crop.zone Sweeps the PotatoEurope Innovation Awards and Wins Two Prizes

A real game-changer in potato desiccation

crop.zone sweeps the PotatoEurope Innovation Awards and wins two prizes

crop.zone sweeps the PotatoEurope Innovation Awards and wins two prizes

AACHEN, Germany, Sept. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — crop.zone, the new hybrid electric solution for alternative crop desiccation and weed management, has been voted the most innovative new technology in potato production by potato
professionals worldwide. In addition to the Audience Award, NUCROP won the silver medal at the Potato Europe Innovation Awards out of 30 entries. Both prizes were presented on 1 September 2021 in Lelystad, the Netherlands.
Developed by the German startup crop.zone and brought to farmers across Europe in cooperation with Australian crop protection specialist Nufarm, the hybrid electric desiccation and weed control solution uses a conductive liquid and electric power to destroy unwanted plants and weeds.

“We’re very excited about both awards,” says Dirk Vandenhirtz, CEO of crop.zone. “With this new technology, we’re helping farmers meet the increasing demands of sustainable agriculture.”

Nufarm offers the NUCROP solution to farmers throughout its distribution network of channel partners in the agricultural sector. Developed by crop.zone, the technology behind NUCROP combines an organic liquid activator with an electric treatment. This combination allows fast, economical desiccation treatment for your potatoes.

The current application width of 12 m will increase in the future to allow even faster and more reliable treatment. “As a traditional crop protection company, we’re pleased to be able to offer growers this new, sustainable, and highly effective solution starting this year. NUCROP complements our chemical and biological crop protection portfolios and offers an alternative solution, especially in crops for which proven chemical treatments are no longer available.
We began offering NUCROP to farms in France, Germany, BENELUX, and the UK this year. We’re delighted it won two prizes, which shows that it is one of the most innovative technologies in potato cultivation on the market today,” says Hildo Brilleman, Regional General Manager EuMEA at Nufarm.

Media contact
crop.zone GmbH
Pascalstr.55
52076 Aachen
mob. +49 (172) 8772286
usa +1 (919) 251-6320
de +49 (2408) 5980-333
ch +41 (44) 585 34 88

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crop.zone sweeps the PotatoEurope Innovation Awards and wins two prizes
A real game-changer in potato desiccation Dirk Vandenhirtz CEO crop.zone and Hildo Brilleman, Regional General Manager EuMEA at Nufarm

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Verisk’s AIR Worldwide Estimates Insured Losses for Hurricane Ida Will Range from USD 17 Billion to USD 25 Billion

BOSTON, Sept. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Extreme event modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses to onshore property resulting from Hurricane Ida’s winds and storm surge will range from USD 17 billion to USD 25 billion. AIR Worldwide is a Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK) business.

AIR’s modeled insured loss estimates include insured physical damage to property (residential, commercial, industrial, auto), both structures and their contents from winds, wind-borne debris, storm surge, and the impact of demand surge. The industry loss estimates also reflect an adjustment to account for increased material and other repair costs in the current construction market. Hurricane precipitation-induced flood losses are not included in AIR estimates at this time.

Ida traveled over very warm Gulf waters, including a thick layer of warm water in the Loop Current, and intensified to make two landfalls in Louisiana, both at Category 4 strength, on August 29. The storm’s first landfall was near Port Fourchon about 60 miles south of New Orleans, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 150 mph; its second landfall was southwest of Galliano, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 145 mph. Around the time of landfall, the storm was undergoing an eyewall replacement. In practical terms, New Orleans experienced strong winds on the order of 90 to 100 mph due to the large windfield and a slow decay of the storm.

The storm surge Ida produced was along expected lines and generally not as severe as Hurricane Katrina’s—particularly in Mississippi and New Orleans (the latter of which was fully protected by the city’s levee system)—but some areas of southeastern Louisiana with insufficient protection experienced severe storm surge during Ida.

