News In Brief

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Welcome to our ‘News In Brief’ column in which we digest all the news releases for you in no more than five paragraphs. Below are snippets of all the media releases that we received from Oct 17 till the end of the week.

WeWork Partners With Sydney Chamber

Sydney, Oct 17: WeWork (NYSE: WE) and the Sydney Chamber of Commerce have announced a strategic partnership to foster economic growth among Sydney-based businesses to support a flexible return to work.
As part of the partnership, WeWork is offering members of the CBD Sydney Chamber of Commerce access to specific incentives, including fifty percent off WeWork All Access for three months for new members, or another option of WeWork’s Private office space with one month free with a three-month plus commitment, or two months free with a six-month plus commitment. 
“As Sydney’s CBD comes back to life, the way we work has changed,” Peter May, Executive Officer at CBD Sydney Chamber of Commerce said.
“Incentives like this one from our partners at WeWork will provide businesses the flexibility they need to support hybrid work, at 10 premium locations across the city and beyond.” 
The partnership ladders up to a global initiative with 11 other cities across the world, including London, Singapore and Paris, to help navigate the global movement towards flexible work and develop hybrid solutions. 

Skyports Opens New Japan Office

Tokyo, Oct 17: Skyports, the leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure developer and drone services provider today announced the opening of its branch office in Tokyo, Japan.
The formation of a local business entity and team in Japan reflects Skyports’ continued commitment to developing the AAM industry in close collaboration with local partners, businesses, regulators, and end-users.
Skyports’ Japan office is the first in the region outside of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
The move follows a year of significant activity in the country, with Japanese trading conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation joining Skyports’ list of investors in the company’s Series B funding round and taking a seat on its board in March, as well as a growing portfolio of projects in Osaka and Tokyo. 

Are Attention Spans Slipping?

Melbourne, Oct 17: Between endless social media content, notifications pinging away on our laptops and our smartphones, unprecedented streaming options, and even watches with all the bells and whistles of a computer, our attention is pulled in more directions than ever before. Can we regain our focus?
The seventh season of Monash University’s award-nominated podcast, What Happens Next?kicks off with a focus on focus. Has the average attention span dropped in the age of social media and smartphones? What’s causing us to lose our focus? And why has there been a recent uptick in ADHD diagnoses among children and adults alike?
Host Dr Susan Carland answers these questions and more in conversation with leading neuroscientists, developmental psychologists and experts in mindfulness and mental discipline.
Take a listen to the both episodes here and here.

Making Kampung Terintidon A Tourist Village

Kota Belud, Oct 17: Set against the backdrop of  Mount Kinabalu, Kampung Terintidon in Kadamaian here has all the potential to develop into a tourist village noted for its clean environment and upbeat vibe.
The village, which is a two-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu, has shown great community effort and camaraderie, which can enthral visitors that come to explore the countryside.
Recently, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment cum Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai visited Kampung Terintidon to check out the tourism opportunities.
“The Sabah Tourism Board is always willing to assist rural communities in growing their tourism potential, and I hope that Kampung Terintidon will serve as a model for other communities to emulate,“ Joniston said.
He also encouraged the community to work with the Sabah Tourism product team to effectively package the rural village to promote it to both locals and tourists.

ALTY Orthopaedic’s New Mission

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 17: ALTY Orthopaedic Hospital, one of Malaysia’s first single-specialty orthopaedic hospitals returns for the second year with its ALTY-Mate Bone Care campaign in efforts to raise awareness among Malaysians on their bone health. 
The campaign which focuses on raising awareness on the importance of bone health will feature a series of activities including public posture screenings across different states, health talks, and public engagement initiatives. 
Additionally, ALTY will also be joining hands with Viatris and Caring once again to make the campaign a success.
Both organisations which have partnered with ALTY on previous campaigns notably on the Scoliosis Awareness Campaign in June will be supporting the hospital’s efforts through public posture screenings once again in six new locations across three states, Johor Bahru, Perak and Pahang. 

Aurelius Healthcare’s Noble Act

Nilai, Oct 17: Aurelius Healthcare, the healthcare group behind Aurelius Hospital Nilai and Aurelius Hospital Alor Setar (scheduled to operate in Q4 2023), is launching the #HuntThatLump campaign to raise awareness around breast and prostate cancer.
Working with local clinics and general practitioners in Nilai and Seremban, Aurelius Healthcare aims to be the first healthcare group in Malaysia to educate 10,000 participants on how to perform breast self-examinations (BSE) accurately and independently.
With early diagnosis as the most important factor in increasing one’s survival rate, Aurelius Healthcare has lined up a series of educational activities for its campaign themed #HuntThatLump.
This also marks the second year that Aurelius Hospital Nilai is partnering with Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara (LPPKN) to provide 300 free mammograms to the public at Aurelius Hospital Nilai.
The hospital is also supporting Power House Wanita Gemilang, an initiative under the Negeri Sembilan state by providing educational sessions to its members.

