Day: September 20, 2022

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Solidarity bicycling to mark Lao-Vietnamese friendship to be held

A solidarity bicycling to celebrate Lao-Vietnamese friendship will be held in Vientiane on Sept 24.
The event aims to enhance the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two parties, the two states and the people of the two countries Laos and Vietnam, especially Lao National Assembly and the Vietnamese National Assembly.
This is a part of celebration of the friendship year between Laos and Vietnam, the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 45 years of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.
Locals can join the bicycling which will be held on September 24, at 6:00 AM at the National Assembly (That Luang square).

Source: Lao News Agency

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POWERCHINA plays an important role in developing infrastructure in Laos

The Power Construction Corporation of China – POWERCHINA – is a group of companies owned by the Chinese government.
It was established in 2011 by merging 14 electric design and survey, engineering and equipment manufacturing enterprises, formerly affiliated to Sinohydro Group, Hydro China Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid.
POWERCHINA entered the Lao PDR in 1996 with the opening of its representative office. Twenty five years later, the Chinese corporation established its local company in the Southeast Asian country.
Over the past 26 years, POWERCHINA has plaid an important role in developing basic infrastructure in Laos. As of 2021, the corporation has completed 130 projects worth USD 4.38 billion with 24 other projects worth US$3 billion under construction.
Its major development projects include the 1,272mw Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project, Khammuan Cement Plant with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, Laos Hin Luang Prabang II Power Grid of 230kv/164 km and the Laos-China Railway project where the company has invested 650 million yuan, accounting for 4.3 per cent of the total investment of the project.
Since its inauguration in late 2021, Laos-China Railway, the landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, has transported over 5.3 million passengers and 5.9 million tons of goods.
POWERCHINA investment has also contributed to job creation, social development and poverty reduction in the Lao PDR.
This integrated construction group provides investment and financing, planning design, engineering construction, equipment manufacturing and operation management for hydraulic and hydropower projects and infrastructure. Its principal businesses include energy and power and construction engineering – including survey, planning, design and project contracting- water ecological environmental governance and development and operation of other resources, real estate development and operation, and the manufacture and lease of related equipment.
In addition, upon the authorization of relevant government authorities, POWERCHINA also undertakes functions such as national planning and review of hydropower, wind power, solar power and other clean energy and new energy sources.
Today, POWERCHINA is a transnational corporation represented in six regions including Asia-Pacific, Africa, Eurasia, Latin America, and Middle East covering 131 countries with contracts signed for ongoing projects worth more than US$100 billion.
As for Asia-Pacific region, POWERCHINA chose Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries in the Southeast Asia as its first overseas markets after it launched its International Operation in 2004. The company has become a key driver in construction industry in the Asia-Pacific completing more than 200 large and medium-sized projects covering hydropower, thermal power, solar power, wind power, railways, roads and bridges, and real estate with a total contract value of over US$20 billion raising the role of Chinese enterprises in socio-economic development in the region.
Major projects representing POWERCHINA include the 468mw Dao Tieng Solar Power Project in Tai Ninh of Vietnam, which is the largest of its kind in the Southeast Asia, the 2,400mw Bakun Hydropower Plant in Malaysia which has a sizeable reservoir of 44 billion m3 larger than the Three Gorges project reservoir capacity of 39 billion m3, the 1,360mw thermal power plant of GNPower in the Philippines, the 275kv Bakun-Similajau power grid (280 km) in Malaysia, and the multibillion-dollar Jakarta-Bandung High speed Railway, Indonesia.
In 2021, POWERCHINA was ranked Baa1 by the credit rating firm Moody’sInvestors Service, BBB+ by S&P and BBB+ by the international rating agency Fitch Ratings. All of which are of the higher rankings for the engineering construction industry.
So far this year, the Chinese corporation has ranked 1st in the global power construction industry in term of planning, design and construction capacity and performance, 100th in Fortune 500 Companies and 15th in 100 Chinese transnational corporations.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Uganda Confirms Ebola Outbreak After Man Dies From Virus

