2007'09.16.Sun
The 7th Lomography World Congress London 2007 & The LomoWorldWall Exhibition on Trafalgar Square
September 13, 2007
-- London Design Festival -- Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd of September 2007 -- http://www.lomography.com/congress2007 VIENNA, Austria, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Lomographic Society International was invited by the city of London and the London Design Festival to launch this years festival with an exhibition of the extraordinary. A snapshot portrait of the world, the LomoWorldWall with over 100.000 images is to be on display under open air on Trafalgar Square during September 17 to 23. Looking back at the last decade of Lomography, the world-wide community, as well as various groups during numerous projects around the world, have been called to submit their images for the biggest LomoWall in Lomographic history. Amongst other artists, Michael Young, Karim Rashid, Bill McAlister,Manu Luksch and Kengo Kuma contributed to the LomoWorldWall with their Lomographic projects. For the seventh Lomography World Congress an exorbitant crew of the world's pick of Lomographers, more than 200 participants from abroad and equally many locals, surrender to the repertoire of both enchantment and challenge, designed for the restless, curious and gregarious crowd of theworld's creative minds. The congress features unique speeches and discussion forums on the hottest topics on and off the issues of Lomography by creative leaders suchas publisher Edward Booth-Clibborn or Kunsthalle Wien director Gerald Matt. 1000 Lomography cameras are being offered to participants in the wide palletof challenges, events and workshops; their work will be added to the growing part of the LomoWorldWall. The special occasion will also present itself as the worldwide launch of the new Lomography camera: DIANA+ (http://www.lomography.com/diana). Accreditations to the congress can be granted to press representatives reporting about the Lomography World Congress London 2007. The congress willbe featuring a number of exclusive press sessions. Monday 17 September 1.30 pm: Photo Call at Trafalgar Square 2pm - 4pm: Opening ceremony on Trafalgar Square. Speeches by Gerald Matt (Kunsthalle, Wien), Ben Evans (London Design Festival) + Julie Lomax (Arts Council London) 4.30 pm: Press conference at National Gallery Cafe Monday 17 to Saturday 22 September 10am - 6pm: Information and registration at Lomo Checkpoints next to LomoWorldWall/ Trafalgar Square. Saturday 22 September 5pm: Presentation of final LomoWorldWall on Trafalgar Square 8pm: Final event at HMS President Details + ongoing information sources: Lomographic Society International Email: congress@lomography.com Linda Scott: Tel: +44-20-7498-0500 Katja Kulidzhanova Tel: +43-1-899-44660
PR
2007'09.16.Sun
WHO Focuses On More Balanced Health Care
September 13, 2007
Fifty-eighth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the
Western Pacific;
10-14 September 2007, Jeju, Republic of Korea
JEJU, Republic of Korea, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/
-- The World Health Organization (WHO) is spearheading a
move to make health care systems in Asia safer, holistic
and people-centred.
(Logo:
http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/20061102095006-51.jpg )
WHO is concerned that health systems and services have
become so disease focused, technology driven and doctor
dominated that they fail to respond to patient needs and
expectations.
In response, the WHO Regional Office for the Western
Pacific, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for
South-East Asia, drafted People-Centred Health Care: A
Policy Framework to ensure that broader psychological,
social, ethical and cultural determinants of health are
also taken into account. The framework provides practical
guidelines to Member States in reorienting their health
systems. The draft framework is expected to be endorsed by
WHO's Regional Committee, which is meeting here.
Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western
Pacific, said global and regional trends indicate that
current health systems and services need to be reoriented
to promote and preserve health in its fullest sense:
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
"There is a need to restore balance in health
care, including the health system itself," Dr Omi
says. "Moreover, medical education has increasingly
concentrated on body systems and disease conditions so that
the broader and important aspects of cultural context,
psychosocial factors, medical ethics, and communication and
relational skills, among others, have been neglected."
The policy framework identifies four core areas in
which reforms could be undertaken to translate the
principles behind the people-centred approach into
appropriate and setting-specific interventions:
-- Informed and empowered individuals, families and
communities
-- Competent and responsive practitioners
-- Effective health care organizations
-- Supportive health systems
"Studies show that half of patients are
dissatisfied with current health care, and roughly the same
proportion see no significant improvement over a five-year
horizon," Dr Omi said. He pointed out that a paradigm
shift in health systems towards people-centred health care
can increase patient safety. Other potential gains are
improved adherence to care plans, improved treatment and
health outcomes, increased patient satisfaction with care,
and improved quality of life for patients, their families,
the community and society in general.
For more information, please contact:
The World Health Organization
Ms Marilu Lingad
Tel: +63-918-918-1094
Email: lingadm@wpro.who.int
Mr Peter Cordingley
Tel: +63-917-844-3688
Email: cordingleyp@wpro.who.int
2007'09.16.Sun
GMAC-SAIC Celebrates Third Anniversary
September 13, 2007
Announces Growth in Retail Credit Business of 125 percent
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Co., Ltd. (GMAC-SAIC), which
is celebrating the third anniversary of its founding,
announced today that its retail credit business grew 125
percent on an annual basis through August 2007, and the
operation has surpassed US $1.3 billion of assets (RMB 10
billion).
"Since we entered the market as a pioneer in
August 2004, GMAC-SAIC's automotive retail credit and
wholesale credit businesses have experienced tremendous
growth, and China remains a key growth market," said
GMAC-SAIC General Manager Rick Livingood.
Zhang Xiaojun, deputy general manager of GMAC-SAIC,
also adds, "GMAC-SAIC is by far the number one
automotive finance institution in China."
Between January and August, GMAC-SAIC's retail credit
business grew at a rate of more than 100 percent each month
compared to the respective month in the previous year.
Through the end of August, GMAC-SAIC had signed over 79,000
retail loan contracts, with applications for automotive
retail credit loans accepted by GMAC-SAIC increasing on a
monthly basis. GMAC- SAIC has over 350 employees.
GMAC-SAIC has one of the most extensive business
networks in China. As of the end of August, its retail
coverage had risen to more than 502 dealers in more than
132 cities across China. GMAC-SAIC primarily provides its
customers credit loan services for Shanghai GM's Buick,
Cadillac, Chevrolet, Saab and SAIC's Roewe brands.
The joint venture was providing wholesale credit
service to more than 440 car dealers in China through the
end of August, up from the 315 dealers to which it was
providing wholesale credit service at the end of August
2006.
"We aim to continue setting standards for the
automotive finance industry, not only in credit business
growth, but also in geographic coverage and in the
relationship with our dealer partners," Livingood
said. "In a young market like China, constant dealer
training is crucial to business development and gives added
value to these young companies."
GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Co., Ltd. is a joint
venture between GMAC Financial Services, Shanghai
Automotive Group Finance Co., Ltd. (SAICFC) and Shanghai
General Motors. GMAC-SAIC was the first approved and
operational automotive finance company in China. GMAC
Financial Services is a global, diversified financial
services company that operates in approximately 40
countries in automotive finance, real estate finance,
insurance and commercial finance businesses. SAIC FC, a
subsidiary of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group, is
one of China's most successful non-banking finance
companies.
For more information, please contact:
GMAC Financial Services
Rainer Schlitt
Tel: + 49-6142-604-568
Email: rainer.schlitt@gmacfs.com
Gina Proia
Tel: +1-917-369-2364
Mobile: +1-914-714-9166
Email: gina.proia@gmacfs.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Affordable Drugs Needed for So-called "Diseases Of Poverty" -- WHO
September 13, 2007
Fifty-eighth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the
Western Pacific, 10-14 September 2007, Jeju, Republic of
Korea
JEJU, Republic of Korea, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/
-- The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken the lead
in addressing the availability and accessibility of drugs
and vaccines often associated with "diseases of
poverty" to people in developing countries.
(Logo:
http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/20061102095006-51-min.jpg )
Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western
Pacific, called for greater cooperation between governments
and drug companies, as well as other stakeholders, in
providing a mechanism for the creation of new medicines and
other products for diseases that greatly affect developing
countries.
Dr Omi expressed hope that complementary mechanisms to
spur innovation, such as public-private partnerships, would
yield positive results. Traditionally, private industry has
not seen great incentive to invest in medicines and vaccine
development, mainly needed in developing countries.
Although access to essential medicines depends on a
number of factors, the cost of medicines is an important
element, especially in developing countries, as medicines
are predominantly paid for by patients themselves.
Dr Omi told the Regional Committee for the Western
Pacific meeting here that the contribution that innovation
can make will be meaningful only if products are affordable
and accessible.
Between 1975 and 1999, only 13 of about 1400 new drugs
developed were for tropical or neglected diseases. Yet,
these so-called "diseases of poverty" contribute
to over 50% of the burden of diseases in low-income
developing countries.
An intergovernmental working group, which is open to
all countries, has drafted a global strategy and plan of
action to address the health needs of developing countries,
such as medicines, vaccines and diagnostic kits. The
intergovernmental working group was created in response to
a World Health Assembly resolution in 2006.
The intergovernmental working group's global strategy
and plan of action, which is based on recommendations of
the WHO Commission on Intellectual Property Rights,
Innovation and Public Health, will be finalized this
November. Member States are strongly encouraged to
participate in negotiations during this meeting after which
recommendations will be presented to the World Health
Assembly in May 2008 for endorsement.
Global responsibility for implementation of the
strategy and plan of action will depend on a range of key
players, including Member States and the WHO Secretariat,
in collaboration with other international organizations,
national institutions, development partners, pharmaceutical
companies, product development partnerships and civil
society.