According to analysis by Wood Mackenzie, a sister company in the Verisk family, Hurricane Ida has had a significant impact on Louisiana refinery operations and Gulf of Mexico production, causing a historic U.S. crude supply chain disruption. Utility disruptions caused by lack of power, mobile data services, and water, could lead to Ida becoming a long-tailed event when it comes to claims reporting, payouts, etc.

While New Orleans’ levees held, the city was not spared Ida’s wind impacts. Damage was variable given the nature of building inventory in the metro New Orleans area. Areas close to where Ida made landfall such as LaFourche Parish, where Port Fourchon is located, was particularly hard hit with widespread destruction. Grand Isle Parish, a barrier island, has been declared uninhabitable. Even in towns just inland from where Ida came ashore, such as Galliano and Houma, wind damage was severe to catastrophic.

In terms of storm surge, most levees held up well, with a few localized failures that have created flooding beyond that from storm surge. Communities to the north, west, south, and east of the hurricane protection system that surrounds New Orleans were inundated. Ida’s storm surge inundated far into the bayous and inhabited areas of southeastern Louisiana, as well as areas near Lake Pontchartrain. Minor near-coastal inundation also occurred in Mississippi and Alabama. Key areas flooded by storm surge in Louisiana include Port Fourchon, Grand Isle, Delacroix, Alliance, Lafitte, Jean Lafitte, Barataria, Laplace, Mandeville, Braithwaite, Shell Beach, Galliano, Golden Meadow, and Venetian Isles. Surge inundation depth exceeded 10 feet in some places, but several tide gauges near maximum storm surge broke, leading to uncertainty in Ida’s maximum storm surge water level.

Louisiana has a statewide adoption of the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code. These codes were adopted and have been effective since early 2018. According to these standards, buildings are required to be designed to a prescribed wind speed that varies spatially with higher design wind speeds along the coast and the values decreasing as we move inland. For Port Fourchon and Grand Isle, the design 3-second gust wind speeds for typical residential and commercial structures is between 160 and 170 mph. For towns such as Golden Meadow, Galliano, Dulac, and the southern portions of Houma, design requirements are between 150 and 160 mph on 3-second gust basis. New Orleans, Lockport, and towns along Route 90 require buildings to be designed to winds of 140 to 150 mph 3-second gust.

Commercial buildings with higher human occupancy requirements and those serving essential functions such as hospitals are typically subject to more stringent requirements per the IBC, given the risk category in which individual commercial buildings fall. Generally, Hurricane Ida was below the design standards for structures built under these standards. Widespread catastrophic structural failure was therefore not expected. Buildings that are older and predate the adoption of some of these standards can be expected to perform worse and sometimes become debris sources that can impact adjacent newer buildings. While adoption of building codes is one aspect, an equally important aspect is their enforcement. While enforcement is good for coastal counties, the same is not true for inland counties. Therefore, as Ida trekked through the state and continued to produce damaging winds, damage can be expected to buildings across the entire state.

According to AIR and Xactware®, a sister company within Verisk, materials costs have gone up significantly in the past year from supply chain disruption in the construction market. Although these costs have moderated since their peak in July when they were 80% higher than September of last year, they remain about 30% higher. Repair costs are still up significantly.

Reconstruction costs are more expensive today than they were a year ago. The increase in the total reconstruction cost index means that costs are higher on average nationally; this affects the low- as well as the high-severity events. The difference in magnitude of the impact will come from the mix of construction materials used. For example, minor wind losses are less likely to require repairs that use more expensive inputs such as structural lumber; however, dwellings that are a total loss would require a broader mix of inputs that reflect the higher increases indicated by the total reconstruction index. Therefore, companies should bear these increases in mind and should expect the average claim to be higher before considering demand surge.

An additional source of uncertainty related to materials cost demand surge is the cost of diesel fuel, which has been impacted by the shutdown of refineries during Ida; this fuel would be used to transport materials. While some of these facilities were undamaged, the uncertainty around the timing of the restoration of the power grid and lack of electricity in the meantime is going to keep some of them from coming back online and contributing to the diesel fuel supply.

One other important aspect of demand surge to note is that after Hurricane Katrina, about half of the population of New Orleans moved away and the city never returned to pre Katrina population levels. This mass migration probably mitigated economic demand surge, which was not as great as it might have been after that storm.