Readiitel Triples Company Valuation

Melbourne, Oct 18: Melbourne based telco ReadiiTel today announced the launch of its capital raise with Equitise, its second Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) raise with the platform which will see investors triple their original investment in the IT and NBN provider. 
On a fast track to IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2024, Readiitel is aggressively scaling its IT Services and Network Infrastructure, expanding its premium Managed IT and Internet services and offering for the SMB and SME sector. 
Readiitel’s anticipated IPO gives Equitise investors a liquid option to receive a return on investment in the short term and comes after Readiitel’s acquisition of local Melbourne IT company 32 Byte, in August, a specialist in providing IT Managed Services to the medical and dental industry.
Today, Readiitel opens up investment to sophisticated investors and retail investors for $1.5 million, with the ability to purchase equity in the business for as little as $1,000 on the ECF platform. 
Readiitel was founded by serial entrepreneur Daniel Li in 2017, who sold his two-bedroom apartment to fund the growth and startup of the telco. 

Eliminating Credit Card Fees For Nonprofits

California, Oct 18: Pledge, the all-in-one fundraising platform, today announced a first-of-its-kind “Free the Fee” initiative that will unlock billions of dollars in funding to nonprofits by eliminating credit card fees charged to charities.
Pledge will pay for credit card fees, typically charged to either donors or nonprofits, for all donations made through its platform, up to donations of $1,000.
Every year, charitable organizations lose millions in important funding that comes from a donor’s pocket and goes directly to credit card and processing fees.
In 2021 alone, individual giving in the United States was estimated at $326 billion– yet an average of three per cent of those donations never reached the nonprofits, resulting in an estimated $10 billion dollars lost annually. 
The “Free the Fee” initiative addresses this nationwide problem by  putting necessary funding back into the hands of those that need it most.
The initiative will be accessible to everyone and is immediately available via  the following Pledge fundraising products: online fundraisers, donation forms embedded on websites, as well as Zoom Fundraisers powered by the Donations by Pledge app.
Pledge has the largest nonprofit database in the industry, which includes over two plus million registered nonprofits and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations operating in over 120 countries around the world.
With $10 billion dollars of new funding to nonprofits, Pledge’s industry first could help to fight climate change by planting 10 billion trees, make a serious dent in global hunger by providing tens of millions of meals to the 10 per cent of humans who experience hunger globally, and other world-changing outcomes that would significantly better our communities and our planet. 

Research Reveals Australia Into Fast Food

Sydney, Oct 18: Deliverect, a global scale-up that simplifies digital orders for more than 27,000 locations across 40 markets, today announced new global research, which revealed that more people are purchasing takeaway or delivery orders today than they were before the recent increase in cost of living.
The survey, which was commissioned by Deliverect and conducted by Censuswide, found that 57.34 per cent (60.47 per cent AU) of consumers are now purchasing up to three takeaways in a week now, in comparison to 55.5 per cent (55.54 per cent AU) prior to the inflation increase. 
The research reveals that while people are putting more thought behind how they spend their money, they are more likely to cut back on other activities such as buying clothing (52 per cent), going out for drinks and dinner (56 per cent) and traveling (45 per cent) more. 
“Undoubtedly people are becoming more conscious of where they’re spending as we witness a rise in inflation and cost of living globally,” Zhong Xu, CEO and Co-founder of Deliverect said.
“The research findings may be surprising to some, but evidently people are continuing to prioritise and enjoy the convenience of takeaway and food delivery – yet their expectations continue to rise. Quality, consistency, and speed will help restaurants stand out from the crowd. Technology is here to help the food service community manage everything that goes into digital orders to come out more profitable and operationally savvy than before.”

VCCPU And MQA Foster Collaboration 

Cyberjaya Oct 18: A delegation from the Vice Chancellor’s Council for Private Universities (VCCPU) led by Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi, the Chairman of VCCPU and Provost of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, visited the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), focused on exploring areas of mutual interest and collaboration, including Malaysia’s commitment to becoming a regional higher education hub and encouraging innovative approaches to higher education.
The delegation was welcomed by Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohammad Shatar Sabran and the senior management team of the MQA.
During the meeting, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to fostering a supportive, vibrant
higher education system that allows Malaysian students to achieve their academic and career
goals.
Besides supporting the nation’s development plans, this system also attracts international students.

