News In Brief

Welcome to our ‘News In Brief column in which we digest all the news releases for you and write them in no more than five paragraphs. Below are snippets of all the media releases that we received from July 19 till 25th. Please check back throughout the week for more updates.

AIS applauds Australia’s world record start in Tokyo

Sydney, July 25: The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has congratulated the Australian women’s 4×100 freestyle relay for its continued domination of the event following their world record-breaking swim today at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The victory, in a time of 3:29:78, beats the previous record set at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
“Winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal further cements Australia’s status as the dominant country in this event and we congratulate Bronte and Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon and debutant Meg Harris on making Australian sporting history,” Australian Institute of Sport CEO Peter Conde said in a statement.
“That was an inspiring swim and one that I’m sure will become part of Australian sporting folklore.”
Conde also commended Swimming Australia on its preparation for these Games under extremely challenging circumstances and also congratulated Jack McLoughlin (silver) and Brendon Smith (bronze) on their medals.

NSW State Govt Triples Cleaning Visits 

Sydney, July 23: The NSW Government has tripled the number of cleaning visits to social housing properties in Sydney’s southwest as part of a $59.4 million initiative to protect NSW residents from the COVID19 pandemic.
NSW Land and Housing Corporation CEO Mick Cassel said cleaning contractors are now at social housing multi-unit buildings in the Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool Local Government Areas three times a week instead of once a week.
‘The health and safety of our residents come first so we immediately moved to increase cleaning of lifts and common areas of our 552 social housing sites in the three significantly affected LGAs,’ Cassel said in a statement.
‘Many of our properties in these areas are for seniors so we are doing all we can to keep them safe, from enhanced cleaning to providing free packs of face masks.’
He said the funding comes on top of the $200 million maintenance program announced in the 2020/21 NSW Budget to improve social housing properties and provide economic stimulus during the pandemic.

Varnish Software announces new CDN performance

Kuala Lumpur, July 22: Varnish Software has announced new CDN performance milestones for Video-On-Demand (VOD) and Live Linear use cases.
Varnish Software, an Intel Network Builders ecosystem partner, tested the performance of its Varnish Edge Cloud solution under real-world conditions. 
“Our close collaboration with Intel continues to break new ground in CDN performance,” Varnish Software, CEO Lars Larsson said in a statement. 
“We’re not only approaching line-rate speeds and unlocking the capacity to handle huge streaming demand but making it more cost-efficient to do so. 
“It simplifies deployments too, showing how CoSPs can implement the solution and achieve leading performance themselves.”

QuickSTAT opens new control tower in Singapore

Singapore, July 22: QuickSTAT, a subsidiary of Kuehne+Nagel, has opened a new control tower and conditioning facility in Singapore.
The investment is part of Kuehne+Nagel and QuickSTAT’s pharma and healthcare strategy to further expand their logistics capabilities to serve customers across the Asia Pacific.
As a leading biomedical science hub in the heart of Asia and its proximity to the rest of the region, Singapore is a strategic location for the new QuickSTAT facility.
QuickSTAT is an expert in managing global clinical trial logistics for all phases of the product lifecycle from research and drug development through to commercialisation.
The company specialises in time and temperature shipping of clinical research samples, biologics, investigational drugs, clinical trial supplies and vaccines to help bring new drugs and medical protocols to market safely and quickly.

Songtradr Partners With Cleopatra Records

Sydney, July 22: Songtradr, the world’s largest B2B music licensing marketplace has partnered with L.A. based independent label, Cleopatra Records for global sync services. 
Cleopatra Records has been known for ushering in the second wave of Gothic and Industrial music with an eclectic roster of artists such as Jimmy Page, Bob Marley, Iggy Pop, Jane’s Addiction, Motorhead, Joy Division, Stray Cats, Dolly Parton, Culture Club, and Vanilla Ice.
“We’re looking forward to introducing our ever-expanding roster to the Songtradr ecosystem,” Cleopatra Records owners Brian Perera said in a statement. 
“The signing will provide our artists with access to a vast array of sync opportunities.” 
Songtradr’s platform currently has 800,000 users across 130 different countries and specialises in music licensing and distribution with locations in Melbourne, Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Belfast, Warsaw, Singapore, and Sydney.

Brisbane 2032 a generational opportunity for all Australians

Brisbane, July 21: The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics to Brisbane.
ASC comprising Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), chair Josephine Sukkar said the extended 11-year runway to the Brisbane 2032 Games provides an incredible opportunity to unite the nation through sport.
“When you consider how successful Sydney 2000 was and how those Games still carry an enormous legacy today, the extended build-up to Brisbane 2032 is an incredible opportunity to again unite Australia through sport,” Sukkar said in a statement.
“For a lucky few, competing in Brisbane will represent an opportunity of a lifetime.”
It will be the third time Australia hosts the Games, but this will be by far the longest lead-up – Sydney was announced as host in 1993, seven years before the 2000 Games.

