Day: December 9, 2022

Strategic step to strengthen presence in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa – Customer enablement and training on new levels – German Federal Minister Habeck visits ZEISS South Africa headquarters 

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — During his visit to Namibia and to South Africa this week, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, joined the CFO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG Justus Felix Wehmer and ZEISS South Africa head Seyfi Ceyhan for the inauguration of the ZEISS Academy Africa at the company’s regional headquarters in Johannesburg.

With a one million euro investment in equipment and facilities, the ZEISS Academy Africa is an important step to strengthen the presence of the company in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Through customer enablement and training on sophisticated products and solutions, the academy unleashes the full value of innovations in medical technology, industrial quality solutions and research microscopy solutions. Doctors and medical staff, engineers and researchers have access to hands-on training under near real-life conditions utilizing the most current ZEISS product portfolio.

Furthermore, ZEISS is opening up its training facilities to the next generation. This includes students in the medical and industrial engineering fields, in scientific research and in nature conservation. The Academy Africa also supports children and youth, especially from underprivileged areas, giving them access to microscopy and encouraging them to get into STEM subjects.

Federal Minister Habeck comments: “The combination of making leading technology available to top professionals in the African medical, industrial and research sectors, and engaging youth in these fields holds substantial potential – further strengthening the German-African partnership and close cooperation.”

Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com)

Go to press release: https://www.zeiss.com/corporate/int/newsroom/press-releases/2022/zeiss-southafrica.html

Press contact

ZEISS Group
Jörg Nitschke, Head of Corporate Brand and Communications
Phone: +49 7364 20-3242
Email: joerg.nitschke@zeiss.com

BEIJING, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — It’s been nearly three years since China launched the fight against COVID-19. During that time, China’s relentless efforts protected its people and provided valuable experiences for the world.

The efforts also bought precious time to develop a scientific way to analyze and control the virus in the world’s most populated country.

People’s lives come first

The Chinese government considers people’s life and health the top priority in policymaking.

When the virus was detected in Wuhan, the government decided to shut down traffic in and out of the city. It took China three months to contain the virus in Wuhan and stop it from rippling to other parts of the country.

Though China remains a developing country, people’s life expectancy rose from 77.4 in 2019 to 77.93 in 2020 and 78.2 in 2021.

According to official statements, China has the lowest COVID-19 incidence rate and the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths among major countries.

Science and precision

China’s control of the epidemic is science-based and with precision. The policies are dynamic, with incremental changes applied as scientists gain more knowledge about the virus.

The government has published nine versions of guidelines as the dominant variants moved from Alpha to Beta to Delta and now Omicron.

More than 90 percent of people in China have been fully vaccinated, and the government has moved on to persuading more senior residents to get the shot. Inhalable and nasal spray vaccines have also been made available.

More than 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines were donated and exported worldwide to help the global fight against the virus.

Minimizing cost

China also tries its best to balance COVID-19 control and economic development to minimize costs while protecting the people.

The country is one of the first to witness growth in 2020, achieving an average of 5.1 percent in 2020 and 2021.

Large-scale projects like “East Data West Computing” and the construction of the China Space Station are moving forward according to plan.

More than a trillion yuan (about $143 billion) of taxes and fees were exempted for the self-employed to boost the economy.

The Chinese system has stood up against the virus for nearly three years. Now China has started to further optimize its COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-08/What-has-China-done-in-its-nearly-3-years-of-COVID-19-fight–1fBntLhSIp2/index.html

VANZAGO, Italy, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — WWF Italy, Rainforest Connection, and Huawei Italy recently renewed collaboration on the Nature Guardian series of area-based conservation projects. The second phase aims to study agriculture’s impact on biodiversity in Italy using innovative audio-monitoring technologies.

Twenty-four offline RFCx AudioMoth edge devices have been deployed to record the sounds of different animal species over 12 months in eight agroecosystems: Valle dello Sporeggio, Bosco di Vanzago, Ghirardi, Ripabianca di Jesi, Calanchi di Atri, Lake Penne, Monte Sant’Elia, and Lake Preola/Gorghi Tondi.