Officials in Uganda have confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The country’s Ministry of Health says a young man died of the virus in central Uganda Monday, and several of his relatives who died earlier this month are also suspected to have had Ebola. The government has sent a rapid response team to the area to investigate.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health officials say the suspected Ebola case was identified Saturday in a village in the central Mubende district.
The ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, says a 24-year-old man was admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and diarrhea.
But his symptoms also included those of the deadly virus — a dry cough, high fever, convulsions, blood-stained vomit and bleeding in the eyes.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Atwine said the clinical team and the Uganda Virus Research Institute conducted tests for Ebola.
“The results were released yesterday evening and they confirmed Ebola, the Sudan strain,” she said. “Unfortunately, that morning of 19th, the patient who had been confirmed with Ebola passed on.”
Atwine said six of the man’s relatives who died earlier this month — three adults and three children from the same family — also may have had Ebola.
The World Health Organization’s Uganda office says there are eight more people with suspected cases that are receiving care at a health facility.
Uganda’s health ministry has yet to identify the source of the infection but suspects wildlife to human contact.
A rapid response team was sent to Mubende to investigate, put in place control measures, and use rapid testing on contacts in the community.
But the World Health Organization says vaccinating those who were in contact with the infected or someone linked to them, known as ring vaccination, will not be possible.
WHO-Uganda’s head of disease prevention and control, Dr. Bayo Fatunmbi, told the briefing there is currently no effective vaccine available for the Sudan strain of Ebola.
“The ring vaccination that worked with [the] Zaire virus, will not be useful for this particular Sudan strain,” he said. “But there’s another type of vaccine, Johnson and Johnson, that is being tested currently [to see] whether it will be useful for this particular strain.”
The WHO says ring vaccination has been highly effective in controlling the spread of the Zaire strain in recent Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The WHO says Uganda’s last Ebola outbreak in 2019 was the Zaire strain. Uganda last reported the relatively rare Sudan strain outbreak in 2012.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping Uganda deal with this latest outbreak.
Amy Boore, the CDC’s Global Health Protection program director, told reporters they were prepared to assist the Uganda Virus Research Institute.
“CDC headquarters is already in communication with UVRI (Uganda Virus Research Institute) and is already helping them develop plans for how they will continue to test and expand testing and have all the support they need during this,” she said.
Ebola is spread through bodily fluids and causes a hemorrhagic fever that kills up to 90% of those infected. The WHO says case fatality rates of the Sudan virus have varied from 41% to 100% in past outbreaks.
The Sudan strain of Ebola, discovered in Sudan in 1976, is less common than the Zaire strain that was found that same year.
The Zaire strain of Ebola was named after the country and river where it was found, the Ebola River in the former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The DRC’s name was changed to Zaire in 1971 then changed back to Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.
Health authorities in the neighboring DRC in late August declared a resurgence of Ebola after confirming a case in the country’s eastern North Kivu province.
It was the fifteenth resurgent outbreak recorded in the DRC.

Source: Voice of America

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Angelina Jolie Makes Surprise Visit to Flood-hit Pakistan

Hollywood actress and U.N. humanitarian Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to one of the worst flood-hit areas in southern Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said, as the death toll from months-long deluges rose to 1,559.

TV footage showed Jolie arriving at an airport in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, where floods since mid-June have killed 692 people, damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and left half a million people homeless.

Later, she visited some of the flood-affected areas, according to local media.

According to the IRC, a prominent international aid group, Jolie is visiting Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods.

There was no comment from the government about Jolie’s visit to Dadu, one of the worst-hit districts where waterborne diseases have also caused nearly 300 deaths since July. Currently, doctors are trying to contain the outbreak of waterborne diseases among flood survivors.

The visit comes as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is in New York for the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly. In his speech, Sharif will highlight the damages caused by climate-change induced floods in the impoverished country.

Pakistan says the floods have caused $30 billion in damages to the country’s economy.

Source: Voice of America

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New Global Fisheries Transparency Coalition Releases Charter for Public Comment

The coalition, which calls for increased transparency at sea and seafood supply chains free of illegal practices, welcomes feedback until October 31, 2022

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, the Global Fisheries Transparency Coalition, a new global community of ocean advocates campaigning for increased transparency at sea, released its draft Global Charter for public comment. The ten principles, which address the lack of transparency in vessel information, fishing activity, and fisheries governance and management, pinpoint the most essential transparency priorities needed to increase equity in fisheries and combat illegal fishing and human rights abuses at sea.

Leading the Coalition is a steering committee of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Oceana, the Environmental Justice Foundation, Citizens Institute of Environmental Studies (Korea), Global Fishing Watch, the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (West Africa), Seafood Legacy (Japan), and the WWF Network. The Coalition serves as an international platform and voice for civil society to improve transparency and accountability in marine governance by developing joint strategies and harmonizing efforts in key countries and global regions.

The Global Charter for Transparency underpins the work of the Coalition with a unifying set of principles and a clear call to governments. Broad input from diverse voices on the Charter is essential to producing principles that are both effective and equitable for all involved in fisheries governance. Comments are sought from all relevant stakeholders – not only civil society groups but also governments, industry, academics, and other informed observers of trends in global fisheries governance. The Coalition welcomes comments until October 31, 2022 and will thoughtfully review all submissions. The public consultation form to input comments can be found below in multiple languages.