For more information or request to interview WHO
specialists, please call Ms Marilu Lingad at (+63) 918 918
1094; email: lingadm@wpro.who.int or Mr Peter Cordingley
at (+63) 917 844 3688; email: cordingleyp@wpro.who.int.
For more information, please contact:
Public Information Office
Tel: +63-2-528-9991
Email: PIO_Unit@wpro.who.int
2007'09.16.Sun
ABAS Lectured on Business Transformation Seminar with the view of Outward Processing Trade Enterprises should face the Transformation Actively
September 13, 2007
HONG KONG, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- On 7th Sep,
2007 , the 2nd Business Transformation of Outward
Processing Trade Enterprises Seminar, organized by Hong
Kong Productivity Council, was held in 4/F. of HKPC and
provided attendees with business transformation solutions
on tax, financing and IT. Mr. Vincent Lau, COO of Abas
Business Solutions (PRC) Ltd., gave a speech on "Easy
to open a shop but hard to keep it always open,
right?" and shared with attendees his understanding in
business transformation.
Since the end of 2006, Chinese government started
adjusting processing trade policies and issued successively
new policies including Processing Trade Ban Catalog, Taxes
Merge and Transfer Pricing, etc, which made these
enterprises encounter more and more pressure. Reviewing
previous preferential policies and the policies changes up
to now, many enterprises feel doubt about their future and
sighed with feeling of "Easy to open a shop but hard
to keep it always open".
Viewed from Mr. Lau, enterprises should face this
policies challenge actively and seek for business
transformation. He said, "Taking Boeing Company for
example, it encountered a divergence on whether to produce
continually military aircrafts with fat profit or to
develop commercial aircrafts with bright future in 1952.
Finally, in a long term, Boeing decided to develop
commercial aircrafts and put their 15 years' net profit of,
i.e, 25% of total assets in the same year for R&D of Jet
Aircraft 707. Today, Boeing is successful and has a great
achievement."
"Keep shop always open" is a taking-time and
laborious job. But the first thing is that we must have and
insist on a correct idea. After reviewing the successful
case of HP and SONY, Mr. Lau mentioned "To build a
successful company does not depend on a single idea, single
product, single leader or single market policy. It depends
on your Current Management's Mind Set!" It is very
important for enterprises to build its Core Value and
recruit highly competent, passionate staff to share it.
Then integrate five factors including Standardization,
Systemization, Training, Innovation and Progress,
enterprises will become more and more effective,
competitive and successful.
Finally, Mr. Lau hopes that enterprises working on
processing trade could face this challenge and choose their
own development roads actively. During this process, Abas
will try her best to provide effective solutions to help
them realize the transformation.
About Abas
Abas Business Solutions (PRC) Ltd is a recognized
leader in delivering collaborative ERP solution. It was
founded in Hong Kong in 2003 and established branches in
Shenzhen and Shanghai afterward. It aims to provide
comprehensive ERP software and IT services from consulting
to software development & support to SMEs in China.
Now, we have over 1900 customers with 36000 users
worldwide. For details, please visit our website:
http://www.abas-prc.com .
Media Contact:
Ms. Helen Fan
Tel: +86-755-3333-6322
Email: Helen.fan@abas-prc.com
2007'09.16.Sun
ABAS Lectured on Business Transformation Seminar with the view of Outward Processing Trade Enterprises should face the Transformation Actively
September 13, 2007
HONG KONG, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- On 7th Sep,
2007 , the 2nd Business Transformation of Outward
Processing Trade Enterprises Seminar, organized by Hong
Kong Productivity Council, was held in 4/F. of HKPC and
provided attendees with business transformation solutions
on tax, financing and IT. Mr. Vincent Lau, COO of Abas
Business Solutions (PRC) Ltd., gave a speech on "Easy
to open a shop but hard to keep it always open,
right?" and shared with attendees his understanding in
business transformation.
Since the end of 2006, Chinese government started
adjusting processing trade policies and issued successively
new policies including Processing Trade Ban Catalog, Taxes
Merge and Transfer Pricing, etc, which made these
enterprises encounter more and more pressure. Reviewing
previous preferential policies and the policies changes up
to now, many enterprises feel doubt about their future and
sighed with feeling of "Easy to open a shop but hard
to keep it always open".
Viewed from Mr. Lau, enterprises should face this
policies challenge actively and seek for business
transformation. He said, "Taking Boeing Company for
example, it encountered a divergence on whether to produce
continually military aircrafts with fat profit or to
develop commercial aircrafts with bright future in 1952.
Finally, in a long term, Boeing decided to develop
commercial aircrafts and put their 15 years' net profit of,
i.e, 25% of total assets in the same year for R&D of Jet
Aircraft 707. Today, Boeing is successful and has a great
achievement."
"Keep shop always open" is a taking-time and
laborious job. But the first thing is that we must have and
insist on a correct idea. After reviewing the successful
case of HP and SONY, Mr. Lau mentioned "To build a
successful company does not depend on a single idea, single
product, single leader or single market policy. It depends
on your Current Management's Mind Set!" It is very
important for enterprises to build its Core Value and
recruit highly competent, passionate staff to share it.
Then integrate five factors including Standardization,
Systemization, Training, Innovation and Progress,
enterprises will become more and more effective,
competitive and successful.
Finally, Mr. Lau hopes that enterprises working on
processing trade could face this challenge and choose their
own development roads actively. During this process, Abas
will try her best to provide effective solutions to help
them realize the transformation.
About Abas
Abas Business Solutions (PRC) Ltd is a recognized
leader in delivering collaborative ERP solution. It was
founded in Hong Kong in 2003 and established branches in
Shenzhen and Shanghai afterward. It aims to provide
comprehensive ERP software and IT services from consulting
to software development & support to SMEs in China.
Now, we have over 1900 customers with 36000 users
worldwide. For details, please visit our website:
http://www.abas-prc.com .
Media Contact:
Ms. Helen Fan
Tel: +86-21-6101-0346
Email: Helen.fan@abas-prc.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Greater Commitment Needed to Combat Problem of Multidrug-resistant TB
September 13, 2007
Fifty-eighth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the
Western Pacific
10-14 September 2007, Jeju, Republic of Korea
JEJU, Republic of Korea, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/
-- Dr Shigeru Omi, World Health Organization Regional
Director for the Western Pacific, today called for greater
political commitment in addressing the growing epidemic of
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the Western Pacific
Region.
(Logo:
http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/20061102095006-51-min.jpg )
Dr Omi made the appeal to Member States at the Regional
Committee for the Western Pacific, WHO's governing body in
the Region, currently meeting in Jeju, to review WHO's work
in the Region.
"There is an urgent need to scale up the
management of multidrug resistant-TB, which has emerged
across the Region, including the Pacific," said Dr
Omi. "The potential magnitude of the threat of
multidrug-resistant TB in the Region requires countries to
urgently develop a response and thus prevent the
development of extensively drug resistant-TB or
XDR-TB."
The Region has about a third of the global multidrug
resistant-TB burden, mostly in China and the Philippines,
and to some extent, in Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and
Viet Nam.
Tuberculosis continues to be a major public health
problem in the Western Pacific despite it being the only
WHO Region that has achieved the 2005 global targets for TB
control. In 2005, the latest year for which data are
available, the Region had an estimated 1.9 million new TB
cases.
Dr Omi also drew attention to the increasing concern on
HIV-related TB, saying that in this Region, TB is the main
opportunistic infection that kills people living with
HIV/AIDS. "The high case fatality of TB-HIV
co-infected individuals observed in the Region needs to be
addressed through early diagnosis of both conditions as
well as prompt implementation of adequate treatment, care
and support," Dr Omi said. There is, therefore, a
need for comprehensive infection control strategies in
health care settings to prevent the spread of TB among
people living with HIV.
Meanwhile, access to HIV treatment continues to expand
but significant obstacles to achieving universal access
still have to be overcome. At the United Nations' General
Assembly high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS in 2006, Member
States agreed to work towards the goal of "universal
access" to comprehensive HIV prevention programmes,
treatment, care and support by 2010.
"Universal access by 2010 will require a steep
increase in the number of people starting treatment every
year," Dr Omi said in a briefing paper. "Even
though the treatment gap has been decreasing in recent
years, people currently living with HIV/AIDS will progress
towards symptomatic HIV disease and eventually require
treatment."
In the Western Pacific Region, it was estimated that
1.3 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2006,
while almost 80 000 individuals died of HIV/AIDS the same
year. Despite some success in scaling up prevention
interventions, the epidemic continues to grow, with an
estimated 167 000 new HIV infections occurring in the
Region in 2006.
For more information or to request to interview WHO
specialists, please call Ms Marilu Lingad at (+63) 918 918
1094; email: lingadm@wpro.who.int or Mr Peter Cordingley
at (+63) 917 844 3688; email: cordingleyp@wpro.who.int.
For more information, please contact:
Public Information Office
Tel: +63-2-528-9991
Email: PIO_Unit@wpro.who.int
2007'09.16.Sun
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Names Frits van Paasschen, Former Ceo of Coors Brewing Company, Chief Executive Officer
September 13, 2007
Bruce Duncan to Continue as Chairman
WHITE PLAINS, NY, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT)
announced that Frits van Paasschen, former President and
Chief Executive Officer of Coors Brewing Company, will join
Starwood as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 24.
Mr. van Paasschen, who will relocate to the White Plains
area, succeeds Bruce W. Duncan, who has served as interim
CEO since April and will continue as Starwood's Chairman.
