CHANGSHA, China, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Zoomlion), China’s top construction machinery manufacturer, has delivered an order of ZE360E and ZE230E excavators to Kenya’s Kitale- Endebess-Suam (KES) road renovation project, the company’s latest milestone in its decade-long history in the African market.

Located in Trans Nzoia County and expected to take 912 days, Zoomlion’s excavators will be used to upgrade and rebuild a 45-kilometer-long (27.96 miles) segment of the KES’s asphalt road.

“It’s an honor to join the KES road renovation project,” said Fu Hongsheng, General Manager Assistant of Zoomlion Overseas Company. “Zoomlion’s dedication to quality and understanding of the African market has enabled us to win the trust of clients across the continent and we are confident that our excavators will excel in the construction tasks ahead.

“China’s Belt and Road Initiative has given us new opportunities to expand in the African market. We have built a comprehensive operations network in Africa that emphasizes strong spare parts and service support as well as technician and talent training. Zoomlion’s equipment is now in active service in multiple infrastructure projects in Africa, making our brand a symbol of Sino-Africa friendship,” said Fu.

Since entering the market in 2007 Zoomlion’s thoroughly-tested equipment has participated in over a dozen construction projects across Africa, including the East-West Highway in Algeria, Kusile Power Station in South Africa, Central Railway project in Tanzania and the Hass Towers in Kenya.

In 2014, Zoomlion’s concrete mixing plant serviced Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project, the country’s first railway since independence. Zoomlion’s highly efficient and reliable equipment as well as the professional service team’s dedicated work were praised by the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development.

Zoomlion now sells engineering, earthmoving, concrete and construction machinery products to 15 countries in Africa, including Algeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Namibia.

About Zoomlion

Founded in 1992, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Zoomlion) is a high-end equipment manufacturing enterprise that integrates engineering machinery, agricultural machinery and financial services. The company now sells nearly 800 cutting-edge products from 49 product lines covering nine major categories. Zoomlion is China’s first construction machinery company to be listed on both the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

For more information, please visit http://en.zoomlion.com/.

MONTREAL, Sept. 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today that the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has granted approval for the maintenance intervals escalation of the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 aircraft. The line maintenance interval (A-check) is extended to 800 flight hours, and the heavy maintenance interval (C-check) at 8,000 flight hours.

“With the longest maintenance intervals on the regional jet market, the CRJ aircraft family continues to deliver more value to operators, along with its excellent reliability and its proven outstanding operational capability”, said Charles Comtois, Head of CRJ Series Program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “We are thrilled that our operators are benefitting from our continuous improvement mindset as with this evolution, the CRJ Series operators can now take advantage of 14 per cent less maintenance days, meaning more days of revenue flying.”

The maintenance intervals have doubled since the launch of the CRJ aircraft family. The new maintenance intervals are applicable for new production deliveries as well as all CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 aircraft in service.

About Bombardier
With over 69,500 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

Notes to Editors
An image of a CRJ900 aircraft in the Bombardier livery is posted with this news release at bombardier.com

The CRJ Series aircraft backgrounder is available in the BCA Media Hub.

Follow @BBD_Aircraft on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

To receive our press releases, please visit the RSS Feed section of Bombardier’s Website.

Bombardier, CRJ700, CRJ900, CRJ1000 and CRJ Series are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For Information
Nathalie Siphengphet
Head of Communications and Public Relations
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft
+1 416-375-3030
nathalie.siphengphet@aero.bombardier.com
www.bombardier.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/96017abf-0d4c-44b7-95d2-8b36130188f2

MONTRÉAL, 24 sept. 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bombardier Avions commerciaux a annoncé aujourd’hui que la Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) a donné son approbation relativement à l’accroissement des intervalles de maintenance pour les avions CRJ700, CRJ900 et CRJ1000. Les intervalles de maintenance en piste (visite A) et de révision générale (visite C) sont prolongés à 800 et à 8 000 heures de vol respectivement.

