raw materials and optimizing the manufacturing process. With customers from over 90 countries and regions worldwide, the Company has been widely recognized in the industry for its high quality solutions.

Time Saving

To enhance performance when deploying all-optical networks, YOFC, based on the application and laying environments, has designed and developed several new optical fibre and cable solutions that flexibly and efficiently meet the needs of all-optical networks in various scenarios, including all-dry, micro-cluster, air-blown and ultra-high-fibre-count (UHFC) cables.

Security

In an environment characterized by high-speed data transmissions and open sharing of resources, YOFC has continued exploring the potential of optical communication technologies while providing multi-level security for the seamless operation of large facilities, including power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and electrical equipment through optical fibre sensing products with wide coverage, high sensitivity and high accuracy.

At the conference, Mr. Zhuang also joined executives from Prysmian Group and Corning in an in-depth discussion on the current status and trends, as well as opportunities and challenges of the global optical fibre and cable sector. Mr. Zhuang said that despite the sector’s positive fundamentals, there are still uncertainties and challenges, including political tensions in some regions, restricted supply of raw materials, insufficient transport capacity and high freight costs. As a result, industry players need to strengthen cooperation to ensure the sustainable development of the industry.

YOFC has been committed to extending optical fibre connectivity to every corner of the world and building a solid foundation for the development of the digital economy. With this mission in mind, the Company, based on independent innovation, plans to continue iterating and developing new products and solutions that drive the growth of the sector, while further improving its international marketing network as it works with its partners to jointly leverage the opportunities presented by the ever evolving digital world.

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November 14, 2022

OeKB CSD and Montran deliver CSD Issuer Platform to OeKB CSD Clients

OeKB will provide true end-to-end digitalization to its client segments in Austria via Montran’s next-generation solutions

VIENNA, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — OeKB CSD, the Austrian Central Securities Depository, and Montran, a leading provider of capital market software, today announced the successfully completed implementation of the OeKB CSD Issuer Platform: a platform for the digital management of securities based on Montran’s core Central Securities Depository (CSD) solution. Both companies celebrated the successful launch with a go-live event in Vienna.

This is a major milestone in the digitalization of custody infrastructure on the Austrian Capital Market, enabled by the recent amendment to the national Depository Regulation. The new platform enables the digital issuance of securities as well as manages the entire lifecycle of securities in a single system. It supports full integration with customer systems to create seamless and paperless process. Customers can now benefit from end-to-end digitalization with an increased level of flexibility, speed, and convenience. Both, OeKB CSD and Montran, are convinced that this will enable a new dynamic for the Austrian Capital Market and will serve as a solid basis for further digitalization and growth.

“This project was truly transformational, not only from the technology point of view, as we replaced the last piece of legacy and significantly streamlined our IT architecture, but also involved a large organizational change,” said Laura Hauser, CTO of OeKB CSD. “It was great teamwork and an exceptional effort during a challenging time. We are very thankful to our team, our software solution partner, Montran, whose team proved to be reliable with an outstanding domain expertise in our business and delivered on their promises“.

Raegan Esca, General Manager at Montran Europe, said, “The versatility of our CSD solution allowed us to provide a robust and efficient Issuer Platform for OeKB CSD. Our CSD features enabled the implementation of a modern application for OeKB CSD to offer its clients end-to-end integration for the Securities Lifecycle Management. The benefits of this new platform will be visible to all the main stakeholders including issuers, service providers, banks, and investors. We are confident this will become a cornerstone for driving innovation and growth in the Austrian Capital Market. We are thrilled to launch the Issuer Platform with our strategic partner, OeKB CSD. Together we look forward to delivering the future-forward solutions that the OeKB CSD and its clients require.”

About OeKB Group

The companies of OeKB Group with their more than 500 employees provide essential and relevant services for the Austrian export industry, the capital market, and the tourism industry, offer services for the energy market and are part of the Austrian development financing. All its activities have a clear economic benefit, strengthen Austria as a business location and support Austria’s economy in global competition. OeKB acts in a competitively neutral, cross-sectoral, and sustainably responsible manner.

About OeKB CSD

OeKB CSD Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of OeKB AG, is the Austrian Central Securities Depository, a critical capital market infrastructure provider playing a central role on Austria’s capital market. OeKB CSD accepts securities from capital-raising issuers for safekeeping and administration on the investors’ behalf, provides securities settlement services and is processing the full range of corporate actions for the assets held in custody.

About Montran

Founded in 1979, Montran is the leading provider of Payment and Capital Market Infrastructure solutions and services for many of the world’s foremost financial institutions, enabling them to stay ahead in today’s increasingly challenging financial industry landscape. Having mission critical installations and operations in over 80 countries, Montran is a global leader in the financial technology arena. More information about Montran’s Products and Services can be found at www.montran.com.

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November 14, 2022

New China COVID Rules Spur Concern as Some Cities Halt Routine Tests

Several Chinese cities began cutting routine community COVID-19 testing on Monday, days after China announced an easing of some of its heavy-handed coronavirus measures, sparking worry in some communities as nationwide cases continued to rise.