About AIR Worldwide
AIR Worldwide (AIR) provides risk modeling solutions that make individuals, businesses, and society more resilient to extreme events. In 1987, AIR Worldwide founded the catastrophe modeling industry and today models the risk from natural catastrophes, terrorism, pandemics, casualty catastrophes, and cyber incidents. Insurance, reinsurance, financial, corporate, and government clients rely on AIR’s advanced science, software, and consulting services for catastrophe risk management, insurance-linked securities, longevity modeling, site-specific engineering analyses, and agricultural risk management. AIR Worldwide, a Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK) business, is headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com.


Kevin Long
AIR Worldwide
01-617-267-6645
klong@air-worldwide.com

Constellation Brands to Report Second Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results; Host Conference Call October 6, 2021

VICTOR, N.Y., Sept. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today it will report financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended August 31, 2021, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, before the open of the U.S. markets. A conference call to discuss the financial results and outlook will be hosted by President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Newlands and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Garth Hankinson at 10:30 a.m. EDT, October 6, 2021.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing +1-877-673-1771 and entering conference identification number 6328319 beginning at 10:20 a.m. EDT. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call will be available on the company’s website, www.cbrands.com, under the Investors/Events & Presentations section. When the call begins, financial information discussed on the conference call, and a reconciliation of reported (GAAP) financial measures with comparable or non-GAAP financial measures, will also be available on the company’s website under Investors and by selecting Reporting. For anyone unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available on the company’s website.

ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS
At Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), our mission is to build brands that people love because we believe sharing a toast, unwinding after a day, celebrating milestones, and helping people connect, are Worth Reaching For. It’s worth our dedication, hard work, and the bold calculated risks we take to deliver more for our consumers, trade partners, shareholders, and communities in which we live and work. It’s what has made us one of the fastest-growing large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our pursuit to deliver what’s next.

Today, we are a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Every day, people reach for our high-end, iconic imported beer brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Corona Premier, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico, and our high-quality premium wine and spirits brands, including the Robert Mondavi brand family, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, The Prisoner brand family, SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey.

But we won’t stop here. Our visionary leadership team and passionate employees from barrel room to boardroom are reaching for the next level, to explore the boundaries of the beverage alcohol industry and beyond. Join us in discovering what’s Worth Reaching For.

To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrands and visit www.cbrands.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS
Mike McGrew 773-251-4934 / michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com
Amy Martin 585-678-7141 / amy.martin@cbrands.com
Patty Yahn-Urlaub 585-678-7483 / patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com
Marisa Pepelea 312-741-2316 / marisa.pepelea@cbrands.com

A downloadable PDF copy of this news release can be found here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/3f0a14b3-fc66-4368-b06b-b7097c04adf6

Nyxoah Announces Participation in the Baird 2021 Global Healthcare Conference

PRESS RELEASE

Nyxoah Announces Participation in the Baird 2021 Global Healthcare Conference

Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium – September 2, 2021, 10:30pm CET / 4:30pm ET – Nyxoah SA (Euronext Brussels/Nasdaq: NYXH)(“Nyxoah” or the “Company”), a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), today announced that Olivier Taelman, Chief Executive Officer, and Fabian Suarez, Chief Financial Officer, will participate at the Baird 2021 Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, with a virtual presentation at 3:05 pm CET / 9:05 am ET.

A live webcast and replay of this event will be available on the Company’s investors relations website at https://investors.nyxoah.com/

About Nyxoah
Nyxoah is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Nyxoah’s lead solution is the Genio® system, a CE-validated, patient-centered, next generation hypoglossal neurostimulation therapy for OSA, the world’s most common sleep disordered breathing condition that is associated with increased mortality risk and comorbidities including cardiovascular diseases, depression and stroke.

Following the successful completion of the BLAST OSA study in patients with moderate to severe OSA, the Genio® system received its European CE Mark in 2019. The Company has completed the BETTER SLEEP study in Australia and New Zealand for therapy indication expansion and is currently conducting the DREAM IDE pivotal study for FDA approval and a post-marketing EliSA study in Europe to confirm the long-term safety and efficacy of the Genio® system.