Mr. van Paasschen, 46, has over 20 years of experience
with consumer-focused, global lifestyle brands. During his
two and a half years as President and CEO of Molson Coors
Brewing Company's largest division, Coors Brewing Company
increased its volumes, sales, and profits. He reversed
nine quarters of decline in the flagship brand, Coors
Light, while growing market share and significantly
improving Coors' ranking in an independent survey of
distributor satisfaction. Prior to joining Coors in 2005,
Mr. van Paasschen spent seven years at Nike, Inc., where he
was most recently responsible for its business in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa, and increased revenues from
$2.5 billion to nearly $4 billion and doubled profits over
a four-year period.
Mr. Duncan said, "Frits is an extremely talented
and proven leader with demonstrated success in driving both
top and bottom-line growth on a global scale across a
variety of leading consumer lifestyle companies. Our
company has never been in a stronger position, with a
robust pipeline of approximately 105,000 rooms, of which
over 70% are in the upper upscale and luxury segments and
approximately half of which are outside of North America.
We remain focused on developing and opening new properties,
with 80 new openings planned for this year and over 100 for
next year. With the combination of our strong foundation,
exceptional in-house talent and Frits' unique perspective,
strong performance in managing global brands and deep
international experience, the Board is confident in
Starwood's continued profitable growth. I look forward to
working with him as we position our company for an even
stronger future."
Stephen R. Quazzo, Chairman of the Governance and
Nominating Committee of the Starwood Board, said,
"During a rigorous five-month search process, the
Board met with many highly qualified candidates, but we
unanimously concluded that Frits is the right leader for
our company at this time. He is a creative, dynamic and
team-oriented executive with superb marketing skills, an
approachable style, and broad experience driving consumer
demand and delivering superior results across a number of
marquee global brands. We are very pleased with the search
process and delighted to welcome Frits to Starwood."
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank
Bruce Duncan for his tireless dedication and effective
leadership during his six months as interim CEO,"
continued Mr. Quazzo. "Bruce has been instrumental in
guiding the continued success and strong performance of the
company during a period of transition and I'm gratified
that Starwood will continue to benefit from his insight and
experience as he resumes his position as non-executive
Chairman of the Board."
Mr. van Paasschen said, "I am thrilled to be
joining Starwood, a company that is raising the bar for
service, innovation and excellence in a dynamic and
competitive industry. This is an exciting period of
transformation for Starwood as it establishes itself as a
leading global hotel operator and lifestyle company with
many outstanding brands, and I look forward to working with
its strong management team and talented associates to build
on Starwood's solid foundation and take the company to the
next level of performance and market impact in the years
ahead."
Before joining Nike in 1997, Mr. van Paasschen spent
two years as Vice President, Finance and Planning at Disney
Consumer Products and earlier in his career was a management
consultant for eight years at McKinsey & Company and the
Boston Consulting Group. He also serves as a director on
the Boards of Jones Apparel Group Inc. and Oakley Inc. He
holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A.
degree from Amherst College.
Conference Call and Webcast
Starwood conducted a conference call and webcast for
the investment community on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at
9:00 a.m. ET. A playback of the call will be available
through September 14, 2007. To access the playback, please
dial 877-656-8905 (within U.S.) or 334-323-9859 (outside
U.S.) and enter conference ID number 55823378. The
conference call was available through simultaneous webcast
in the Investor Relations/Press Releases section of the
Company's website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com .
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(R)
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of
the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 890 properties in more than 100 countries and
145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and
franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le M¨¦ridien(R),
Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, Aloft(TM), and
Element(TM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and
operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts. For more information, please visit
http://www.starwoodhotels.com .
Note: This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the
meaning of federal securities regulations.
Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve
risks and uncertainties and other factors that
may cause actual
results to differ materially from those
anticipated at the time the
forward-looking statements are made. Further
results, performance
and achievements may be affected by general
economic conditions
including the impact of war and terrorist
activity, business and
financing conditions, foreign exchange
fluctuations, cyclicality of
the real estate (including residential) and the
hotel and vacation
ownership businesses, operating risks associated
with the hotel,
vacation ownership and residential businesses,
relationships with
associates and labor unions, customers and
property owners, the
impact of the internet reservation channels, our
reliance on
technology, domestic and international political
and geopolitical
conditions, competition, governmental and
regulatory actions
(including the impact of changes in U.S. and
foreign tax laws and
their interpretation), travelers' fears of
exposure to contagious
diseases, risk associated with the level of our
indebtedness, risk
associated with potential acquisitions and
dispositions, and the
introduction of new brand concepts and other
risks and uncertainties.
These risks and uncertainties are presented in
detail in our filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Although we believe
the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are
based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no
assurance that our
expectations will be attained or that results
will not materially
differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of
new information,
future events or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations Contact:
Jason Koval
Tel: +1-914-640-4429
Media Contacts:
K.C. Kavanagh
Tel: +1-914-882-8461
Carrie Bloom
Sard Verbinnen & Co
Tel: +1-516-816-5662
2007'09.16.Sun
WISeKey Selected by the WEF as One of the 100 Global Growth Companies
September 13, 2007
- Note: Photo can be downloaded on: http://www.presseportal.ch/fr/pm/100006027 DALIAN, China, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Revealing a bold new initiative of the World Economic Forum Community, comprised of the 1,000 foremost global enterprises, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, announced the creation of a new community of fast-growing companies destined to join the ranks of global multinationals in the next 5 to 10 years. "These are a very special group of companies that have not really been understood," said Schwab. In his opening remarks of the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions, Schwab had set the goal of 100 Founding Global Growth Company Members. Today, he welcomed 125 Founding Members, clearly signalling that the time is right for this new initiative. 40% of the members are from Asia; 26% hail from Europe; 20% are based in the Americas; and 14% come from Africa and the Middle East. "This is a truly global community," said Schwab. Schwab's remarks followed a lively panel on the essential elements -- the leadership DNA -- of Global Growth Companies. The panellists, CEOs of five of the world's most successful companies, listed traits that included: the constant drive for innovation, adherence to openness and flexibility, recognition of core competencies, allocation of resources on a global scale and, particularly, recruitment and retention of talented individuals. The founding members of the Community of Global Growth Companies -- http://www.weforum.org/documents/dalian07/GGC_community.pdf Complete information on WEF's selection at: http://www.weforum.org/en/events/AnnualMeetingoftheNewChampions/index.htm Internet: http://www.presseportal.ch Contact: WISeKey SA Boeckh Sophia Corporate Communications Officer WTC II - 29, Rte de Pre-Bois - CP 885 CH - 1215 Geneva 15 Phone: +41-22-594-30-05 (Direct) Phone: +41-22-594-30-00 (Central) Fax : +41-22-594-30-01 Internet: http://www.wisekey.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Using the Television to Wash Your Clothes?
September 13, 2007
GENEVA, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The washing
machine and the refrigerator are going to start
"talking" to the television thanks to a new
standard about to be published by the Geneva-based IEC.
This new ability to network traditional household
appliances with personal computers and audio-visual
equipment will offer such possibilities as your television
screen displaying the fact that the washing machine has
finished washing your clothes or turning on an air
conditioner from your personal computer.
The new standard links the two different communications
networks established for the household appliances and
audio-visual equipment. These were set up separately
largely because of the different product lifecycles for the
fast-moving audiovisual equipment and computers compared
with slower-changing household appliances which tend to
stay in use over periods of several years.
This specification, Home Network Communication Protocol
over IP for Multimedia Household Appliances (IEC 62457), has
several key advantages:
-- It can be used with existing home networking
standards;
-- Both Home Network nodes with TCP/IP Layer and
without can coexist
under the same Home Network Middleware;
-- Household appliances can communicate with
audiovisual equipment,
PCs and PC-related equipment, and vice-versa,
without requiring any
gateway;
-- Household appliances can handle text and audiovisual
data;
-- Audiovisual equipment, PCs and PC-related equipment
can handle
household appliances data; and
-- Household appliances can freely select a suitable
lower-layer
medium from various lower-layer media below TCP/IP.
The new standard is due to be published in October 2007
and some products applying its specifications are now on the
market in Japan.
The new specification is from the IEC Technical
Committee 100, Audio, video and multimedia systems and
equipment. Media wishing to address the project leader for
this new specification are kindly requested to contact:
For technical questions:
Mr. Norimasa Minami
IEC TC 100 Assistant Secretary
Tel: +81-6-69-00-96-34
Email: minami.norimasa@jp.panasonic.com
For general media:
Mr. Dennis Brougham
Communications Manager
IEC Central Office
Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-919-02-60
Email: db@iec.ch
2007'09.16.Sun
IntexyS Introduces Ultra-Small Surface Mount Optical Devices for High Performance, Intra-System Data Communications
September 13, 2007
Miniature Modules Deliver Highest Bandwidth Per Cm-2 for
On-Board and Free Space Connectivity in Next Generation
Systems
TOULOUSE, France, Sept. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
IntexyS Photonics SA, a leader of integrated optical
modules for high performance data equipment and systems,
introduces its line of Surface Mount Optical Devices
(SMODs) to boost bandwidth and reliability in intra-system
communications. SMOD transmitters and receivers are now
available at data rates of 4 Gbps to 10 Gbps in packages of
only 3x2 mm -- or roughly the size of a match head.
( Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070905/AQW066LOGO )
The miniature SMODs are the industry's most compact,
integrated module solutions for 850 nm data communications
in free space and short reach applications. In data
centers, server farms, supercomputers and large enterprise
systems, SMOD products provide high port density at lower
costs to provision bandwidth needs with greater economy.
The integrated SMOD modules further promote simplicity and
reliability in data-intense environments, serving as a key
enabler to solving congestion that continues to hamper
inter-processor communications.