Kuehne+Nagel more than doubles earnings in the first half of 2021 

Singapore, July 21: Kuehne+Nagel Group has delivered outstanding financial performance with all of its business units significantly exceeding prior year earnings. 
At CHF 13.3 billion, the Group’s net turnover for the first six months of the year was 35 per cent higher than in the same period of last year while EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) more than doubled to CHF 1 billion.
“This year, we are experiencing uniquely high consumer demand combined with supply chain uncertainty,”  Kuehne + Nagel International AG chief executive Dr Detlef Trefzger said in a statement.
The group said the continued recovery of the global economy had led to a strong demand for logistics services in the first half of the year.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our employees, a successfully implemented strategy and our agile logistics solutions, we have once again met the increased service requirements of our customers in a challenging market environment. 

Singaporean Government Launches New Music Video For Frontline Workers 

Singapore, July 21: The Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) has launched a new music video titled “Singapore Stands By You” as a way to pay tribute to its frontline workers for keeping Singapore safe.
In a statement, the ministry said that it had collaborated with Tribal Worldwide Singapore in releasing the music video as a way to show their appreciation and continued support to its frontline workers.
“Our frontline workers have been fighting hard against COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic last year, “an MCCY spokesperson said in a statement.
“We hope that this video and song will remind and inspire Singaporeans to show their support for our frontline workers whenever possible.”
The music video features a heartwarming rendition of “I’ll Stand By You” sung by Aisyah Aziz, Benjamin Kheng, Weish (Chew Wei Shan) and Shabir Tabare Alam.

Host of AFC Asian Cup 2027 to be decided in 2022

Kuala Lumpur, July 21: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee has decided to revise the timeline of the bidding process for the selection of the host for the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
Given the ever-evolving nature and the prevailing challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the AFC Executive Committee acknowledged the travel restrictions in organising the inspection visits to the Bidding Member Associations, which forms an essential part of the bidding process for the selection of Asia’s most prestigious men’s football tournament.
Therefore, it was agreed that the selection of the host for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 will now take place next year, instead of the upcoming 31st AFC Congress on November 27.
Following an extensive and comprehensive bidding documentation submission process, four Member Associations – the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) – remain in contention to host the AFC’s flagship men’s tournament.
The Bid Books can be accessed via the links of the four Member Associations – AIFF, FFIRI, QFA and SAFF.

Go Shop rebrands CH111 to BAARU 

Kuala Lumpur, July 21: Astro CH111 will be rebranded to Go Shop BAARU, an all-new Bahasa Malaysia channel targeting chic and happening millennials on July 24.
To celebrate the launch of this new channel, Go Shop will be giving out RM111 worth of discount vouchers for customers to enjoy exciting storewide offers from its extensive range of products, until August 3.
Go Shop BAARU will highlight new, exclusive, contemporary and smart products for young working professionals and their families in Malaysia. 
These trendy products from kitchenware, health food to beauty and fashion will be all about ease of use, fuss-free, smart and practical to fit into their busy and active lifestyles.
For more information, go to www.goshop.com.my or download the Go Shop app from Google Play and App Store to shop now.

MR D.I.Y.  and Touch ‘n Go and Announce Strategic Collaboration

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 – MR. D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd and Touch ‘n Go Group recently announced that they have entered into several strategic collaboration initiatives to enhance customer experience across multiple online and offline channels slated for a public launch in the third quarter of 2021.
Aside from bringing greater benefits and convenience to their sets of customers and users, these initiatives are ultimately aimed at ensuring a more relevant approach to marketing through personalisation of offers on the back of data and analytics capabilities.
Shoppers can already top up their Touch ‘n Go cards at all MR D.I.Y stores as well as use their Touch ‘n Go eWallet to make payments for purchases at these stores and MR D.I.Y’s e-commerce website www.mrdiy.com.my. 
In addition to this, MR D.I.Y is currently one of Touch ‘n Go eWallet’s regular partners for the eWallet’s “The Goal Hunter” loyalty programme, where MR D.I.Y vouchers are available for users to redeem and enjoy cashback at MR D.I.Y. 
This strategic collaboration takes the work between the companies further and will see MR D.I.Y being a prominent feature in the Touch ‘n Go eWallet, powered by the eWallet’s Mini Programme platform which will allow the 16 million Touch ‘n Go eWallet users to seamlessly browse MR D.I.Y’s catalogue, order and pay for the items they want, and have the purchases delivered, or ready for pick-up at their store of choice. 

SelVAX Enters Next Phase Of Vaccination Plan

Selangor, July 19:   The Selangor Vaccine Program (SelVAX) Industry has entered the next phase with delivery of 250,000 doses COVID-19 vaccine in line with the Greater Klang Valley Vaccination Plan “Operation Surge Capacity.”
The announced was made by  Menteri Besar Selangor Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, Menteri Besar Selangor and Coordinating Minister of Covid-19 Vaccine Access Committee (JKJAV) Khairy Jamaluddin.
The supply of this vaccine stock is expected to be received in stages between July 23 till 30.
The current vaccine stock for the first and second dose of the initial phase amounts to approximately 40,000 doses.
The implementation of the SelVAX Industry Programme will be accelerated and implemented more consistently if the subsequent delivery of vaccine stock is according to schedule.
For more information log on to https://vax.selangkah.my or contact 1-800-22-6600.