« Grâce aux plus longs intervalles de maintenance de tout le marché des biréacteurs régionaux, ainsi qu’à son excellente fiabilité et son exceptionnelle capacité opérationnelle qui font sa renommée, la gamme d’avions CRJ continue d’offrir davantage de valeur aux exploitants, a dit Charles Comtois, chef du programme d’avions CRJ Series, Bombardier Avions commerciaux. Nous sommes ravis que les exploitants de biréacteurs CRJ Series tirent parti de notre approche d’amélioration continue. Cette évolution signifie une réduction de 14 pour cent du nombre de jours de maintenance, ce qui permettra d’avoir davantage de jours consacrés au service qui engendre des revenus. »

Les intervalles de maintenance ont doublé depuis le lancement de la gamme d’avions CRJ. Les nouveaux intervalles de maintenance s’appliquent aux nouveaux avions de production ainsi qu’à tous les avions CRJ700, CRJ900 et CRJ1000 en service.

À propos de Bombardier
Comptant plus de 69 500 employés répartis entre quatre secteurs d’activité, Bombardier est un leader mondial de l’industrie du transport, créant des avions et des trains novateurs qui changent la donne sur leur marché. Nos produits et nos services offrent des expériences de transport de calibre international qui établissent de nouvelles normes de confort des passagers, d’efficacité énergétique, de fiabilité et de sécurité.

Avec son siège social situé à Montréal, au Canada, Bombardier possède des installations de production et d’ingénierie dans 28 pays, couvrant les secteurs Transport, Avions d’affaires, Avions commerciaux et Aérostructures et Services d’ingénierie. Les actions de Bombardier se négocient à la Bourse de Toronto (BBD). Au cours de l’exercice terminé le 31 décembre 2017, nous avons réalisé un chiffre d’affaires de 16,2 milliards de dollars. Vous trouverez nouvelles et information à l’adresse www.bombardier.com ou en nous suivant sur Twitter @Bombardier.

Notes aux rédacteurs
Une image d’un avion CRJ900 arborant les couleurs de Bombardier est affichée avec le présent communiqué à l’adresse www.bombardier.com.

Vous trouverez un document d’information sur les avions CRJ Series dans l’espace média de BAC.

Suivez @BBD_Aircraft sur Twitter pour obtenir les nouvelles et les mises à jour les plus récentes de Bombardier Avions commerciaux.

Pour recevoir nos communiqués de presse, visitez la section Fils RSS du site Web de Bombardier.

Bombardier, CRJ700, CRJ900, CRJ1000 et CRJ Series sont des marques de commerce de Bombardier Inc. ou de ses filiales.

Source d’information
Nathalie Siphengphet
Chef, Communications et relations publiques
Bombardier Avions commerciaux
+1 416 375-3030
nathalie.siphengphet@aero.bombardier.com
www.bombardier.com

Une photo accompagnant ce communiqué est disponible à http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/96017abf-0d4c-44b7-95d2-8b36130188f2

Bill and Melinda Gates say investing in young people could unlock productivity and innovation

SEATTLE, Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today launched its second annual Goalkeepers Data Report, pointing to demographic trends that could stall unprecedented progress in reducing global poverty. While 1 billion people have lifted themselves out of poverty over the past 20 years, rapid population growth in the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, puts future progress at risk. If current trends continue, the number of extremely poor people in the world could stop its two-decade decline—and could even rise.

Despite the sobering projections, Bill and Melinda Gates express optimism that today’s growing youth populations could help drive progress. Investing in the health and education of young people in Africa could unlock productivity and innovation, leading to a “third wave” of poverty reduction, which follows the first wave in China and the second in India.

“The conclusion is clear: To continue improving the human condition, our task now is to help create opportunities in Africa’s fastest-growing, poorest countries,” Bill and Melinda Gates write in the introduction. “This means investing in young people. Specifically, it means investing in their health and education.”

Goalkeepers: The Stories Behind the Data 2018 was co-authored and edited by Bill and Melinda Gates and produced in partnership with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Using new data projections, the report reveals that poverty within Africa is concentrating in just a handful of countries, which are among the fastest-growing in the world. By 2050, more than 40 percent of the extremely poor people in the world will live in just two countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.

In the past, large youth populations have helped drive economic growth and poverty reduction. The report makes the case for leaders to invest in the power and potential of youth to continue progress. Through essays by experts and journalists, the report examines promising approaches in health and education, highlighting ways that young people could help transform the continent. According to the report, investments in health and education, or “human capital,” in sub-Saharan Africa could increase GDP in the region by more than 90 percent by 2050.