The collected data is sent to a Huawei cloud platform for analysis by the Rainforest Connection Arbimon tool, with the analytics function trained to recognize the calls of target species. The resulting data insights, which would be impossible to acquire through conventional manual methods, will be used to study the characteristics and trends of biodiversity in agroecosystems, including the relationship between different farming practices and nature conservation.

“Thanks to the renewed collaboration with Huawei and Rainforest Connection, we will conduct bioacoustic surveys that will allow us to compare the biodiversity of the agricultural areas managed with organic methods within WWF Oases with those of other neighboring agricultural areas managed using conventional methods,” said Benedetta Flammini, Marketing & Communication Director of WWF Italy.

Intensive industrial agriculture has had a devastating impact on global biodiversity. In 2021, the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) reported that the global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, with agriculture alone responsible for 86% of the extinction-level threats facing 28,000 species. Moreover, 80% of global deforestation, 60% of fresh water usage, and 23% of greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the impact of agriculture.

The European Commission (EC) recognizes that agricultural biodiversity is on the decline in the EU, responding with a common agricultural policy to enhance the variety of species, habitats, and landscape features found in EU farmland ecosystems.

Aligned with WWF’s Food4Future, Huawei’s TECH4ALL program, and EC policy, the project’s data-driven insights are intended to help guide future best practices for sustainable agriculture, including balancing the needs of nature and people and promoting a food supply system that is resilient, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.

“At Huawei, we embrace the objectives of the European Green Deal and the ‘farm to fork’ strategy,” said Wilson Wang, CEO of Huawei Italy. “By placing our technology at the service of these objectives, we want to contribute to the creation of a more sustainable food system, preserving the richness and variety that Italy can boast in terms of wildlife and habitats in agricultural environments.”

Running from the Alps to Sicily, the selected sites in the second phase of the Nature Guaridan project include apple orchards, vineyards, olive groves, citrus groves, wheat fields, and land intended for the cultivation of cereals and vegetables.

Launched in 2021, the first phase of the Nature Guardian project covers three protected WWF Oasis sites in Italy: Lake Burano, Orbetello Lagoon, and Astroni Crater. Forty-five offline AudioMoth and 10 online Guardian devices were deployed to study biodiversity and detect illegal activities such as poaching, unauthorized dirt bikes, and logging. So far, the results have been positive. The system has identified 49 species of birds and mammals and generated 2,000 real-time alerts on potentially illegal activities. The alerts have led to more than 30 field checks, one of which resulted in the destruction of poaching equipment in December 2021 by the Italian police and WWF.

About Huawei TECH4ALL

TECH4ALL is Huawei’s long-term digital inclusion initiative that aims to leave no one behind in the digital world. It focuses on four domains: enabling equity and quality of education, conserving nature with technology, enabling inclusive healthcare, and development.

For more information, please visit Huawei TECH4ALL website at https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HUAWEI_TECH4ALL

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1964226/An_AudioMoth_edge_device_installed_a_fruit_farm.jpg

BEIJING, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — China-Saudi Arabia strategic mutual trust has been strengthened, and the bilateral practical cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a written statement when arriving in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Bilateral relations steered by President Xi and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia have not only benefited their people but also contributed to regional peace, stability, prosperity and development, he said.

During his talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the royal palace on Thursday, Xi said as an important member of the Arab world and Islamic world, Saudi Arabia is also an important independent force in a multipolar world and China’s important strategic partner in the Middle East.

A strengthened China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership

With the current international and regional situation undergoing profound and complex changes, Xi said the strategic and overall significance of China-Saudi Arabia relations has become more prominent.

China sees its development of relations with Saudi Arabia as a priority in its overall diplomacy, especially its Middle East diplomacy, Xi said.

China is willing to join hands with Saudi Arabia to achieve national rejuvenation, strengthen the development of strategic synergy, deepen pragmatic cooperation in all fields and enhance communication and coordination in regional and international affairs to push for greater development of the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said.

Meanwhile, Mohammed said Saudi Arabia looks forward to working with China to jointly commit to pushing the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high.