Contacts:
Nyxoah
Fabian Suarez, Chief Financial Officer
corporate@nyxoah.com
+32 (0)10 22 24 55

Gilmartin Group 
Vivian Cervantes
IR@nyxoah.com

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GA-ASI SeaGuardian Flies From UK to the Netherlands

Featured Image for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Featured Image for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands, Sept. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In cooperation with the UK and Netherlands airspace authorities, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) flew a company-owned, MQ-9B SeaGuardian® Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) today from RAF Waddington across the North Sea to Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands, completing a two-day series of flights between the two airspaces.

This multi-day demonstration displayed SeaGuardian’s maritime surveillance capabilities in support of international allies. SeaGuardian returned to RAF Waddington at the conclusion of the event.

The flight is part of a maritime demonstration series that began in August and continues through September. The goal of the flight series is to showcase the many operational capabilities of the MQ-9B, including the platform’s advanced maritime Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Detect and Avoid System (DAAS), industry-leading endurance, and interoperability with NATO partners.

The RNLAF has ordered four MQ-9A RPA and the first is expected to be delivered to Leeuwarden later this year.

“Today’s flight is a major milestone for us. It demonstrates the ability of the MQ-9 to operate in our airspace and validates the procedures for air traffic control. It also familiarizes the air traffic controllers with Remotely Piloted Aircraft, which is an opportunity we have not had before,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Boudewijn Roddenhof, commander of the RNLAF’s 306 squadron, which will operate the new MQ-9A Reapers.

“We’re thrilled to showcase the game-changing capabilities of our RPA for the Royal Netherlands Air Force,” said Robert Schoeffling, vice president of International Strategic Development for GA-ASI. “We appreciate the international cooperation we’ve received from the RAF, the RNLAF and civil aviation authorities such as the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Our MQ-9B series is built and equipped to meet certification standards that will allow it to fly in non-segregated airspace.”

The flight to Leeuwarden was conducted as Operational Air Traffic, under the control of UK military air traffic controllers at Swanwick, up to the boundary between the UK’s and the Netherlands’ controlled airspace. At the agreed crossing point, Dutch military air traffic controllers took responsibility for the flight.

Next up, SeaGuardian will participate in the UK-led Joint Warrior exercise, which will showcase how the MQ-9B’s maritime capabilities can be integrated with other air, surface and land platforms. SeaGuardian’s maritime capability includes a multi-mode maritime surface-search radar with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) along with the standard High-Definition, Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras.

The flights also demonstrate GA-ASI’s revolutionary Detect and Avoid System, a safety and situational awareness enhancement designed to support MQ-9B flight in non-segregated airspace worldwide. DAAS enables MQ-9B to operate among civilian aviation traffic in the national airspace, unlike any other aircraft in its class.

SeaGuardian is the maritime version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian®.

About GA-ASI

General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator® RPA series and the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar. With more than six million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com.

Avenger, Lynx, Predator, SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

# # #

CONTACT:
GA-ASI Media Relations
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
+1 (858) 524-8101
ASI-MediaRelations@ga-asi.com

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The Action Alliance to Redress 1219, scholars and experts call on the Taiwanese government to rectify the unjust Tai Ji Men case

New webinar series: Administrative Violence and the Tai Ji Men Case

A Webinar on the Fabricated Tai Ji Men Case in Taiwan

Experts, scholars, and victims of religious liberty shared their thoughts on the 24-year persecution against Tai Ji Men in Taiwan during the webinars co-hosted by the Action Alliance to Redress 1219, CESNUR, and HRWF on Aug. 22, 2021.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With the Delta variant raging as well as wars and man-made and natural disasters reoccurring in various regions of the planet, global citizens’ hearts are filled with anxiety. On August 22, the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, the leader of Tai Ji Men, delivered a speech titled “Safeguarding Freedom of Religion or Belief with Love and Conscience,” emphasizing the importance of human rights and conscience:

Today, we are discussing cases of violations of freedom of religion, freedom of belief, and freedom of thought in the context of human dignity, which is related to the dignity of the legal system, freedom of conscience, and the rights and well-being of all people. Only those who can uphold their faith and belief, who will not compromise with any force of evil, and who will protect basic human dignity, safeguard their conscience, and defend human rights with love and conscience, are practitioners of self-betterment that can tell right from wrong, stand tall, and are brave and fearless!

