Month: October 2021

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Laos posts 447 new Covid-19 cases, two new deaths

Laos has confirmed 447 new Covid-19 cases and two new deaths over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 38,728 including 6,769 active cases and 61 deaths, according to the National Taskforce Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

Of the new confirmed cases, 432 were classified as domestic infections and 15 as imported cases.

The new deaths were reported in Vientiane and Vientiane (province).

Some 639 patients were discharged from hospital yesterday, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Laboratory and Epidemiology, Ministry of Health, Dr Buaphanh Khamphaphongphan told a press conference today.

The domestic infections included 253 in Vientiane, 54 in Luang Prabang, 52 in Bokeo, 23 in Vientiane (province), 18 in Savannakhet, ten each in Champassak and Saravan, seven in Khammuan, two in Oudomxay and one each in Xieng Khuang, Borikhamxay and Xekong.

The imported cases were recorded in Xayabury eight, Champassak five and Savannakhet two.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Tonga’s First COVID-19 Case Detected, May Face Lockdown

Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tuionetoa warned Saturday that residents on the country’s main island Tongatapu faced a possible lockdown next week after recording its first case of COVID-19.

The tiny Pacific kingdom had been among only a handful of countries to escape the virus so far, and the infection was detected in a person in managed isolation after returning to Tonga on a repatriation flight from New Zealand.

“The reason the lockdown won’t happen this weekend is because I have been advised that the virus will take more than three days to develop in someone who catches it before they become contagious,” Tuionetoa said.

“We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus.”

Most of Tonga’s population of 106,000 live on Tongatapu, and fewer than a third have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Health officials said the person who tested positive had received their second jab in mid-October.

The repatriation flight included members of Tonga’s Olympic team, who had been stranded in Christchurch since the Tokyo Games. The athletes were double vaccinated before they left for the Olympics.

New Zealand’s health ministry confirmed the infected person had tested negative before the flight left Christchurch, where there are only four known cases of COVID-19, all of them in the same household

Source: Voice of America

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2nd Season of Popular Early Childhood Development TV Series Launched

The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICT) and UNICEF, alongside partners including the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the European Union (EU) and USAID, on Oct 29 officially launched the 2nd season of the popular Early Childhood Development (ECD) TV series “My House”, which aims to promote young Lao children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, as well as their learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hybrid launch event, held at the MoES ICT Centre with the majority of participants attending virtually, was co-chaired by Vice Minister of Education and Sports Sisouk Vongvichit, Vice Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Vanhsy Kouamoua, and UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto.

“The arrival of the series’ 2nd season is timely as families and children in the Lao PDR continue to experience disruption in their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including school closures. It is my hope that My House will act as an important tool for parents to help facilitate their children’s learning during this challenging time and raise their awareness on hygiene practices that can help keep them safe from COVID-19,” said Vice Minister of Education and Sports Sisouk Vongvichit.

This new season of the ECD TV series contains a total of 12 episodes with sign language interpretation and integrates messages around COVID-19 prevention and control, including hygiene practices, alongside fun learning activities that provide basic knowledge for children, such alphabets, numbers, colours, shapes and other similar topics to help facilitate their school readiness. The series also contains a component targeting caregivers on how they can promote children’s learning through play.

My House 2 will be broadcasted through Lao National TV Channel 3, Lao Star channel, and the MoES ESTV (LaoSat Channel 8). In addition, it will also be disseminated on social media, YouTube and the MoES Khang Panya Lao.

“The second season of My House is the result of the great collaboration between MoES, MICT, Lao Star TV and UNICEF, with the support from the EU, GPE and USAID. MICT is very happy with the result of this collaboration and we hope that the second season will contribute towards providing quality media that is specifically catered towards the experience of young children in the Lao PDR,” said Vice Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Vanhsy Kouamoua.

The ECD TV series My House is noted for its uniquely Lao story context, characters and music. It contains a mix of animation and its development has brought together some of the most talented, open-minded and creative media in the country.

“A child’s ability to think, form relationships, and live up to his or her full potential is directly related to the synergistic effect of good health, good nutrition, and appropriate stimulation and care from parents. This combination of nature and nurture establishes the foundation of a child’s future and it is my sincerest hope that My House, both its first and second seasons, will prove to be an important contribution to this equation that will help realise the potential of all Lao children,” stated UNICEF Representative to Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto.

In addition to the TV series, 12 storybooks based on My House 1 have been developed under the leadership of the Ministry of Education and Sports. The storybooks have been printed and disseminated to early childhood education centres, pre-primary classes and Grades 1 and 2 classes around the country with the support of UNICEF and partners. Storybooks based on Season 2 will also be developed, contributing to the availability of Lao language learning materials for children.

Episodes of My House alongside the storybooks are also available on the online MoES teaching and learning platform Khang Panya Lao (https://laos.learningpassport.unicef.org), which can be downloaded as an App allowing for offline access.