Baraja And Veoneer Collaborate

Sydney, Oct 19: Baraja, creator of the breakthrough Spectrum-Scan LiDAR technology for autonomous vehicles, has entered into an advanced development agreement with a major automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to develop its next-generation Spectrum HD25 LiDAR product specifically for automotive integration.
Baraja has entered the agreement alongside its partner, Tier 1 automotive supplier Veoneer, to accelerate the scale required for automotive integration.
The advanced development agreement is a major step forward for automotive integration of the Spectrum HD25 product, bringing together world leaders in automotive safety and demonstrating Spectrum HD25 has Tier One, OEM and partner support.
Under the agreement, Baraja will enter the next stage of development for Spectrum HD25.
Since partnering, Baraja and Veoneer have worked together closely and developed a strong partnership to supply LiDAR technology to global car companies. 

Funding for Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care

Sydney, Oct 19: The Albanese Government will provide an unprecedented $25 million for dementia, ageing and aged care research.
A total of 18 grants, provided through the Medical Research Future Fund, will go to Australia’s best and brightest researchers.
Their research will look at new ways to extend older Australians’ healthy, active, years of life.
New approaches will reduce the stigma associated with ageing and lead to better outcomes for older people, including those in vulnerable populations.

Zoomcar Announces $10M Investment 

Bangalore, Oct 19: As previously announced last week, Zoomcar, Inc. (“Zoomcar”), the world’s largest emerging market focused car sharing platform, and Innovative International Acquisition Corp. (“Innovative”) (NASDAQ: IOAC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, entered into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) that will result in Zoomcar becoming a publicly listed company.
The transaction values the combined company (the “Combined Company”) at an implied pro forma enterprise value of approximately $456 million.
Upon closing, the Combined Company will be renamed Zoomcar Holdings, Inc. and expects to list its common stock on Nasdaq.
In addition and simultaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement on October 13, 2022, Ananda Small Business Trust, a Nevada Trust (“Ananda Trust”), an affiliate of Innovative’s Sponsor, Innovative International Sponsor I LLC, invested an aggregate of $10 million in Zoomcar (the “Investment”) in exchange for a convertible promissory note issued by Zoomcar to Ananda Trust (the “Note”).
Under the terms of the Note, upon consummation of the proposed business combination between Innovative and Zoomcar (the “Business Combination”), Zoomcar’s repayment obligation under the Note will be offset against the obligations of Ananda Trust under a concurrently executed Subscription Agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) entered into by Ananda Trust and Innovative to subscribe for 1,000,000 newly issued shares of Innovative at a purchase price of $10.00 per share. 

Frameable Launches ‘Spaces’

New York, Oct 19: Frameable, a B2B SaaS company focused on remote-first digital experiences, has launched its persistent virtual office platform Frameable Spaces to the public. Frameable Spaces is a fully customizable online workspace, allowing teams to connect easily and collaborate, regardless of their physical location.  
“Spaces delivers the many advantages of casual interactions and serendipitous innovation—what happens naturally when we’re physically together—to remote and hybrid work,” John Janek, Chief Technologist at Dev Technology Group and current Spaces user said.
“It’s truly amazing: an easy-to-use product with great design and solid engineering, and it’s consistent with all the current research on how to help distributed teams do great work every day.”
Frameable announced Spaces’ public launch and an enhanced focus on accessibility and environmental sustainability across its platforms at The Conference Board’s Engaged @Work: Employee Experience & Talent Acquisition conference in New York City.
Frameable has committed to ensuring WCAG 2.1 AA compliance throughout its software products, creating an inclusive user experience for administrators, everyday users, and guests. In addition to this accessibility commitment, Frameable also pledged to ensure its software is carbon-neutral, offsetting annual emissions on behalf of users.

FedEx Contributes To Local Community 

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 20: FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, supported with upgrading and enhancing the local kindergarten facility in Pulau Carey, Selangor which serves the underprivileged indigenous communities around the area.
As part of the global FedEx Cares program, around 50 FedEx volunteers came together to produce ecobricks and rebuild a perimeter wall of the Tabika Kemas Kampung Orang Asli Sg Rambai, in collaboration with Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES), a sustainability-focused environmental organisation, and the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA). The enhancement was recently unveiled by FedEx, alongside key representatives from TrEES, JAKOA as well as senior leaders of the indigenous community.
The program was kicked-off with an ecobrick-making workshop, where FedEx volunteers learned how to make ecobricks by compacting plastic waste into 500 ml PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) bottles, each weighing no less than 200g. The perimeter wall was constructed from bricks as well as 1,500 ecobricks, creating a safer playground to enjoy more outdoor activities, for 36 students aged between four to six years.