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, some families expressed concern about exposing their children to the virus at school, giving excuses such as toothaches or earaches for their children’s absence, according to social media posts following a state media report that testing in the city would end.

Other cities, including Yanji in the northeast and Hefei in the east, also said they will stop routine community COVID testing, according to official notices, halting a practice that has become a major fiscal burden for communities across China.

On Friday, the National Health Commission updated its COVID rules in the most significant easing of curbs yet, describing the changes as an “optimization” of its measures to soften the impact on people’s lives, even as China sticks to its zero-COVID policy nearly three years into the pandemic.

The move, which cut quarantine times for close contacts of cases and inbound travelers by two days, to eight days total, was applauded by investors, even though many experts don’t expect China to begin significant easing until March or April at the earliest.

The changes come even as several major cities including Beijing logged record infections on Monday, posing a challenge for authorities scrambling to quell outbreaks quickly while trying to minimize the impact on people’s lives and the economy.

Some areas of Beijing are requiring daily tests.

The concern and confusion in Shijiazhuang was a top-five trending topic on the Twitter-like Weibo.

The city’s Communist Party chief, Zhang Chaochao, said its “optimization” of prevention measures should not be seen as authorities “lying flat” – an expression for inaction – nor is Shijiazhuang moving towards “full liberation” from COVID curbs.

The city, about 295 kms (183 miles) southwest of Beijing, reported 544 infections for Sunday, only three of which it categorized as symptomatic.

“I’m a little scared. In the future, public places will not look at nucleic acid tests, and nucleic acid test points will also be closed, everyone needs to pay for the tests,” one Weibo user wrote, referring to Shijiazhuang.

Gavekal Research said in a Monday note that it was “curious timing” for China to relax its COVID policies: “The combination of an intensifying outbreak and loosening central requirements has led to debate over whether China is now gradually moving to a de facto policy of tolerating Covid,” it said.

Fresh records

Nationwide, 16,072 new locally transmitted cases were reported by the National Health Commission, up from 14,761 on Sunday and the most in China since April 25, when Shanghai was battling an outbreak that locked down the city for two months.

Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Zhengzhou all recorded their worst days so far, though in the capital city the tally was a few hundred cases, while the other cities were counting in thousands.

Case numbers are small compared with infection levels in other countries, but China’s insistence on clearing outbreaks as soon as they emerge under its zero-COVID policy has been widely disruptive to daily life and the economy.

Under the new rules unveiled on Friday, individuals, neighborhoods and public spaces can still be subject to lockdowns, but the health commission relaxed some measures.

In addition to shortening quarantines, secondary close contacts are no longer identified and put into isolation – removing what had been a major inconvenience for people caught up in contact-tracing efforts when a case is found.

Despite the loosening of curbs, many experts described the measures as incremental, with some predicting that China is unlikely to begin reopening until after the March session of parliament, at the earliest.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said on Monday that rising cases in cities including Guangzhou and Chongqing and the continuation of the zero-COVID policy pose downside near-term economic risks.

Source: Voice of America

November 14, 2022

Invasive Mosquito Threatens Malaria Control in Africa

Malaria exploded this year in the Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa, which saw more than 10 times as many cases between January and May as it did in all of 2019.

What made this spike in cases unusual is that it happened outside the rainy season, when malaria typically surges across Africa, and in an urban area — malaria is more of a rural problem on the continent. Cities are not immune, but they typically don’t see these kinds of outbreaks.

Something new and insidious has arrived in the Horn of Africa. An invasive species of mosquito called Anopheles stephensi threatens to unravel two decades of gains in malaria control. And it may bring the deadly disease to more of the continent’s rapidly growing cities.

“There is real fear that it could start more transmission in these areas that traditionally don’t have as much malaria,” said Arran Hamlet, a disease modeling expert with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “And they don’t have infection control strategies implemented to the same levels.”

The new mosquito arrives at a bad time in the fight against malaria.

Africa’s native mosquitoes have become increasingly resistant to insecticides. (Anopheles stephensi is already resistant.) In addition, the malaria parasite is getting not only tougher to kill, but tougher to spot. Malaria strains that don’t show up on rapid diagnostic tests are becoming more common.

“We don’t want the three to meet — the drug resistance, the diagnostic resistance and the highly efficient vector [Anopheles stephensi],” said Fitsum Girma Tadesse, a molecular biologist at Ethiopia’s Armauer Hansen Research Institute.

“What happens if they coexist? We don’t know,” he said. “It’s really dangerous. You can’t detect the parasite. You can’t kill it with a drug. And the mosquito is wise enough to evade your [control] mechanisms.”

Fitsum and his colleagues linked Anopheles stephensi to the Dire Dawa outbreak in a study presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Seattle this month. It is the strongest evidence yet that the mosquito is increasing malaria rates in Ethiopia.

A different mosquito

Malaria fighters started the millennium strong.

With insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor insecticide spraying campaigns and new artemisinin-based drugs, deaths from malaria plunged from nearly 900,000 in 2000 to around 560,000 in 2015. But since then, progress has stalled.

And the tools that have worked up until recently won’t help much against Anopheles stephensi.

“This [mosquito] is different and more insidious than some of the other mosquitoes that transmit malaria that we’re used to seeing in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs epidemiologist April Monroe.

Africa’s native malaria mosquitoes prefer to bite people inside their homes late at night. That’s why bed nets and indoor spraying have been so effective.

But Anopheles stephensi bites earlier in the evening. When it goes searching for a meal, “people aren’t actually in bed yet, and so they don’t get the same protection” from bed nets, Hamlet said.

It also prefers to take its blood meal outdoors. Or if it does bite indoors, it doesn’t rest there, thereby avoiding indoor insecticides.

The new mosquito’s habitat is different, too. Most malaria mosquitoes live in rural Africa. But Anopheles stephensi is “really highly adapted to urban areas, which isn’t what we typically see,” Monroe said.

It likes to lay its eggs in water storage containers, which are especially common in Africa’s fast-growing unplanned urban areas that lack piped water, Fitsum noted.

Newcomer

Originally from South Asia, Anopheles stephensi was first spotted on the African continent in Djibouti in 2012.

The small nation was on the verge of eliminating malaria at the time. It recorded just 27 cases that year. In 2020, there were more than 73,000.

Besides Djibouti and Ethiopia, the mosquito has turned up in Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria.

One study estimates the mosquito may put an additional 126 million people at risk of malaria in cities across Africa.

In Ethiopia alone, Hamlet and colleagues estimate that Anopheles stephensi could increase malaria cases by 50% and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to control.

“This is very much possibly a cheap option compared to letting Anopheles stephensi spread around the country,” Hamlet said. “There is a lot of economic burden on both individuals and the wider economy in this level of malaria increase.”

The last thing African countries need, however, is new disease vector that is expensive to control.

“Most of the countries affected by malaria have limited resources to deal with already existing prevalent diseases,” Fitsum said.

One bit of relatively good news is that since Anopheles stephensi breeds in the same places as the mosquitoes that carry yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue, efforts that target one would also control the others.

Fitsum says covering water containers with polystyrene beads can help prevent the mosquitoes from laying eggs. He advises people to cover water containers tightly and get rid of any they don’t need.

And keep using bed nets and indoor sprays, he added. Native mosquitoes are still out there.

Source: Voice of America

November 14, 2022

Cabinet council approves PLANAGRÃO action plan

Luanda – Economic Commission of Cabinet Council of Ministers approved Monday (14) the Action Plan of the National Cereal Production Development Plan (Planagrão), an initiative estimated at 2.2 billion kwanzas.

Under the direction of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, the approved document indicates the actions to be carried out, taking into account the achievement of the objectives of the Planagrão, with emphasis on increasing the quality and quantity of maize , soybeans, wheat and rice grains.

The Executive hopes that the implementation of this instrument will contribute to the country’s food self-sufficiency, the development of agriculture and infrastructure to support production, job creation, as well as the development of value chains, adjacent to cereals, such as livestock, fishing and milling.

According to the Secretary of State for Planning, Milton Reis, the action plan includes 10 areas, including the governance of the plan, the functioning of the multi-sector commission for its implementation, as well as its technical monitoring unit, legislation ( access to land), a land bank, to facilitate access for promoters, infrastructure, inputs (so that the process takes place without constraints) and funding.

Planagrão foresees financing in the amount of 1.7 billion kwanzas, through the Development Bank of Angola (BDA), through the National Development Fund, and an additional 100 billion kwanzas, through the Active Capital Fund Angolan Risk (FACRA), to support businesses.

Logistics, shipping and processing are also included in the Planagrão, which aims to increase the production of rice, corn, wheat and soybeans to 6,104,282 tons in 2027, instead of the 3,026,140 tons produced in 2021.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

November 14, 2022

Egypt congratulates Angola on 47 years of National Independence

Luanda – President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel El-Sisi Monday sent a congratulatory message to his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço on 47th anniversary of National Independence, celebrated on November 11.

The message, delivered by Mohamed Reda, the Egyptian president’s special envoy, was received by the Angolan ambassador to Egypt, Nelson Cosme.

The congratulations are extended to the Angolan people, highlighting the progress made by Angola over the 47 years of independence, especially for the recent general elections, which led President João Manuel to a second term.

According to a press release, President Abdel El-Sisi also congratulates Angola for the important role it has played in the search for peaceful solutions to regional conflicts, and thanks the country for its highest participation in COP-27, the UN Conference on Climate Changes.

The document expresses Egypt’s availability to continue working with Angola and other African countries on a common position about climate change and other topics of common interest.

The 47th anniversary of National Independence was celebrated throughout the country and abroad, marked by various political-cultural, sporting and recreational activities.

The central event took place in the province of Luanda, and was chaired by minister of Territory Administration, Dionísio da Fonseca, on behalf of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

Source: Angola Press News Agency