"IntexyS modules are among the first in a new
class of optical devices designed to enhance connectivity
in high performance system communications where bottlenecks
remain a significant issue," said Jean-Charles Garcia,
co-founder and CEO of IntexyS. "We are enabling a new
age of optical communications, in which very small,
integrated modules with high signal integrity can be used
with or without wires to deliver more and faster data on
boards, between boards and rack-to-rack."
SMOD transmitter and receiver modules are designed for
flexibility, scalability and ease of use in networking
systems and equipment, accommodating serial or parallel
array communications and multiple protocols.
The surface mount, multi-chip module transmitters reach
data speeds up to 10 Gbps, and achieve significant
improvements in circuit density and size while solving
signal integrity management problems. SMOD receivers
combine an 850 nm photodiode and TIA electronics in a
surface mount package, providing high density and high data
throughput.
SMOD products are produced using a wafer-level approach
with state-of-the-art surface mount technology (SMT) and
full flip chip assembly processes to achieve the smallest
form factor on the market: LCC6 package at 3x2 mm. The
IntexyS patented hybridization technology enables intimate
integration of photonic components, detector, optical
modulator, edge-emitting or vertical-cavity surface
emitting lasers to high speed silicon electronics. Passive
alignment and efficient optical coupling are achieved
through self-aligned assembly techniques, and result in low
cost optical interfaces.
"With an emphasis on achieving more bits per
dollar in today's data-loaded equipment and systems, the
IntexyS family of surface mount optical devices is an ideal
solution," said Terry Thomas, VP of Sales and
Marketing. "These integrated optical devices deliver
more bandwidth at lower costs across multiple applications,
while setting the stage for next generation networking
systems." Thomas noted that SMOD transmitters and
receivers are available in moderate volumes through the
IntexyS commercial office in Sunnyvale, CA. Transceivers
are expected to be available in 4Q2007.
IntexyS will feature SMOD transmitter and receiver
products at ECOC 2007, Booth 15025, Sept. 16-20.
About IntexyS:
IntexyS Photonics SA designs, manufactures and markets
highly integrated optical-electronic modules for high speed
applications based on its patented and industrial-proven
flip chip hybridization technology. The company provides
multi-standard compliant transmitter and receiver solutions
for serial and parallel optical interconnects. Headquartered
in Toulouse, France, IntexyS Photonics has a joint R&D
laboratory with the CEA/LETI in Grenoble, France and a U.S.
commercial and engineering office in Sunnyvale, California.
For more information, please contact:
Terry N. Thomas
IntexyS Photonics SA
Tel: +1-408-501-8851
Mobilie: +1-408-646-7770
Email: tthomas@intexysphotonics.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Thomson Scientific to Host Pharmaceutical Vision - A User's Conference for Information, Regulatory Affairs, Competitive Intelligence
September 13, 2007
National One-Day Meetings Scheduled for London, Paris,
Munich, San Francisco, CA and Princeton, NJ
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE:
TOC; TSX: TOC) and leading provider of information
solutions to the worldwide research and business
communities, announced today that it will be hosting its
inaugural user's conference for information, regulatory
affairs, competitive intelligence, and biotechnology
professionals. Called Pharmaceutical Vision, it will be a
series of national one-day meetings across five cities
planned to provide end-users with the opportunity to meet
product development specialists and professional trainers
while engaging in hands-on demonstrations that showcase the
latest in customized workflow solutions.
"Pharmaceutical Vision creates an opportunity for
us to liaise directly with our customers in a range of
markets," said Jon Brett-Harris, executive vice
president of pharmaceutical and chemical markets at Thomson
Scientific. "The keynote speakers and innovative,
personalized sessions will spark discussion, create a forum
of creativity, and allow the real experts -- the end-users
-- to provide feedback."
In addition to user-group sessions throughout the day,
a product drop-in room and product test lab will be
available. The product drop-in room allows attendees an
open opportunity to work through online queries with
professional trainers, while the product test lab offers
product specialists and development professionals the
opportunity to discuss future developments and prototypes.
Combining authoritative information along with
innovative technology, Pharmaceutical Vision will be held
in five locations internationally. The first of the
conferences will be held in Europe, starting in London on
September 20th, followed by Paris on the 26th and Munich on
the 30th. The North American conferences will begin in San
Francisco, California on October 9th and will conclude in
Princeton, New Jersey on October 22nd.
For more information on Pharmaceutical Vision or for
information on participating in this event, please visit:
http://scientific.thomson.com/fr/pharmavision/.
About The Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com) is a
global leader in providing essential electronic workflow
solutions to business and professional customers. With
operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson
provides value-added information, software tools and
applications to professionals in the fields of law, tax,
accounting, financial services, scientific research and
healthcare. The Corporation's common shares are listed on
the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX:
TOC).
Thomson Scientific is a business of The Thomson
Corporation. Its information solutions assist
professionals at every stage of research and
development-from discovery to analysis to product
development and distribution. Thomson Scientific
information solutions can be found at
http://scientific.thomson.com.
For more information, please contact:
Sue Besaw
Thomson Scientific
Phone: +1-215-823-1840
Email: susan.besaw@thomson.com
Website: http://www.scientific.thomson.com
http://www.thomson.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Muhammad Ali Nominated for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
September 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Muhammad
Ali, three-time heavyweight boxing champion and one of the
most recognized people in the world, is a nominee for this
year's Nobel Peace Prize. Co-nominated with Ali is Peter
Georgi, Ali's former senior humanitarian advisor.
The nomination is based on Ali's and Georgi's many
years of effort to create the Children's General Assembly,
a new United Nations-authorized organization that will
allow children to promote the following:
-- world peace
-- environmental healing
-- sustainable development
-- the optimization of education
-- the improvement of health and healthy water
supplies
-- ways to reduce the world's mortality rate of
children
-- remedies to the problems of hunger, malnutrition,
AIDS and other
diseases, illiteracy, drug abuse,
-- and many other pressing issues that face an
increasingly troubled
world.
The Children's General Assembly of Los Angeles,
California is gathering more than 100 child ambassadors
from around the world with the support of 179 governments
that have unanimously approved the concept of giving
children a meaningful voice in world affairs at the United
Nations. Additional details can be found at
http://www.childrens-general-assembly.org .
"You cannot find a better candidate than Muhammad
Ali for the Nobel Peace Prize," said Subash Razdan,
chairman of the Gandhi Foundation USA, the organization
that made the nomination.
Ali and Georgi are the cofounders of the Children's
General Assembly and its launching organization, the
Children's Peace Foundation. Georgi, the organization's
chairman and president, conceived and financed the
development of the Children's General Assembly.
Muhammad Ali, an official United Nations Messenger of
Peace, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and has a long
track record of promoting peace and helping children
throughout the world.
The Children's Peace Foundation's Honorary Board of
Advisors includes Elizabeth Taylor, Lionel Richie, Whoopi
Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, Rod Stewart, Quincy Jones, Little
Richard, Brooke Shields and many other celebrities. The
Board of Advisors includes Claes Nobel, a senior member of
the Nobel family of Sweden.
The winner of the prize will be announced in
mid-October by the Nobel Committee.
For more information on Children's Peace Foundation or
to make a donation visit
http://www.childrens-general-assembly.org .
For more information, please contact:
Brianne Lunzmann
Hill & Knowlton
Tel: +1-949-223-2314
Email: brianne.lunzmann@hillandknowlton.com
Peter Georgi
Chairman and President
Children's General Assembly
Tel: +1-310-358-5198
Email: phgeorgi@aol.com
2007'09.16.Sun
TNS Says Booming Hypermarkets are Creating New Shopping Culture in China
September 12, 2007
Big New Opportunity Awaits Companies in The Hypermarket
Channel in China's Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities, Predicts TNS
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Hypermarkets are taking hold in China thanks to the lure of
low prices, convenient one-stop shopping, accessible
locations and the integration of other retail facilities
such as restaurants, cinemas and coffee houses that can
turn a shopping trip into a day out for China's shoppers.
Jason Yu, Regional Account Development Director for TNS
Worldpanel (China), said: "In the US, stores such as
Wal-Mart have been able to create an entirely new shopping
culture. The one-stop shop philosophy, in particular, is
achieving the attention of China's largest spenders --
middle-class consumers. On average, China's middle class
consumers visit hypermarkets every 10 days, making for a
frequent-shopping pattern that owners of hypermarkets can
bank on for a predictable revenue stream.
"So it's no surprise that most international
retailers are looking closely at China, a market where the
grocery sector has continued to see rapid growth
year-on-year above the rate of GDP expansion. Hypermarkets
are rushing in. In July, Carrefour opened its 100th
hypermarket in China in Shaoxing, a prefecture level city
with a population of 650,000. Walmart's recent acquisition
of Trust-mart is another notable development that underlines
the growth story for hypermarkets."
TNS Worldpanel (China), which continuously measures
household consumption in 20 of China's provinces as well as
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, says latest data
show that hypermarkets increased their share of the value
of China's grocery sector Note 1 in the country's 15
largest cities Note 2 from 28.5% in 2005 to 29.8% in 2006.
The share in these largely provincial capital cities and
municipalities - known as tier 1 cities -- has continued to
increase this year, reaching 30.1% in the first half of
2007. TNS is predicting a share for hypermarkets of 35% by
the end of the decade -- compared to the level of just 19.7%
seen in 2001.
The hypermarket successes contrast with the supermarket
sector which has recently experienced retrenchment.
Supermarket share of value dropped from 28.4% in 2001 to
19.1% in the first half of 2007. TNS data shows the number
of visits consumers make each year to supermarkets has
trended down since at least 2005, while the number has
risen for hypermarkets over the same period.