MR D.I.Y. Brings Joy At Sports Day

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 20: Children certainly make the world a better place. To ensure they stay happy and fulfilled, Malaysia’s favourite home improvement retailer MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Berhad [MR D.I.Y.] is a regular supporter of their activities around the country.
Recently, MR D.I.Y paid a visit to Malaysian Federation of the Deaf (MFD)’s community based-education centre Taska and Tadika Istika Jaya OKU Pendengaran to give away prizes in conjunction with their sports day. The MFD’s early childhood education centre is the only centre in Malaysia that provides and accommodates early education programmes for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children from Taska, Tadika, and transit programmes (for primary school).  
The retailer’s community outreach team, MR D.I.Y Cares, handed over fifteen prize hampers comprising stationery and educational toy sets to the children. Sixteen children aged between three to 12 years old also enjoyed interesting learning activities such as a bean bag race, rice sack race. giant clogs race, glass tower building and other games during the sports day held at their education centre in Puchong, Selangor.  
In a separate programme, MR D.I.Y. also lent its support to a children’s fashion show contest organised by a shopping mall in Putrajaya. The show, held in conjunction with Merdeka Day, saw more than 30 participants aged 12 years and below dress up as iconic legends Tan Sri P Ramlee and Puan Sri Saloma.  MR D.I.Y contributed ten hampers as prizes for the contest. 

Abbott Launches Lifestyle Change Program

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 20: Abbott has announced the launch of the Glucerna Lifestyle Change Program to help Malaysians with diabetes better manage their condition. The program provides structure to help build healthy habits like good nutrition, exercise, and continuous glucose monitoring, which are important to help control type 2 diabetes and glucose management.
The population of Malaysians with diabetes is growing.
It is estimated one in five adults are living with diabetes and there may be many more who are unaware of their diabetic state.
Living with diabetes can be very challenging and affect an individual’s quality of life and their loved ones. Adopting a positive lifestyle change, including good nutrition and exercise, can help people with diabetes handle the condition. 

Talenthouse Invests In Nerve 

London, Oct 20: TalentPlus, Talenthouse’s one-stop-financial app built for Creators, has partnered with and Talenthouse will invest up to $7 million in cash and shares in Nerve, an embedded banking solution for the US creator economy.
This is the first time Nerve will be providing their embedded banking proposition on a private-label basis.
Through this investment and partnership, TalentPlus plans to launch in the US in late-November and move into several markets in 2023 including the UK and Latin America to lessen the financial burdens of Creators.
Furthermore, TalentPlus plans to add personal banking services to its offering in 2023 across all markets to benefit the Creator Economy.
The Creator Economy is not limited to social media influencers and YouTubers – it is a global phenomenon of working creative professionals.
Adobe estimates (August 2022) that less than 15 per cent of the 303 million creators across nine key markets that were surveyed are influencers.
The sector is estimated to be worth in excess of $2.8 trillion and is heavily driven by digital advertising needs.
The TalentPlus solution comes at a time where Creators, now more than ever, want to merge their passion with their profession and monetise their skills.
TalentPlus will merge local and global financial service offerings seamlessly, taking advantage of Open Banking solutions where available to best service the rapidly evolving Creator Economy.
TalentPlus will ensure that there is a direct payout with no loss in cash, typically resulting from payment provider fees, for Creators on the platform when paid out from brands.

Go Nuts On World Nut Day

Los Angeles, Oct 20 – In honor of World Nut Day on Oct 22, a day that celebrates the long storied fruit, CamSoda, an adult entertainment company that dabbles with different kinds of nuts, announced the launch of its “Nuts 4 Nuts” initiative, that creates awareness of and encourages donations of sperm, also known as “nuts.”
Thanks to COVID-19 and numerous other factors, sperm donations are down. Through its initiative and in an effort to build back sperm donation levels, CamSoda has announced that they will be giving away free tokens (the equivalent of cash on camming sites).
To pay homage to the day that its hijacking for different nuts, CamSoda will send a bag of nuts (the fruit) to individuals who donate sperm on World Nut Day.
Here’s how it works, individuals interested in participating will receive complimentary CamSoda tokens that will be used to help dispense their nut sample.
Once collected, they simply need to go to their local sperm bank (see here for a nationwide directory), donate the collection and snap a photo in front of the sperm bank, and then email the photo to nuts4nuts@camsoda.com.
CamSoda will then administer a free bag of nuts, courtesy of Nuts.com, for their very much appreciated contribution.
“As an industry leader in adult entertainment, we are no stranger to those who experience fertility challenges, and we want to help them as best we can,” Daryn Parker, VP of CamSoda said.
“World Nut Day presented a great opportunity to offer assistance to those in need of nuts, whether they’re looking to grow or start a family. So, this World Nut Day, we at CamSoda ask not to use your brain, but rather your nuts, and get a free bag in return. Do the right thing and give to those in need!” he concluded. 