Each year, the report tracks 18 data points from the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, including child and maternal deaths, stunting, access to contraceptives, HIV, malaria, extreme poverty, financial inclusion, and sanitation. IHME projections provide three potential scenarios for indicators: better and worse scenarios based upon accelerating or reducing the rate of progress, and projections based upon current trends. This year’s report examines four topics in greater depth:

• The Family Planning chapter includes an essay by Alex Ezeh, a visiting fellow with the Center for Global Development. The essay focuses on the importance of empowering women so they can exercise their fundamental right to choose the number of children they will have, when they will have them, and with whom. Ezeh notes that according to data from the United Nations, Africa’s population is projected to double in size by 2050 and could double again by 2100. If every woman in sub-Saharan Africa were empowered to have the number of children she wants, the projected population increase could be up to 30 percent smaller, from 4 billion to 2.8 billion. Most critically, this would enable more girls and women to expand their horizons, stay in school longer, have children later, earn more as adults, and invest more in their children. The chapter also explores how a novel family planning program in Kenya is providing young women with access to contraceptives.

• The HIV chapter includes modeling by Imperial College London for what Zimbabwe’s HIV epidemic might look like in 2050 and, thus, what the nation’s overall future holds. Its large number of young people have the potential to drive economic growth, but only if they remain healthy. More than half of Zimbabweans are under 25 years old and reaching the age when they are most at risk for HIV infection. If Zimbabwe scales up currently available prevention tools over the next five years, it could see new infections among 15- to 29-year-olds drop by a third within a decade. The introduction of new prevention tools by 2030, including a highly efficacious vaccine, could further reduce new cases to approximately 400 per year. Together, these interventions could avert up to 364,000 new cases of HIV among young people.

• The Education chapter includes an essay by Ashish Dhawan, chairman of the Central Square Foundation in India. Although more students in low- and lower-middle-income countries are enrolled in school today than ever before, many are not learning what they need to succeed. Unfortunately, the strategy for improving school outcomes is not as clear-cut as the strategy for improving school access. The chapter examines Vietnam’s success in achieving system-wide improvements. Though the country’s per capita GDP is only slightly higher than India’s, Vietnam’s 15-year-olds outperform students from wealthy countries like the United States and the United Kingdom on international tests.

• The Agriculture chapter includes analysis by James Thurlow, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, estimating that by doubling agricultural productivity, Ghana could cut poverty in half, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and drive economic growth. An essay by a local journalist follows the journey of a tomato from a field in rural Burkina Faso to a plate in Ghana, illustrating how many jobs it creates along the way.

Bill and Melinda Gates will produce the Goalkeepers Data Report every year through 2030, timing it to the annual gathering of world leaders in New York City for the UN General Assembly. The report is designed to highlight best practices and help hold the Gates Foundation, its partners, and leaders around the world accountable. It aims to document not just what is working, but where the world is falling short.

In conjunction with the report, Bill and Melinda Gates are once again co-hosting the Goalkeepers event in New York City during the UN General Assembly. On September 26, dynamic young leaders from government, business, technology, media, entertainment, and the nonprofit sector will discuss innovations and approaches to achieve the Global Goals. Participants include young leaders like David Sengeh, chief innovation officer for the government of Sierra Leone; Trisha Shetty, Indian lawyer, social activist, and founder of SheSays; King Kaka, Kenyan musician and activist; and Aranya Johar, Indian spoken word poet. Other speakers include Graça Machel, international advocate for women and children’s rights and co-founder of the Graça Machel Trust; Richard Curtis, writer, campaigner, and Project Everyone co-founder; and Stephen Fry, actor, writer, and presenter. Performers include British singer songwriter Ed Sheeran and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Additional speakers will be announced soon.

Co-hosted by Bill and Melinda Gates, the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards will be presented on September 25, the evening before the Goalkeepers daytime event. In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF, the awards will celebrate outstanding youth-focused work around the world that is directly linked to the 17 Global Goals. The four award categories include the Progress Award, Changemaker Award, Campaign Award, and Global Goalkeeper Award.