President Xi’s visit will mark a milestone in bilateral relations, which will also promote cooperation in all fields, benefits the two peoples and achieve mutual prosperity and development of the two countries, Mohammed said.

The convening of the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit hold special significance, which will play a strategic role in China-Saudi Arabia relations and China-GCC relations, Xi said.

China expects to work with Saudi Arabia to make the China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit milestone events in the development history of China-Arab states relations and China-GCC relations and promote the relations to a new level, Xi added.

China will work with Saudi Arabia to strengthen collaboration under multilateral frameworks, such as the United Nations and the Group of 20, Xi said.

Mohammed thanked China for its support in granting Saudi Arabia the status of dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, adding that Saudi Arabia stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China and jointly address challenges of energy security, food security and climate change to make contributions in safeguarding regional peace, stability and security.

“I have full confidence in the prospect of bilateral relations,” said Mohammed.

Synergize Belt and Road Initiative and Vision 2030

Under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi people are marching in big strides toward Vision 2030 and making important progress in economic and social reform and diversification.

China supports Saudi Arabia’s major development initiatives, such as Vision 2030 and the Middle East Green Initiative and is willing to actively participate in Saudi’s industrialization process, aimed at helping the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economic development, Xi said.

Implementing the synergy of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the two sides should deepen and substantiate practical cooperation in all areas to yield more fruits, Xi said.

He added that China will work with Saudi Arabia to deepen cooperation in the fields of production capacity and infrastructure construction and advance the development of the China-Saudi Arabia (Jizan) Industrial Park and the construction of major infrastructure projects.

In fields such as e-commerce, digital economy, clean energy, high-tech and space research and development, Xi said China looks forward to expanding cooperation, calling for elevating cooperation levels in trade, investment and finance.

Mohammed said Saudi Arabia is willing to build the Belt and Road with China, expand trade and mutual investment and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to participate in Saudi Arabia’s industrialization process.

Saudi Arabia also welcomes Chinese enterprises to join in its major infrastructure construction and energy projects cooperation, Mohammed said, calling for strengthened cooperation in the automobile, technology, chemical engineering and mining industries.

China agrees to list Saudi Arabia as a destination for group travel and expand personnel exchanges, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, Xi said, adding that China will work with Saudi Arabia to promote more achievements in Chinese language education cooperation between the two countries.

Regarding energy policies, Xi said China will strengthen communication and coordination in this field with Saudi Arabia, expand the scale of crude oil trade, and implement major energy cooperation projects such as the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project.

Mohammed thanked China for supporting the Middle East Green Initiative, calling for enhanced cooperation in clean energy and green development.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-08/Xi-Jinping-holds-talks-with-Saudi-Arabia-s-crown-prince-1fBphNwqjg4/index.html

BEIJING, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — As many as 85 percent of respondents in a global survey have praised the concept of “a community with a shared future for mankind” while 94.2 percent of them appreciated China-proposed values of “peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom” for all mankind.

The survey was conducted by CGTN Think Tank and Tsinghua-Epstein Center for Global Media and Communication. A total of 4,000 people from 20 countries were surveyed ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Saudi Arabia for a state visit and to attend the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit.

In the past decade, China has signed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation agreements with 20 Arab states, and 17 Arab states have supported China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI).

President Xi put forward the GDI at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2021, calling on the international community to place development high on the global macro policy agenda and work together to steer global development towards a more balanced, coordinated and inclusive phase.

78.4 percent of survey respondents agreed with the GDI, believing that “development is an important way to solve global problems,” while 79.4 percent acknowledged the cooperation fruits achieved by the “Group of Friends of the GDI” which China participated in.

The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Both China and Arab countries are faced with the historic task of realizing national rejuvenation and accelerating national development.

To realize the task, 85.2 percent of respondents agreed that countries should take active actions to jointly address risks and challenges in global development, while 84.7 percent of the respondents expect countries to promote more inclusive and diversified global development and jointly maintain global economic stability.