Source: Lao News Agency

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JAGGAER Recognized as a Leader in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Procure-to-Pay Suites for the Fourth Straight Year

RESEARCH TRIANGLE, N.C., Oct. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JAGGAER today announced that Gartner has positioned it as a Leader in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites (P2P), evaluated based on both Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute.

JAGGAER continues to show growth after a strong showing in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contract Lifecycle Management, as well as being named a 2021 Customers’ Choice for P2P suites.

“We’re always thrilled to be recognized in these reports, not because we want to pat ourselves on the back, but because it means we’re achieving our ultimate goal of customer success,” Jim Bureau, CEO of JAGGAER said.

“After the challenges everyone faced in 2020, we went back to the drawing board, got back to basics and really homed in on ensuring that everything we do is through the lens of helping our customers solve their biggest challenges.

“From our revamped vertical strategy, massive investments in our user experience, innovative capabilities and long-term roadmap, as well as our continued efforts in the areas of sustainability, diversity and inclusivity, we’re confident that we will continue to stand out as a market leader.

“The vendor space has become a ‘sea of sameness’, everyone looks the same and says the same things. There hasn’t been much upward movement. We want to disrupt that, bringing the customer to the forefront and help procurement be a profession driven by purpose,” Bureau concluded.

You can get your complimentary copy of the report here.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites, Kaitlynn Sommers, William McNeill, Micky Keck, Patrick Connaughton, 25 October 2021

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Contract Life Cycle Management, Kaitlynn Sommers, Jim Murphy, Patrick Connaughton, Marko Sillanpaa, 10 May 2021

Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Procure-to-Pay Suites, 19 March 2021

Gartner and Magic Quadrant are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

About JAGGAER: Procurement Simplified

We drive customer value for buyers and sellers through our global connected network served by offices located in the Americas, APAC, Asia and EMEA. JAGGAER develops and provides comprehensive source-to-settle SaaS-based solutions, including advanced Spend Analytics, Category Management, Supplier Management, Sourcing, Contracts, eProcurement, Invoicing, Supply Chain Management and Inventory Management. These all reside on a single platform, JAGGAER ONE. JAGGAER has pioneered spend management solutions for more than 25 years and continues to lead the innovation curve by listening to customers and stakeholders in all industry sectors, public services and academia. For more information, visit www.jaggaer.com

MEDIA CONTACT JAGGAER:
Abigail Holmes
Corporate Ink for JAGGAER
jaggaer@corporateink.com
+1 617.969.9192

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Gap Between Intent and Implementation in Workplace Safety Processes Persists, Sphera’s 2021 Safety Report Finds

Data from Sphera’s New Safety Report reveals that even though safety is part of the corporate culture, companies lack a well-defined roadmap to implement safety improvement measures.

CHICAGO, Oct. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — While most companies have embraced safety as part of their corporate culture, there are still hurdles to overcome to improve their process safety and personal safety performance, Sphera’s new Safety Report reveals.

Sphera®, a leading global provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services, surveyed nearly 350 risk, process safety and health and safety professionals. Results show that while 75% of the respondents said that safety is part of their organization’s corporate culture, only 40% said they have a well-defined safety performance roadmap in place.

Safety is the foundation of any strong organization and a key component of ESG. According to Sphera’s Safety Report, creating a safety culture is just as important as being compliant, which has impacted the prioritization of performance safety drivers. Respondents indicated that the top three key safety performance drivers are reducing operational and major accident hazard (MAH) risk exposure (60%), regulatory compliance (48%), and corporate and board priority (37%).

Employer awareness of the safety hazards facing their workforce has been heightened during the pandemic. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents indicated that the adoption of centralized Health and Safety processes is lagging.

For five years, Sphera produced the highly anticipated Process Safety Management/Operational Risk Management (PSM/ORM) report exploring industry trends in process safety and operational risk management. However, with the 2021 report Sphera has expanded the overall safety landscape to include health and safety as well. While the occupational safety and health sector has especially felt pressure, companies across all sectors have had to make constant structural adjustments to keep workers safe.

“The pandemic has highlighted just how quickly safety and risk management processes can be thrown off balance. Safety in all its aspects makes for a resilient and sustainable business model, especially in an era when ESG goals are of the utmost importance,” said Sphera CEO and President Paul Marushka. “An effective safety culture and efficient safety process helps ensure a healthy workforce and enhanced business performance. However, we are still seeing a gap in how companies link safety and business performance, which highlights a need for a more holistic approach through data, software and expertise.”

Additional insights:
This year’s survey shows 51% of respondents pointing to limited resources, 43% to conflicting priorities and 31% to limited budgets as the main obstacles to delivering planned safety-critical maintenance and inspections, which has remained consistent. These leading indicators of the underlying problems preventing organizations from achieving improved safety performance and fewer incidents tie back to the gap between safety intent and safety implementation.