Notes to Editors

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

About Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers is the foundation’s campaign to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals). By sharing stories and data behind the Global Goals through events and an annual report, we hope to inspire a new generation of leaders—Goalkeepers who raise awareness of progress, hold their leaders accountable, and drive action to achieve the Global Goals.

About the Global Goals
On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 193 world leaders committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals). These are a series of ambitious objectives and targets to achieve three extraordinary things by 2030: end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change.

Media Contact: media@gatesfoundation.org
Report Link: http://gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/report

Putfontein: The police have arrested a boyfriend after his 34 year old girlfriend and their 04 year old daughter were burnt beyond recognition at Mina nawe at Putfontein in Benoni in the early hours of Saturday morning. The police were called by the neighbours when they noticed flames at the house. Fire fighters were called but it was too late.

The police managed to track and arrest the 33 year old suspect. After his arrest he admitted to have a fight with his girlfriend. The suspect is detained and will appear in court tomorrow

At Boksburg the police arrested 02 suspects and recovered detonators at Angelo. In most cases these explosives are used in the illegal mining or to blow ATMs or in cash heists. Both suspects are detained and will appear in court tomorrow in Boksburg.

Weekend successes. Police in Ekurhuleni Central conducted crime prevention operations that secured the arrest of 80 suspects on cases ranging from murder, pointing of firearm, possession of suspected stolen goods, theft, assault, possession of drugs, malicious damage to property and driving while under influence of liquor.

All arrested suspects will appear to the various courts in the Ekurhuleni Central Cluster.

Source: South African Police Service

PRETORIA– Two more South African politicians have been killed in KwaZulu-Natal.

The South African Police Services Provincial Organised Crime Unit is investigating the deaths of the NFP Okhahlamba Region chairperson Nkeni Mabaso and former ANC Umzimkhulu branch secretary Nkosikhona Mxhakane.

Mabaso and Mxhakane were both gunned down by unknown men over the weekend in separate attacks.

Mxhakane was gunned down by an unknown man outside his home whilst Mabaso, who was also Deputy Chairperson of the Vulindlela Taxi Association, was killed by unknown occupants of a vehicle that was following him in Bergville.

Mabaso leaves behind his wife and six children.

Twenty-seven people have been killed in political related killings in the province since 2016.

At least eight ANC leaders and members have been killed in Mzimkhulu since 2017.

The NFP has called on the national police minister and the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for safety and liaison to engage the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in dealing with the killings in the province.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Maritzburg United defender Siyanda Xulu will captain Bafana Bafana in the 2018 COSAFA CUP tournament, which kicked off on Sunday, 27 May.

But South Africa will only get the taste of the action this coming weekend (Sunday, 3 May) after they received a bye in the first round of the competition as one of the seeded teams.

Bafana Bafana will start the tournament in the quarterfinal stage when they face the winners of Group A, which has Madagascar, Mozambique, Comoros and Mozambique.

In the opening matches of the competition, Madagascar beat Mozambique 2-1, while Comoros and Seychelles played to a 1-1 draw at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

Stuart Baxter’s men held their first training session on Sunday in preparation for the upcoming clash.

Xulu made his debut for the South Africa national team on 15 June 2012 in the match against Gabon, when he substituted Morgan Gould in the 80th minute.

SAFA Media sat down with the no-nonsense defender after the squad’s session to talk about his return, the captaincy and the tournament.

SAFA Media: Welcome back to Bafana Bafana Siyanda, happy to be back?

Siyanda Xulu: I was talking to my coach at my club and he was asking me how I was going to treat this camp, and I told him that me coming to this camp was just like pressing a reset button and I will treat it as my very first camp with the national team, so yes I am very happy to be back.

SM: When were you last at Bafana Bafana?

SX: My last game was under Gordon Igesund when we played against Brazil, and lost at home � it must be four years back (Bafana Bafana lost 5-0 at FNB Stadium in March 2014). Yes, I am excited to be back and I missed the national team � but then again it works hand in hand, if you do well for your club you will earn yourself a place in the national team. Which means I had to work hard at club level and now I am reaping the rewards.

SM: Despite the long absence though, you are one of the most experienced.

SX: I have been here for years now, under different coaches and it was quite a privilege working with them. I think that experience will help me in camp to lead the guys, it is the responsibility I have to take as the captain and I am very honoured.