As of mid 2007, hypermarkets had made their biggest
impact in Shanghai, where this channel accounted for more
than 45% value share of the grocery sector. Hypermarkets
are also dominating Hangzhou (37.9% share in mid June),
Shenzhen (37.2%), Guangzhou (35.5%) and Chengdu (33.8%).
Hypermarkets are retail facilities carrying
comprehensive product ranges, including full lines of
groceries and general merchandise, and in spaces often in
excess of 4,000 square meters. TNS says hypermarkets are
winning business for a variety of reasons, including:
-- Low Prices -- Most hypermarkets are utilizing price
cutting and "every
day" low price strategies to attract shoppers
into the store.
-- One-Stop Shopping -- A wide range of food and
non-food items are
pulling Chinese families into the stores. Fresh
food (including cooked
ready-to-eat food) is playing a key role in
attracting consumers into
the store.
-- Location -- Most Chinese hypermarkets are
conveniently located in city
centers or shopping malls close to residential
communities and also
offer free shuttle buses.
-- Total Shopping Experience -- Restaurants, cinemas,
department stores,
and coffee shops are often located on the premises
of a hypermarket,
allowing people to plan other leisure activities
around shopping.
Hypermarket operators predominantly comprise
international retailers. Among the companies leading this
industry growth are Wal-Mart/Trust-Mart (US), Carrefour
(France), Tesco (UK), and RT-Mart (Taiwan), with individual
shares in the first half of 2007 of 4.7%, 4.4%, 2.7%, and
2.2%, respectively of China's grocery spend as measured by
TNS Worldpanel across 15 cities.
"The fact that even the market leader does not
command a share above 5% reflects the current fragmented
nature of the grocery trade," said Mr Yu. "At
the same time, it points to significant market opportunity
arising from future market consolidation, which we believe
will be inevitable."
TNS says there is a significant opportunity for
hypermarkets to penetrate China's retail sector still
further, since the hypermarket share of value stands at
just 12.9% in tier 2 cities (prefecture-level cities) and
7.6% in tier 3 cities (county-level cities).
Mr Yu said: "These figures indicate there is
plenty of room for new hypermarkets. A few international
hypermarket operators are already looking into expanding
into tier 2 and tier 3 cities, and numerous retailers are
beginning to offer higher margin departments such as
textiles, fresh food, and their own labels. The
hypermarket channel is a nascent industry, whose turning
point is still to come as the lack of competition in
second-tier cities is an opportunity for further
development. However, to gain a profitable share in the
hypermarket channel, retailers must act now as local
competitors are faster in developing a multi-format
portfolio to diversify the business risks and capitalize
other development opportunities."
Note 1: TNS Worldpanel's share of value in China's
grocery sector covers 50 representative product
categories.
Note 2: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin,
Shenyang, Wuhan, Chengdu, Xian, Jinan, Nanjing, Hangzhou,
Qingdao, Chongqing, Dalian and Shenzhen.
About TNS:
TNS is a global market insight and information group.
Our strategic goal is to be recognised as the global
leader in delivering value-added information and insights
that help our clients to make more effective decisions.
As industry thought leaders, our people deliver
innovative thinking and excellent service to global
organisations and local clients worldwide. We work in
partnership with our clients, meeting their needs for
high-quality information, analysis and foresight across our
network of over 70 countries.
We are the world's foremost provider of custom research
and analysis, combining in-depth industry sector
understanding with world-class expertise in the areas of
new product development, segmentation and positioning
research, brand and advertising research and stakeholder
management. We are a major supplier of consumer panel,
media intelligence and internet, TV and radio audience
measurement services.
About Worldpanel:
Worldpanel(TM) is TNS's consumer panel sector
delivering an offering with global scale. Coverage extends
to more than 50 countries with services typically based on
continuously monitored samples providing information on
purchasing and usage activity. TNS uses data collection
technology best suited to the environment that is measured.
Techniques include bar code scanners, online, till receipt
scanning, as well as paper diaries and interviewing.
Worldpanel subscribers include global and local FMCG
brands, private-label manufacturers, fresh food suppliers,
retailers, market analysts and government organisations.
About TNS Worldpanel China (National Urban Panel):
A pre-recruited sample of families in China who have
agreed to participate in market research surveys, the
National Urban Panel from TNS Worldpanel China covers 20
provinces and four municipality cities (Beijing, Tianjin,
Shanghai and Chongqing). It measures household
consumption, with participants keeping a diary of purchases
across a variety of product categories including cosmetics,
food and beverages and the toiletry/household sector.
TNS is the sixth sense of business.
http://www.tns-global.com
For more information, please contact:
Cindy Liu, Marketing & Communications Manager
TNS China
Tel£º +86-21-6360-0808 ext. 156
Mobile: +86-1350-192-4102
Email£º Cindy.Liu@tns-global.com
2007'09.16.Sun
GeoVision Announces New License Plate Recognition Using Texas Instruments DaVinci(TM) Digital Signal Processors
September 12, 2007
HOUSTON, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- GeoVision
Incorporated today announced the collaboration with Texas
Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN), a leading solution provider
of digital signal processing (DSPs) solutions and analog
technology in the development of license plate recognition
technologyor outdoor surveillance solutions. By adding
TI's TMS320DM6446 processor based on DaVinci(TM) technology
to an already highly sophisticated GV-series product line,
GeoVision can provide an even more comprehensive
surveillance solution by adding more value-added features
to its worldwide customers and fulfill the needs of
customers who require outdoor installations. GeoVision and
TI will initially focus on an integrated DSP-based
surveillance solution for the license plate
recognition/automatic number plate recognition (LPR/ANPR).
(Logo:
http://211.154.41.99:9080/xprn/sa/20061107170439-20.jpg )
Taking advantage of TI's advanced DaVinci technology
and without rotational devices such as an installed fan or
hard disk drive, the non-PC-based GV-DSP LPR system is not
only able to capture and deliver excellent quality video
images, it is more resistant to changes in outdoor
environment conditions. The GV-DSP LPR system provides
seamless integration with the support of software and
hardware offerings and is the foundation for GV-LPR centers
for central control and database management. GeoVision's
LPR system also selected TI analog technology including the
TPS5420 DC/DC converter, the TPS3808G09 power management
devices and the OPA357 operational amplifier to build up
the complete and most efficient signal chain.
"Through combining TI DaVinci products and
GeoVision LPR technology, GeoVision and TI expect to see a
significant growth in the LPR/ANPR market," said
George Tsai, CEO of GeoVision. "Our LPR system is not
only cost effective to install but also scalable. It can be
widely deployed and is able to create a high ROI for the
customers as well as to fulfill intelligent transportation
system needs."
While the GV-DSP LPR systems are currently utilized in
areas such as traffic and law enforcement, access control
and revenue collection, a more comprehensive system will
greatly increase and ease surveillance for customers. The
new GV-DSP LPR system will be extremely beneficial for
operations that require constant surveillance of large
numbers of automobiles, such as parking lot management,
entrance management, automatic toll collection enforcement,
traffic enforcement statistics, border surveillance, stolen
vehicle search, congestion charge, inventory control,
journey time/average speed calculation and petrol station
drive-off prevention. The GV-DSP LPR system also
incorporates several intelligent, value-added features,
such as web-based interface for setup, live viewing and
firmware upgrade, video search and analytics tools for
marketing analysis, hardware watchdog for detecting
hardware abnormality and digital watermarking to prevent
recorded video images from tampering, etc.
"We are pleased that GeoVision selected TI's
DaVinci technology and complementary analog technology for
their LPR system products. The new solution will fuel the
growing LPR market, which we see as a key emerging market
for video security," said Eldon Teng, TI Asia DSP
Marketing Director. "TI's innovative DaVinci
technology coupled with GeoVision's expertise in the LPR
market will help further accelerate and ease the
development of new video surveillance applications and
services."
Both GeoVision and TI will be participating in the
upcoming ASIS International 2007 exhibition in Las Vegas,
Nevada from September 24 to 26, 2007. A series of
GeoVision LPR demos will be shown in booth #3771.
To learn more about GeoVision's LPR/ANPR solution,
please visit GeoVision's LPR/ANPR solution website at
http://www.geovision.com.tw/english/solution/GV-LPR_Intro.htm
.
About GeoVision
GeoVision Inc., one of the security 50 companies, is a
professional manufacturer of intelligent video surveillance
systems. Known by the brand name GeoVision, we manufacture
and distribute security surveillance systems to customers
in more than 70 countries. GeoVision's distinct products
and innovative technologies are USA and Taiwan patented.
GeoVision holds technical edges in state-of-the-art
surveillance software, video/audio compression techniques,
intelligent video analysis, and hardware enhancements.
GeoVision's award-winning GV series surveillance products
provide total security solutions for point-of-sale systems,
license plate recognition systems, and central monitoring
systems. With our advantages in video surveillance
techniques, we are forging ahead to new fields of IP
surveillance, video server, network video storage,
access-control DVR, and video security service. For more
information, visit http://www.geovision.com.tw .
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP
and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world
signal processing requirements. In addition to
Semiconductor, the company includes the Education
Technology business. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas,
and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more
than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located
on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com .
Trademarks
DaVinci technology is a trademark of Texas Instruments.
All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
For more information, please contact:
Texas Instruments
Tim Frost
Tel: +1-281-274-3223
Email: tfrost@ti.com
GeoVision Inc.
Alice Ko
Tel: +886-2-87978377
Email: alice@geovision.com.tw
2007'09.16.Sun
Zero2IPO and JCD Host 1st China Venture Capital Forum in Tokyo
September 12, 2007
TOKYO, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Zero2IPO, a
leading integrated financial services firm in China,
announced today its first China Venture Capital Forum
("CVCF") in Japan. The forum was held on Sept.