In the face of different national conditions, 84.1 percent of the respondents said that the prerequisite for cooperation is to respect different countries’ development paths and system differences, and 89.6 percent expect countries to resolve international disputes through dialogue and consultation.

Moreover, 85.6 percent of the respondents agreed with China-proposed Global Security Initiative (GSI), believing that security is a prerequisite for development.

Xi proposed the GSI at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 in April to promote security for everyone around the world.

Noting that hegemonism and power politics threaten global security, 80.8 percent of the respondents opposed hegemonism, power politics and arbitrary imposition of sanctions on other countries, while 80.4 percent of respondents from developing countries pointed out that the Cold War mentality and power politics threaten world peace and exacerbate security challenges, and countries should work together to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.

Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-08/85-of-surveyed-laud-China-s-concept-of-shared-future-CGTN-poll-1fBjAvtFYoo/index.html

MONTREAL, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The International Conference on the Underlying Causes of Biodiversity Loss closed today with the unveiling of The Montreal Call, an invitation to stakeholders around the world to continue the dialogue on solutions that will transform an economic model and value system that are damaging nature.

This event was organized by the Collectif COP15, a collective of Quebec civil society organizations under the leadership of SNAP Quebec, in response to the repeated calls by IPBES and the IPCC for urgent systemic changes to the shared underlying causes of the two major interrelated environmental crises: biodiversity loss and climate change.

The organizers welcome the progress made during the conference in identifying solutions to these underlying causes. The Montreal Call is an invitation to continue this reflection and accelerate it at future COPs, with biodiversity and climate combined.

Governments, ministers, delegates, Indigenous representatives, and leaders of multilateral organizations, civil society agencies, youth groups, academic organizations, foundations and the private sector, as well as citizens, are invited to publicly express their support forThe Montreal Call.

The unveiling was attended by Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, the Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Government Mandy Gull-Masty, the Minister of l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs Benoit Charette, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault.

“The decline of biodiversity is critical and requires radical changes in the way we live and plan our land use. To achieve the ambitious goals that Montreal has set for itself, we must stand together with the population, business and institutions. Starting now, decision-makers around the world must protect our green spaces and create and implement new economic models. The Montreal Call for Dialogue is a major commitment that will let us accelerate this societal transition.”

– Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal

“I am grateful for your contribution and commitment to achieving Quebec’s target of preserving 30% of its territory by 2030. This support is essential for the biodiversity of our land, and the participation of all stakeholders will be crucial in the coming years. To achieve our goal, we need all the actors and stakeholders, because it is through acting together that we will succeed in achieving our common goal of preserving our biodiversity and natural abundance. The Quebec government has also given itself the means to achieve its ambitions with its Plan nature, its plan for nature, which will help build the Quebec of tomorrow.”

– Benoit Charette, minister of l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec

“There is an urgency to halt and reverse the alarming loss of biodiversity, worldwide and here in Canada. We need to work together to create positive and tangible results for nature and people, building on the Government of Canada’s historic investments in nature over the past few years. Montreal’s Call is an important step, encouraging dialogue on solutions to the underlying causes of biodiversity loss.”

– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“While COP15 is in full swing, seeking solutions to the decline of biodiversity, Fondaction continues to maintain an ongoing dialogue with leaders from various backgrounds. From this dialogue between diverse experts, relevant and effective solutions are being conceived, which we can then implement in our respective spheres. This collective and proactive effort will let us inspire, anchor and accelerate the change movement.”

– Geneviève Morin, CEO of Fondaction

“Civil society’s leadership during COP15 in opening dialogue on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss demonstrates that the solutions are also within human nature. We must take back control of our future and our economy and elevate the defense of nature to a core value.”

– Alain Branchaud, executive director of SNAP Québec and spokesperson for the Collectif COP15

Link to The Montreal Call: https://bit.ly/MTLCall
Share The Montreal Call with #MTLCall

CONTACT: SNAP Québec, Charlène Daubenfeld, Communications Director, (514) 378-3880, communications@snapquebec.org

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1964880/SNAP_Qu_bec_The_Montreal_Call_for_Dialogue_on_Systemic_Change_is.jpg