The work of the Global Fisheries Transparency Coalition is made possible thanks to the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Oceans 5, and Oceankind.

To read the press release in Spanish, click here.

Background

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the greatest challenges facing our ocean today. IUU fishing depletes fish populations, destroys marine habitats, and threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 260 million people and many global fisheries; the best weapon we have to fight the cycle is transparency. Without transparency, there is no accountability.

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-third of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 225 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit www.oceana.org to learn more.

Contacts: Anna Baxter, abaxter@oceana.org
Emily Porterfield, eporterfield@oceana.org

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Axi reveals restructured partner program

Overhauled Introducing Broker program to reward growth

Chul Lim

General Manager for Asia & Global Head of Partners Strategy Axi

SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global FX and CFD broker Axi has announced a significant overhaul to its Introducing Broker (IB) program, with a more flexible structure that focuses on building stronger relationships and helping partners grow their client referral business sustainably and profitably.

The revised structure will initially be rolled out to partners in the Asia region who will benefit from an improved rebate allocation, the ability to earn rebates on all account types and products, new trading products, reduced spreads on a range of existing products, the availability of leverage up to 1:1000 and additional earning potential via a second-tier of sub-Introducing Brokers.

Louis Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer at Axi says, “The Axi Partner team has listened closely to what traders and referrers want in today’s market, and I believe we’ve delivered a highly compelling package that builds on the superior service we offer clients, differentiates us from our competitors and reflects what partners truly need to achieve long-term sustainable growth.”

The new structure is centered around clearly defined tiers that offer flexibility to earn rewards based on the volume of referrals made. As a partner refers more clients and the total trading volume increases, they become eligible for greater rewards.

“Fundamentally, our business is built on having an exceptional trading service that offers clients everything they need to gain an edge in the markets. With that firmly in place, we have the ability to grow and nurture very strong relationships through our IB program.

“We have a magnificent team dedicated to supporting our partners to achieve their ambitions as referrers, and we’ll reward them very well when they do. We’re interested in building genuine partnerships

that are mutually beneficial, and that’s what we’re delivering now and into the future.”

With a greater public awareness and interest in cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets, Axi has taken this opportunity to help its referral partners by expand its existing product range to 77 cryptocurrency CFDs, with full volume profile data streaming through the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform.

Gavin Ward, Chief Operating Officer at Axi, says, “The announcement of a suite of new cryptos to Axi trading platforms happens to coincide with a spike in volatility in wider cryptocurrency markets, which provides conditions that many of our traders prefer.

“Axi has worked closely with the leading crypto exchange OK Group to provide the highest quality liquidity and full volume profile. It means Axi and our partners are well-placed to deliver not only the products and opportunities that crypto traders want to invest in right now, but also in up-and-coming assets that might otherwise fly under the radar.”

To further boost the appeal of the underlying trading service, the broker is reducing spreads on several products and introducing the ability to trade with 1:1000 leverage.

Chul Lim, the company’s General Manager for Asia and Global Head of Partners Strategy, says, “A common complaint from clients who trade the news is that some brokers reduce their leverage before major market events where significant volatility is expected. The addition of 1:1000 leverage to Axi will give those clients more stability and consistent control during these times which will allow traders to manage down their trading risk and to increase control over volatile periods. This puts more power in the hands of our clients.”

Updates to the Axi Partner Portal have also been announced, with the aim of improving the overall user experience and making it easier for partners to manage their accounts and access critical information. In the coming months it will expand further to offer instant withdrawals, profit withdrawals via credit card, and profit and rebate withdrawals via cryptocurrency.

Says Louis Cooper, “Our referral business was already growing quickly, but now, with an even more compelling service in place, we look forward to welcoming many more clients and partners to the Axi family.”

About Axi
Axi is a global online FX and CFD trading company, trusted by thousands of ambitious customers in 100+ countries around the world. We help new traders, pro-traders, trading businesses, banks and financial organizations find the edge they need to achieve their financial goals through informed transactions made on the world’s financial markets. Axi offers a wide range of assets including CFDs for several asset classes including forex, shares, cryptocurrency, gold, silver, coffee, and other commodities.

At Axi, we are proud of our reputation as an honest, fair, and trusted broker. Our many awards and ‘excellent’ reviews through Trustpilot, prove we have earned the confidence of customers who value our outstanding service, fast execution, secure payments, segregated funds, and easy withdrawals.

Moreover, we also work pro-actively with the leading regulatory governing authorities globally to ensure we exceed the highest standards in the industry.

For enquires contact : Service@axi.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6701c61b-21dc-421d-b1d6-0b1b3c95b52d