12th at the Meiji Kinenkan, Tokyo. It was jointly
organized by Zero2IPO Group ( http://www.zero2ipo.com.cn )
and JCD Group ( http://www.jcd.co.jp ), with sponsorship
by, ngi group, Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Asset Managers
Co., Ltd., Astoria Consulting Group, Vincera Capital,
Mitsui Ventures, DCM, Nikko antfactory K.K., Mobile
Internet Capital, Daiwa Securities SMBC.
The second quarter of 2007 showed a strong record
performance for the China VC & PE industry. With
respect to the VC market, over 120 enterprises secured VC
investments for a total amount of US$694 million. At the
same time, 15 new Asia-focused (including China) private
equity funds were formed and raised a total capital of
US$5.8 billion. Meanwhile, 45 Chinese enterprises garnered
US$2.4 billion of private equity investment. With China
being ranked as the world's second largest venture
investment market, the world's leading venture capitalists
and entrepreneurs participated in the Tokyo CVCF event.
"As a leading organizer for private equity and
venture capital forums in China for the past seven years,
Zero2IPO is proud to host its first CVCF in Japan in
partnership with JCD this year," said Gavin Ni,
Founder, President and CEO of Zero2IPO Group. "With
the recent boom in venture capital and private equity
market, we believe this was an excellent opportunity to
bring together leaders of China's venture capital and
private equity industry to speak at the conference and
share their insights and experiences."
The conference opened with Zero2IPO releasing the most
current 2007 data about China's venture capital and private
equity activities. The forum also hosted several panel
discussions covering topics such as how China venture
capital and private equity industry has become the fastest
growing VC/PE investment in the world; insights and
perspectives of the new generation of Chinese
entrepreneurs; challenges and opportunities facing Japanese
investors in China; and bridge opportunities for Japan LPs
to invest in funds focused on China.
Many renowned venture capitalists spoke at the
conference including Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, the
Representative Director CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc.; Mr.
Osamu Nagao, President & CEO of MVC Corporation; Mr.
Masaki Shiz, Executive Director of Tokyo Stock Exchange;
Mr. Jun Tang, President of Shanda Entertainment; Mr. Zhimin
Xu, President of JCD Group; Mr. Satoshi Koike, Chairman
& CEO of ngi group and other senior executives from
JAFCO, JAIC, IDGVC, Sequoia Capital, KPCB, European
Investment Fund, Alternative Investment Capital and so on.
For more information, please contact:
Zero2IPO Group
Aileen Huang
Tel: +86-1367-114-1623
Email: aileenhuang@zero2ipo.com.cn
2007'09.16.Sun
Standard Chartered Bank and Prudential plc (United Kingdom) Extend Bancassurance Partnership to Taiwan
September 12, 2007
TAIPEI, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Standard
Chartered and Prudential plc today announced plans to
extend their bancassurance partnership to Taiwan. The
arrangement, which follows a successful nine-year
relationship between both organizations in Asia, will
enable Standard Chartered to promote and distribute
Prudential's protection and savings products through its
island wide branches in Taiwan.
The agreement highlights the importance of Taiwan to
Standard Chartered's growth strategy following its
integration in July 2007, making Standard Chartered now the
largest foreign bank in Taiwan. Prudential's life operation
in Taiwan is one of largest and most widely recognized
foreign life insurers, with an agency force of 10,000 and
brand recognition of 94%. The new bancassurance partnership
gives Prudential opportunity to leverage further its leading
position in this market.
Standard Chartered and Prudential's bancassurance
platform will feature in-branch and direct marketing sales
channels. The partners plan to hire, train and deploy a
dedicated sales force of 200 Financial Planning Advisors
(FPA's) throughout the bank's branch network to provide
strategic financial planning services and tailored product
solutions. This is in addition to Standard Chartered's
customer relationship managers (CRM's) in Taiwan that
already sell select PCA Life products on a preferred
partner basis.
Since 1998, Standard Chartered and Prudential have
partnered on similar bancassurance arrangements across the
region, including in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan,
Thailand, Korea and recently in Mainland China as well.
Commenting on the partnership, Tony Wilkey, Chief
Operating Officer of Prudential Corporation Asia said,
"We have had a very successful partnership with
Standard Chartered for many years and are therefore happy
to be deepening our relationship with Standard Chartered,
partnering with them in their growth strategies and
providing the people of Taiwan more opportunities to
benefit from our products and services."
Chris Werner, Regional Head of Consumer Banking for
North East Asia, Standard Chartered Bank said,
"Delivering excellent benefits to customers is our
priority: Creating customized products, providing faster
service and taking better care of our customers' financial
needs are the focus of what we do. Since 1998, we have
been cooperating with Prudential in various countries to
make superb life insurance products for our customers'
protection available. Now, we want to live up to the same
high standards in Taiwan and bring our customers here the
results of a great partnership - a long-standing
partnership between Prudential and Standard Chartered Bank,
which serves only one purpose and that is how can we protect
and benefit our customers."
Peter Grimes, Regional Director, Partnerships
Distribution of Prudential Corporation Asia said "Over
the coming months, we will roll out a range of our products
to Standard Chartered's customers, with emphasis on quality
financial advice provided by a newly established team of
professional Financial Planning Advisors. This will enable
the bank's customers to receive tailored recommendations
and product solutions at a time and place convenient to
them."
James Tan, Global Head of Bancassurance for Standard
Chartered Bank, added, "Bancassurance is now an
integral part of our retail banking offering and it is
essential that we provide our customers in Taiwan with a
full range of quality protection and medium to long term
savings products. Given the long and successful
association with Prudential in Asia, it was a natural
extension for us to work with them again in delivering
these services and solutions to our customers throughout
Taiwan."
About Prudential plc (United Kingdom)
Established in London in 1848, Prudential plc is a
leading international financial group providing retail
financial services and fund management in its chosen
markets: the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia and
continental Europe. Prudential has been writing life
insurance in the United Kingdom for 160 years. Today,
Prudential has over 20 million customers worldwide and over
US$510 (GBP 256) billion of funds under management.
Prudential plc's strong mix of businesses around the
world positions us well to benefit from the growth in
customer demand for asset accumulation and income in
retirement. Our international reach and diversity of
earnings by geographic region and product will continue to
give us significant advantage.
Prudential has brought to market an integrated range of
financial services products that now includes life
assurance, pensions, mutual funds, investment management
and general insurance.
Under the Prudential Group are a number of
well-respected brands including in the UK where we are a
leading life and pensions provider and M&G is a leading
retail fund manager. In the US, Jackson National Life, is a
leading provider of long-term savings and retirement
products to retail and institutional customers. Prudential
Corporation Asia is the leading European-based life insurer
with life insurance and fund management operations in 13
markets.
* Prudential plc is a company incorporated in England
with its head office in London, which, with its affiliated
companies constitutes one of the world's leading financial
services groups. It provides insurance and financial
services directly and through its subsidiaries and
affiliates throughout the world. It has been in existence
for 160 years and had GBP 256 billion in assets under
management as at 30 June 2007. Prudential plc is not
affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc, a
company whose principal place of business is in the United
States of America
Standard Chartered - Leading the way in Asia, Africa
and the Middle East
Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in
banking and operates in many of the world's fastest-growing
markets with an extensive global network of over 1,400
branches in over 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region,
South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and
the Americas.
With strong organic growth supported by strategic
alliances and acquisitions and driven by its strengths in
the balance and diversity of its business, products,
geography and people, Standard Chartered is well positioned
in the emerging trade corridors of Asia, Africa and the
Middle East.
The integration of Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan)
marks an important step in Standard Chartered's Asia
strategy by significantly enhancing Standard Chartered's
presence in Taiwan, which is the fifth largest economy in
Asia and is Asia's fourth largest banking market, according
to Standard Chartered estimates.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Prudential Corporation Asia
Chad Tendler, Brand, Communications and Marketing
Tel: +852-9188-2055
Email: chad.tendler@prudential.com.hk
2007'09.16.Sun
Sheraton's Four Points Appointed Operations Center for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai
September 12, 2007
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Four
Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning, announced that the
hotel was officially appointed as the operations center for
the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai.
On August 16, 2007, Mr. Lee Todd, Chief of World Games
and Competition sealed the deal with Mr. Peter Khong,
General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai,
Daning, at the signing ceremony between Special Olympics
International and Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning
to appoint the hotel as the operations center for the 2007
Special Olympics World Summer Games. The hotel will host
the Healthy Athlete International Volunteers, Healthy
Athlete Doctors and Clinical Directors, the entire
2007-2009 Class of Special Olympics International Global
Messengers as well as the Special Olympics International
Staff during the event.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the Exclusive Hotel
Sponsor for this event. Starwood had announced in December
last year of its three-year global partnership as the
exclusive hotel sponsor of Special Olympics and the 2007
Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. The
sponsorship includes financial and in-kind support from
Starwood.
As part of the cause-related marketing campaign with
Special Olympics, including the donation of US$50 dollars
to Special Olympics for every Westin Heavenly Bed, Sheraton
Sweet Sleeper Bed and Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort
bed sold through Starwood retail channels that closed on
30th June 2007, Starwood China has launched the
Starwood-Special Olympics panda bears to be sold as
souvenirs at the existing 38 Starwood hotels across the
country to raise awareness and funds. These limited edition
panda bears, named 'Kai Kai', which, in Chinese, means to
wish all athletes great success in all that they do, will
help drive the message of promoting understanding,
acceptance and inclusion between people with and without
intellectual disabilities.