Dud Super Costing Billions 

Sydney, Oct 21: The 850,000 members who failed to leave their dud super product that failed a performance test lost $1.6 billion in just 12 months.
Only about 10 percent of members switched out of the super funds that failed the inaugural 2021 Your Future, Your Super performance test, despite receiving a letter encouraging them to change.
New Industry Super Australia analysis shows that members who didn’t switch to a top performing product¹ have already lost on average $1,900 per person.
The losses could pile up as the previous government’s stapling reform that tied these members to these government censored duds, leaving members stuck unless they act.    
If a member on the median wage, with a balance of $50,000 stayed with one of the poor performers for the next ten years they could be about $25,000 worse off. 

Helping With The Hard Decisions

Adelaide, Oct 21: Australia’s diverse communities and carers can now access help to make the best possible end of life decisions through a new website from the CarerHelp Project.
Developed jointly by St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and the CareSearch team at Flinders University, the resources aim to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the LGBTIQ+ community, and carers and communities who speak in languages other than English.
Responding to community needs, culture, identity and language, the information covers the different areas and stages of caring including getting started, when illness is progressing, and grief and bereavement. 
The new resources were officially launched this week.
For more information and to view the resources, visit the CarerHelp website www.carerhelp.com.au.

On A Mission To Better Vision

Sunway, Oct 21: While we may sometimes take the little things for granted like assuming that slight discomfort in the eye is something that will come and go, in fact, those tiny pairs of monogram balls are the windows to the world – telling our wide range of emotions to the condition of our health. 
In conjunction with World Sight Day recently, Sunway Medical Centre organised the World Sight Day Symposium 2022 to highlight the importance of paying attention to your eyes. With the theme, Envision For A Better Future, eye specialists from Sunway Eye Centre addressed various conditions including retinal detachment, myopia, red eye, optic neuritis, aged-related macular degeneration (AMD) and paediatric eye conditions. 
The World Sight Day Symposium 2022 had more than 350 participants, comprising mainly healthcare professionals and general practitioners. 
As a Centre of Excellence within Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway Eye Centre provides quality healthcare services that are of international medical standards.
The symposium ended on a high note with key learnings and takeaways from a panel discussion moderated by Consultant Ophthalmologist, Dr Chin Pik Kee.
As the largest private quaternary hospital in Malaysia, Sunway Medical Centre strives to encourage discussion on the latest clinical practices and adopts the best practices throughout the hospital.

CARSOME’s Expands Operations To Sarawak

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 22: Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, CARSOME, has officially expanded its operations to East Malaysia with the launch of four new inspection centers in Sarawak.
This expansion sees CARSOME introducing a new standard of selling cars to East Malaysians and providing them with a trusted and transparent option.
The inspection centers aim to offer customers a differentiated and hassle-free car-selling experience, through fast payment and worry-free transaction process.
Guided by a stringent inspection procedure, every CARSOME Inspection Center will have a skilled professional inspector to conduct comprehensive inspection on the car, to ensure its quality is accounted for to offer the best price in the market.

Main Event Ends in No Contest 

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 22: ONE Championship made a triumphant return to the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a thrilling night of martial arts action.
ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade featured a series of exciting matchups, headlined by three World Title bouts.
ONE Championship, in partnership with leading premium lifestyle and luxury performance brand TUMI, presented the prestigious ONE World Title belt to the World Champions.
The main event showdown between former ONE Bantamweight World Champion John Lineker and #2-ranked contender Fabricio Andrade ended in controversy midway through the third round, after Andrade connected with an unintentional knee to Lineker’s groin. 
The two bitter rivals traded bombs from the sound of the opening bell, with “Wonder Boy” looking to push forward behind a stinging right jab.
Lineker found openings to land his thunderous hooks, rocking Andrade in the second round.
However, the younger fighter did considerable damage to Lineker with his striking, causing the veteran’s right eye to nearly close by the end of the frame.
In the third stanza, Andrade connected with a knee to the midsection and had Lineker reeling in pain. “Wonder Boy” tried to follow up with another knee, but it unintentionally landed south of the waistline. After a five-minute recovery period, Lineker could no longer continue. The fight was ruled a no contest and the ONE Bantamweight World Title now remains vacant.

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