The Sphera Safety Report shows that there is still work to be done implementing risk monitoring practices that address the full spectrum of risks across organizational silos. Additionally, a little over half (56%) of respondents indicated that they still track critical safeguards/barriers manually, such as loss of containment and structural integrity, and a mere 19% said that these safeguards are monitored in real time. This further highlights the stronger ties between process and worker safety that emerged during the pandemic and the need for organizations to have a holistic view of safety and risk management.

About the Safety Survey
Sphera surveyed 349 risk, process safety, and health and safety professionals from a cross-section of global industries from across the world evaluating their safety standards for the 2021 Safety Report. Respondents came from several global industries, such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Chemicals/Petrochemicals, Energy, Construction, Professional Services and Government.

About Sphera
Sphera is the leading provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services focusing on Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management and Product Stewardship. Learn more about Sphera at www.sphera.com. Follow Sphera on LinkedIn.

For media inquiries or to request a copy of the report, please contact:
Denise Jones, Marketing Communications Manager, Sphera, djones@sphera.com

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TES Wins 2021 Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) Partner Award for Citizenship and Philanthropy

TES wins MAR

TES wins MAR

SINGAPORE, Oct. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Following growth in MAR citizenship license sales, TES has won the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) Partner Award for Citizenship & Philanthropy. The award recognizes TES as a MAR partner with positive year-on-year growth in MAR licenses, specifically in the citizenship segment. TES’s programs have helped to support philanthropy, charitable organizations, educational institutions, and work with enterprises to support their CSR programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, TES won Microsoft’s Innovation Award, and this latest recognition comes after 100% year-over-year growth in MAR citizenship license sales achieved through the following:

  • Partnership with a third-party refurbisher (TPR) for refurbished device leasing and rental during COVID-19 for a vaccination center in Malaysia
  • Continuously supporting the citizenship license:
    • PC donations for underprivileged students in Malaysia
      • TES has so far distributed over 18,000 citizenship licenses through its TPR in Malaysia. The objective of this project is to close the digital learning gap for approximately 150,000 primary and secondary school students.
    • Engineering Good in Singapore
      • Working with companies who donate their used laptops, TES refurbishes and distributes them to Engineering Good, which, in turn, distributes those laptops to families who would otherwise not have a device to stay digitally connected.
      • As of May 2021, this initiative has distributed more than 4,000 laptops, with the aim of fulfilling an average of 150-200 PCs each month.
    • Crossroads Foundation in Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong’s Crossroads Foundation has been the recipient of over 3,000 citizenship licenses. Under a global distribution service, the computer processing department receives donated computer hardware from companies and redistributes them to those in need; the aim is to refurbish 100-200 PCs every month.
    • LiteHaus International in Australia
      • This project kick-started in August with a donation of 130 laptops and PCs to two schools in Queensland; the objective is to reach 500,000 students across remote Australia and Papua New Guinea by 2030.
  • Extended new engagement for citizenship licenses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Taiwan
  • Provided support for PC donation project with Microsoft India and Malaysia (subsidiary devices)

Jim Meadowcroft, TES Group Director of Value Recovery/Remarketing: “TES is once again delighted to be recognized as a key Microsoft MAR partner. TES has a long-term commitment to the MAR program as a key part of our strategy to deliver quality digital devices back to those in our communities who need our support to bridge the digital divide.”

Kennedy Goh, Local Devices Lead, Microsoft SEA: “Kudos and congrats to TES, an extension to the sustainability and refurbishment businesses, but also engaging in citizenship projects worldwide. An initiative to contribute back to society while bringing the benefits of genuine Windows and Office to the needy, too.“

The MAR program ensures that end customers are presented with a high-quality, professionally refurbished device installed with genuine Microsoft Windows software — free of defects, malware, and viruses that could negatively impact their privacy and security.

This supports TES’s commitment to making a decade of difference to securely, safely, and sustainably transform and re-purpose 1 billion kgs of assets by 2030.

About TES – www.tes-amm.com

Since our formation in 2005, TES has grown to become a global leader in sustainable technology services and bespoke solutions that help clients manage the commissioning, deployment, and retirement of technology devices and components.

We provide comprehensive services for technology devices throughout their lifecycle — from deployment to decommissioning to disposition — all the way through to recycling and end-of-life repurposing.

We have made it our mission to make a decade of difference by securely, safely, and sustainably transforming and re-purposing 1 billion kgs of assets by 2030. Our 42 owned facilities across 21 countries offer unmatched service-level consistency, consistent commercials, lower logistics costs, local compliance experts in-region, support in local time zones and languages, and a deep understanding of transboundary movement globally.

TES creates outstanding value for our clients, employees, stakeholders, and the global community by leveraging a unique combination of security, value recovery, and environmental expertise. We focus exclusively on eliminating the risks surrounding data security, compliance, and environmental impact while maximizing value recovery for businesses around the world.

Email us at newsletter@tes-amm.com or visit our website for more information.

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