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning forms part of
the exciting new integrated complex -- Life Hub @ Daning,
the first of its kind in Shanghai -- an open-air,
innovative urban lifestyle concept, consisting of hotel,
offices, retail stores, restaurants and bars,
entertainment, culture, education and ancillary services.
Conveniently located in the heart of Zhabei District, a few
minutes walk to Yanchang Road subway station, within easy
access to the Inner Ring Road and North-South Elevated
Highway, Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning, is just
a 10 minutes drive to the Shanghai Railway Station, 25
minutes drive to Hongqiao Airport and 45 minutes to Pudong
International Airport.
Keeping with Four Points by Sheraton's commitment to
providing honest, uncomplicated comfort, the hotel offers
travelers a new kind of style and comfort combined with a
spirited "can-do" service -- all at an honest
value.
Comfort Rooms and Suites
The tastefully-decorated rooms inclusive of 23 suites,
are well equipped with modular furniture, New Four Comfort
Bed(TM), large LCD flat screens, broadband internet access,
two dual-line telephones with speaker and voicemail, nice
warm bathrobes as well as jet showers in the bathrooms.
Elegant and High-tech Meeting Facilities
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning, can
accommodate a breadth of event requirements through 1,600
square meters of meeting and banquet space. With a ceiling
height of 5.75 meters, the grand ballroom can be flexibly
split into two rooms for groups of up to 350 persons,
supported by five functions rooms (48-75 square meters),
one Boardroom (81 square meters), one Chairman's Room (200
square meters) and full-service business center on the same
level. Wireless Internet is available in all meeting rooms
and public areas.
Food and Beverage Outlets
* The Caf¨¦ -- Located on the lobby level, the
all-day-dining caf¨¦ blends authentic South East Asian
flavors alongside international cuisine complemented with a
cool, soothing ambience in warm textures of fabrics and
wood. Modern and quality live buffet style features open
kitchen concept with live cooking using fresh ingredients
coupled with friendly and efficient service. Opens daily
from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight.
* Lobby Lounge -- An ideal place for that special
tete-a-tete with friends or to indulge in the delightful
afternoon tea. In the evening, Lobby Lounge is a
stimulating ambience with soft piano and chilled-out music
complemented with a premium range of wines, liquors, cigars
and cocktails. Opens daily from 9:00 am to 1:00 am.
* Siempre Tapas Spanish Bar -- With a pleasant dining
room and a cozy outside terrace, the Spanish bar offers a
variety of authentic fresh tapas dishes along with Spanish
wines and distinguished cocktails. An ideal outlet for you
to indulge in its intimate ambience and friendly efficient
service with your friends and business clients. Opens daily
from 3:00 pm to 12:00 midnight.
* Fu Lin Xuan Cantonese Seafood Restaurant -- Opens
daily from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm.
Recreational Facilities
Located on level 6, the hotel offers fully equipped
fitness center, a 128 square meter indoor heated pool,
multi-purpose room, relaxing Touch Spa including 3 foot
massage rooms, 4 spa treatment rooms and 6 massage rooms as
well as steam, sauna and Jacuzzi.
Image link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Cbt27Fw4bsXLw
About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is an international organization that
changes lives by promoting understanding, acceptance and
inclusion between people with and without intellectual
disabilities. Through year-round sports training and
athletic competition and other related programming for 2.25
million children and adults with intellectual disabilities
in more than 150 countries, Special Olympics has created a
model community that celebrates people's diverse gifts.
Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics
provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing
opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical
fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and
friendship. Visit Special Olympics at
www.specialolympics.org.
About Four Points by Sheraton
With 130 locations in 21 countries and growing, Four
Points by Sheraton offers signature beds, great showers and
locally inspired extras designed to make your stay more
comfortable.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of
the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 890 properties in more than 100 countries and
145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le M¨¦ridien(R),
Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, AloftSM, and
ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and
operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts. For more information, please visit
http://www.starwoodhotels.com.
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of federal securities
regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees
of future performance or events and involve risks and
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results or events to differ materially from those
anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are
made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail
in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Although we believe the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations
will be attained or that results and events will not
materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Angela Feng
Director of Marketing Communications
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning
Tel: +86-21-2602-2222
Email: angela.feng@fourpoints.com
2007'09.16.Sun
HP Canada Recognizes Achievo as Qualified Provider of Specialized Technical Services
September 12, 2007
SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Achievo(R) Corporation, the leading global software and
information technology outsourcing provider with a local
front-end and China back-end service model, today announced
that its Achievo Canada division has been recognized as a
qualified software implementer for HP (Hewlett-Packard)
Canada. This level of authorization is specifically
designed for HP Canada's software channel.
(Logo: http://www.xprn.com.cn/xprn/sa/200611291032.jpg
)
"Having a service-only partner lends credibility
to HP Software's go-to-market strategy as these partners
aren't focused on selling software; their focus is ensuring
that our clients fully leverage the software and extract
maximum value from their investment," said Debra
Keeling, channel business manager for HP Software
Canada." Decisions surrounding software
implementations have the potential to have far-ranging
effects on business. Achievo is a qualified, experienced
services partner whose expertise and technical depth can
help HP and our collective clients streamline the entire
software acquisition and implementation process."
Achievo has one of the largest practices in North
America focused on automating ITIL(1) best practice
processes with HP technologies. This includes the
implementation, tailoring and integration for all areas of
HP software including Peregrine, Mercury and Openview.
Achievo's ITIL trained and certified professionals are
experienced in the full scope of service management
services. The company provides technical expertise in both
HP's quality and service management centers locally, as
well as through a global delivery model that includes
onshore, near-shore and offshore delivery capabilities.
Achievo brings to the table the ability to address a
wide variety of client needs and expertise across the
entire HP software portfolio.
"Becoming a qualified software implementer further
legitimizes and recognizes Achievo's expertise and
capabilities as one of the strongest ITIL process
implementation practices focused on HP technologies,"
said Nestor G. Cruz, general manager of Achievo's North
America Business Group. "Achievo has both the
enterprise experience and technical depth to help our
clients access and benefit from HP's superior software and
to achieve the benefits of a sound IT service management
strategy."
About Achievo
Achievo is a global offshore software and information
technology outsourcing provider with a local front-end and
China back-end service model. With expertise in diverse
technologies including Java/J2EE, .NET and embedded
platforms, the CMM- and ISO- certified company offers
improved efficiencies, scale, diversification, and a
combined talent pool to deliver cost-effective,
quality-centric, and scalable IT outsourcing services to
customers and partners worldwide. Customers include
Accela, Audi, BMO Bank of Montreal, CA, China Mobile,
DaimlerChrysler, Hitachi, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nomura,
Siemens, Toyota and Vidient. Headquartered in the Silicon
Valley, Achievo has offices in the United States, Canada,
Germany, China and Japan. For information on the company
and its services, visit http://www.achievo.com .
(1) The Information Technology Infrastructure Library
(ITIL) is an
independently developed framework of best
practices designed to
facilitate the delivery of high quality information
technology (IT)
services. ITIL outlines an extensive set of
management procedures to
support businesses in achieving high financial
quality and value in
IT operations.
(C) 2007 Achievo Corporation. All rights reserved.
Achievo is a registered trademark of Achievo Corporation in
the United States and in other countries. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please contact:
Achievo Corporation
Jayme Curtis
Public Relations
Tel: +1-408-892-8661
Email: jayme.curtis@achievo.com
2007'09.16.Sun
Swiss High-Tech Firms Announce Landmark Merger to Create Global Software & Professional Services Enterprise
September 12, 2007
ZURICH, Switzerland, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Cognosense and Boxalino, two Swiss technology companies,
have today announced plans to merge their operations as
part of an agreement that will see the newly created
corporation become a leading global software and
professional services provider.
The new corporation will retain the Boxalino name and
will continue to be headquartered in Zurich (Switzerland)
and will have subsidiaries in Beijing (China), and in
Montreal (Canada). Mr. Erick Caron, CEO and Delegate of the
Board for Cognosense will continue in the same capacity with
the newly merged
Boxalino.
The merger will position Boxalino as an innovative
provider of advanced software development tools and
technologies in the fields of intelligent search, customer
care, personalization and profiling. These technologies
will create a new standard of reliable, integrated
self-learning services devoted to enhancing a corporation's
customer experience. Boxalino will improve the profitability
of both online and brick-and-mortar industry verticals like
call-centers, E-Commerce portals and various other retail
trade industries while exceeding their customer
expectations.
"We want to offer an enhanced return on investment
to our customer by improving both their e-business
development processes and the user experience on their
applications. The newly merged company will operate in an
improved financial and technical environment to better
serve our customers, which will accelerate our growth on a
worldwide base. Our integrated worldwide presence will
allow us to put in place an aggressive global go-to-market
strategy," says Erik Caron, CEO, Delegate and
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.
New Boxalino executive team:
- Dr. Christian Wenger has been nominated as the
Chairman of the new
company. Dr. Wenger was admitted to the bar in 1993 and is
partner of the
Swiss law firm Wenger & Vieli. Dr. Wenger is also
Chairman of the CTI Invest,
a member of the Executive Committees of the SECA (Swiss
Venture Capital and
Corporate Finance Association) and the EVCA (European
Venture Capital
Association)
- Mr. Erick Caron, currently the CEO of Cognosense,
will serve as CEO,
Delegate and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.
- Mr. Michael Ammann, originally the founder of
Boxalino, will take up
the position of Chief Technology Officer.
- Mr. Sylvain Paillard, who was one of the co-founders
of Cognosense,
will become Executive Vice-President.