SM: Did you expect that?

SX: It was a very huge surprise when the coach named me the captain. Coming back here is me saying to myself let me just learn new things from the other guys, let me reset my international career. It was me trying to refocus on my game, and the captaincy is not something I really expected.

SM: Just reward for a great season for you personally?

SX: Personally, it has been a great year, I can actually label this as my best season ever. When one looks back two seaons ago things were not looking that great, me coming back and fighting for my position at Maritzburg United, earning a Bafana Bafana call-up and also being named captain of the squad � and I am hoping for a good tournament.

SM: Captain of Bafana Bafana, what about at your club where your regular captain Bevan Fransman has just left?

SX: I think it is only a matter of time, that’s how positive I am to be captain at club level because anyone could see what I can do on the pitch, not just with playing but also with the organisation. The guys at the club also rely on my responsibilities, so I think it is only a matter of time because I believe in my abilities. Now is the time for me to show everyone that I am the right man for the job.

SM: Back at Bafana Bafana after a long absence, any difference since then?

SX: Things are much more different, coach Baxter is a very tactical person and this is going to help my game a lot, more so because we will have that relationship as the captain of the side and I am looking forward to it.

SM: Your thoughts on the 2018 COSAFA CUP?

SX: We have to work to hard and prepare well for the tournament. I can never assure you of what we can do as a team because we have only had one training session, but I believe in the boys. From the first session you could see the attitude and the willingness to work for one another. It is a good bunch of players, young and energetic, and that’s what you need. Most of us haven’t worked with coach Baxter and that is why we are looking forward to the camp, and from the little we have seen at training, it seems like it is going to be a very exciting camp.

SM: Hoping to see yourself in the next Bafana Bafana camp for the AFCON qualifiers?

SX: For sure, that is part of the plan. It is always a step forward looking to do well for your club so you can earn a Bafana Bafana call-up, and looking to play with any opportunity you get, so it is baby steps and something I have been looking forward to.

Source: South African Football Association

C

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Andries Nel has welcomed the release of the audit outcomes for municipalities, saying government will provide support to distressed municipalities.

The Deputy Minister said this when Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu released his report on the outcomes of municipal audits for the financial year 2016/17 at the Imbizo Centre in Parliament.

The Auditor-General announced that there has been an overall regression in municipalities that received clean audits in the period under review compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of COGTA welcomes the audit improvements in some municipalities and we express serious concerns regarding those that have regressed in light of the 2016/17 audit report released by the Auditor-General today.

We congratulate those 33 municipalities that have received unqualified audit opinions with no findings in the period of 2016/17 and again express very serious concern when it comes to serious regressions in audit outcomes, said Nel.

He said the outcomes of the audit provides a basis for government to intervene to support struggling municipalities.

While the number remains very low, Cogta does note from the AG report that a total of a 145 (or 56%) of municipal outcomes are classified as unqualified.

We believe that this does represent a basis for national and provincial governments ongoing support programmes to improve financial management in municipalities.

We are encouraged that in the ongoing efforts to improve the municipal audit outcomes, there are municipalities that do get things right and do become examples for others to follow, he said.

He said that he believed the Auditor-General’s report is a very useful yardstick to gauge the general performance of municipalities.

It also corroborates Cogta’s own assessment through our Back to Basics programme that one third of our municipalities are functioning well, one third are getting many of the basics right but experience serious challenges that they need to be supported in, and one third of the municipalities are, quite frankly, dysfunctional, he said.

Nel said Cogta is currently striving to achieve an ideal municipality that would provide for a democratic and accountable municipality, one that would be responsive to the needs of local municipalities, ensure provision of basic services, provide local economic development to residents and encourage involvement of communities in issues of governance.

He said the ideal municipality would also promote a culture of service accountability among staff and assign true responsibilities to the municipal management and to ensure accountability.

The AG’s report indicated that there is an urgent need to intervene in distressed municipalities as they are being confronted by problems such as institutional capacity, leading to a catastrophic breakdown of services in some instances.

In this regard, Cogta Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has intervened in distressed municipalities and engaged business and black professionals to secure their support to distressed municipalities that often struggle with contract management and their ability to plan, coordinate and maintain infrastructure.

Source: South African Government News Agency