Contact:
Erick Caron
Boxalino
Chief Executive Officer
E-Mail: corporate@boxalino.com
Mobile: +41-79-648-05-65
2007'09.16.Sun
New Generic Top-Level Domains Another Step Closer
September 12, 2007
MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
New generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are a step closer with
two important developments at the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
First, ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organization
(GNSO) Council approved policy recommendations to guide the
development of a new gTLD application and approval process.
Second, ICANN issued a global call for companies to bid
to develop the Request for Proposals (RFP) for new gTLDs.
"This is all about increased choice. As the GNSO
report notes, among many things, there is demand for
additional top-level domains as a business opportunity and
that this will stimulate competition at the registry
service level," said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President
and CEO. "The creation of the application and
evaluation process for new top-level domains is extremely
important. It means we are continuing to move towards our
goal of new gTLDs coming online in 2008."
The GNSO recommendations will be the focus of public
discussions and input at ICANN's 30th International Public
meeting 29 October to 2 November 2007 in Los Angeles. At a
later date, the ICANN Board will decide how to proceed with
the policy recommendations.
"The coming round of gTLD applications could be
the most important in ICANN's history -- with work
progressing on internationalized domain names, there is the
possibility that some new generic top-level domains could be
in languages not previously available for TLDs," Dr
Twomey added. "ICANN is hoping for companies from
across the globe to put bids forward to develop the RFP,
and we hope as many people as possible take part in the
ICANN process, in person or online, in the Los Angeles
discussions."
The GNSO recommendations are at:
http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/PDFPDPDec05FRPartA30July07.pdf
Information on RFP development is at:
http://icann.org/tlds/new-gtld-sow-06sep07.htm
About ICANN:
ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the
Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names
(like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the
addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help
computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful
management of these resources is vital to the Internet's
operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to
develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security
and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public
benefit non-profit company. For more information please
visit: http://www.icann.org.
For more information, please contact:
Jason Keenan, Media Adviser
ICANN
Phone: +1-310-382-4004
Email: jason.keenan@icann.org
Website: http://www.icann.org
2007'09.16.Sun
Community Protest Closes Port of Seattle
September 12, 2007
SEATTLE, Sept. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- More than 100
demonstrators shut down a major terminal at the Port of
Seattle today to protest alleged U.S. labor law violations
by Seattle-based National Frozen Foods Corporation (NFFC).
The protest, led by Washington State Jobs with Justice,
took place at the Hanjin Shipping Terminal 46. NFFC uses
the terminal to ship frozen vegetables to customers in
Asia. The Hanjin Boston, chartered by Hanjin from German
shipper NSB, was set to transport NFFC products from
Seattle.
NFFC is one of the five largest private-label frozen
vegetable processors in the United States. NFFC workers in
Chehalis have been represented by the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters since 1945.
Armed with fliers and noisemakers, the group blocked
the main entrance to the 88-acre terminal, chanting slogans
in support of workers' rights and demanding that longshore
workers not load the cargo, while distributing fliers
calling on NFFC to return to the bargaining table.
In response, longshore workers and marine clerks from
the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU)
stood by in accordance with their collective bargaining
agreement until the issue was resolved. The terminal
operator agreed to isolate the NFFC cargo, put it on wheels
and have NFFC remove the cargo from the terminal.
Paul Bigman, a rally organizer and officer of Jobs with
Justice, explained that the group was sending a message to
NFFC and shipping companies that do business with the food
processor that Seattle will not tolerate employers
"that continually disrespect the rights of their
workers." Bigman vowed to work with Jobs with Justice
coalitions and their allies in other areas to confront
shipping lines that carry NFFC products. "What
happened today in Seattle makes it clear that there will be
problems throughout the logistics chain whenever and
wherever NFFC cargo is involved," said Bigman.
Both the Teamsters and the ILWU are members of the
International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), made up
of 681 labor unions representing 4.5 million workers in 148
countries.
The action took place against the backdrop of growing
demands by unions and community groups that NFFC cease all
anti-worker activities and negotiate a fair contract with
workers at its facility in Chehalis, Washington.
Since 2004, NFFC workers have made concessions to meet
alleged financial difficulties at NFFC, including pay cuts
of 16%, loss of health care benefits for seasonal workers,
loss of retiree health care benefits, and increases in the
number of qualifying hours for health care, pension
benefits and pay increases. These concessions have hit
hardest at those least able to afford them, particularly
Latino workers and new hires.
NFFC has engineered two decertification votes in recent
years, in 2004 and 2007. The workers beat back these
efforts, voting to keep their Union, Teamsters Local 252 by
better than 60% majorities. On July 14, 2007, NFFC
illegally declared bargaining to be at an impasse, and
ended their contract with the workers' Union. The
Teamsters have filed unfair labor practice charges with the
National Labor Relations Board. NFFC has denied access to
any pension plan for workers aged 18-21, eliminated entry
into the defined benefit plan for new hires, stopped the
Union grievance process, and put into effect minimal pay
increases that come nowhere near making up for recent
concessions.
Additionally, NFFC is under investigation by the State
of Washington for alleged child labor law violations,
including having children work into the night, denying
minors legally mandated meal breaks, using minors to
operate machinery, and forcing minors to work at legally
inappropriate work stations.
Craig Dameron, Co-Chair of Washington State Jobs with
Justice, stressed that the community has no dispute with
Hanjin or NSB. But he vowed that "disruptions and
delays at ports used by National Frozen Food will continue
until NFFC returns to the bargaining table and signs a fair
contract that honors its workers."
Washington State Jobs with Justice is a coalition of
over 140 community, labor, faith and student organizations
that mobilizes around issues that affect working families.
It is part of the national Jobs with Justice network of more
than 40 coalitions in over 25 States.
For more information, please contact:
Paul Bigman
Washington State Jobs with Justice
Tel: +1-206-214-6169
Website: http://www.jwj.org
2007'09.16.Sun
スイス製高級機械式腕時計が当たる！プレゼントキャンペーン開始
| 2007年09月12日 報道関係者各位 2007年9月12日
この度、スイスの高級腕時計ブランド「アンギュラー・モメンタム」製品を輸入販売するルーファス・リン・デザインズ（本社:カナダ・バンクーバー、代表取締役社長：テリー・リム）は、日本での同ブランド販売開始を記念して、2007年9月22日からプレゼントキャンペーン「トライ！アンギュラー」を開催いたします。 ■「トライ！アンギュラー」キャンペーン概要 9月22日から12月8日の各週土曜日（全12回）に、アンギュラー・モメンタム日本公式サイトにてアンギュラー・モメンタム腕時計に関するクイズを出題いたします。正解者の中から抽選でアンギュラー・モメンタム・オリジナルTシャツを12名の方に、アンギュラー・モメンタム高級機械式腕時計（20万円相当～）を3名の方にプレゼントいたします。 【応募資格】 【締切り】 ※キャンペーンの応募要項はホームページをご覧ください。
●アンギュラー・モメンタム（ANGULAR MOMENTUM）について アンギュラー・モメンタムは、1998年にデザイナー／彫金師であるマーティン・パウリ氏によってスイスの首都ベルンに設立されたブランドです。特許を取得したリボルビング・ディスク・システムは文字盤上の円形ディスクが回転することによって時間表示をする今までにない新しいシステムです。このシステムによって針が1つのみの腕時計（アクシスIII）など斬新なモデルを生み出しています。スイス時計作りの伝統技術、モダンなデザイン、そしてこの特許取得システムの融合によりアンギュラー・モメンタムは多くの人々の支持を集めており、現在では世界50カ国以上で販売されております。 日本ではブランドの基幹モデルとなる「アクシス」・「クラシック」シリーズが2007年9月10日より販売開始されます。
RUFUS LIN Designs 広報担当 塚田（つかだ） 本社 |
2007'09.16.Sun
心地よい眠りを「あなた」にお届けします。お客様の「声」から生まれたオンラインショップ！
| 2007年09月12日 創業60年から成る「手作り布団」の老舗です。
|
2007'09.16.Sun
【グルーヴプロモーション（旧 ナノプロ）MRR事業部】「急速に成長するインドネシアの移動体通信市場」販売を開始
| 2007年09月12日 報道関係各位 2007年９月12日 ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――― 「急速に成長するインドネシアの移動体通信市場」販売を開始 ～2010年１億3,300万の加入者数が展望される巨大市場を探る～ 詳細はこちら⇒ http://www.marketing-research.jp/page/000241.html ―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――― ■■概要■■
本レポートの中心となる内容は、最近急速な成長が見られるインドネシアの
インドネシアの通信市場においては、今まで多くの人々が広い国土に散在し インドネシアの移動体通信サービスの加入者は、2006年末時点で6,800万人規 ［図］インドネシアの移動体通信加入者規模の予測（2002年~2010年） その成長背景としては、まず各通信キャリアの積極的なインフラ投資を通じ 大都市では、総合通信キャリアであるTelkom及びIndosatが中心となって、パ 一方CDMAキャリアの中でも特にBakrie Telkom及びMobile-8は、強みである料
本レポートはROA Groupが提供する東南アジアの移動体通信市場を国別に分 本レポートの中心となる内容は、最近急速な成長が見られるインドネシアの
■エグゼクティブサマリー 1 インドネシアの市場環境 2 インドネシア情報通信市場の概況と政策 3 インドネシアの移動体通信市場 4 移動体通信市場への設備投資状況 5 インドネシアにおける移動体通信市場の予測及び結論
［表 3-1］インドネシア通信産業の構造及び競争現況
［図 1-1］インドネシアの人口規模とGDP成長率（2001年~2006年）
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