Dr. Hong and Tai Ji Men have been persecuted by a few rogue bureaucrats in Taiwan for 24 years, and they have been devoted to promoting human rights and religious freedom in the past few years. On this special day, CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions), and Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), and the Action Alliance to Redress 1219 co-hosted four webinars under the theme of “Administrative Violence and the Tai Ji Men Case,” where religious freedom experts, scholars, and Tai Ji Men members discussed the case.

The webinars opened with a video presentation of a recent Tai Ji Men’s demonstration in Washington, D.C. Tai Ji Men is a spiritual organization with academies in Taiwan and the United States. It has been religiously persecuted in democratic Taiwan by means of unlawful taxation. Despite the fact that Tai Ji Men was found not guilty of tax evasion or any other charges by Taiwan’s Supreme Court in 2007, rogue bureaucrats continued to levy unwarranted taxes on Tai Ji Men and even illegally auctioned and confiscated their land intended for a spiritual retreat last August.

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice and former chair of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said, “In Taiwan, the long running attack against the Tai Ji Men community by bureaucratic despots within the tax administration have led many religious freedom experts around the world to condemn this form of administrative religious persecution.”

Thierry Valle, president of the ECOSOC-accredited NGO CAP-LC (Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience), stated that his NGO submitted a written statement about the Tai Ji Men case and other unjust cases to the 47th Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. The statement, published on June 21, 2021, indicated that in various countries, taxation has been used as a weapon to discriminate against religious and spiritual minorities.

Kenneth Jacobsen, a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a former advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton, has studied in depth the Tai Ji Men case. He said, “I would ask as I’ve asked before for the president of Taiwan and for others that are in positions of power to do the right thing, to remove this blemish that remains on a very disturbing unfair illegal unlawful case that should have been never brought in the first place that has gone on far too long. And with a stroke of a pen could be eliminated and finally concluded. And I think the government of Taiwan should do that, and they should do it now.”

Willy Fautré, director of HRWF, explored many forms of religious or belief-based violence, including taxes. He said, “Some scholars suspect that the case against Tai Ji Men was fabricated because of alluring bonuses granted to officers of the National Tax Bureau and the Enforcement Agency for the enforcement of auctions.”

Eric Roux, chairperson of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom, emphasized that when injustice occurs in a democracy, the impact can be worse than in a totalitarian state because it lowers the global standard of democracy and sends the message that injustice is unimportant and that the world has no way of holding it accountable.

Prof. Chang Chia-Lin from Taipei’s Aletheia University urged the Taiwanese government to end the persecution, asking, “Is our government going to follow the example of an authoritarian regime and continue to persecute Tai Ji Men, which promotes conscience, acts of kindness, peace, and love?”

Rosita Šorytė, a member of the Scientific Committee of European Federation for Freedom of Belief, said that it is clear that institutional violence was used against Tai Ji Men. Taiwan needs international support all the time, and this unjust case is severely harming Taiwan’s international reputation, said Šorytė, urging the Taiwanese government to cancel the unjustified tax bill and return the unlawfully confiscated land to Tai Ji Men.

According to Dr. Chun-Chieh Hwang, a law professor at Taiwan’s National Chung Cheng University, the confiscation of Tai Ji Men’s land last August was not just a violation of property rights, but also of cultural and religious rights. He believes International experts should inform Taiwanese authorities that the situation violates universal human rights. He described Tai Ji Men as a beneficent organization and expressed his hope that its message of peace for Taiwan and the world will resonate around the world.

Hans Noot, president of the Gerard Noodt Foundation for Freedom of Religion or Belief, criticized the lack of accountability in the case: “It sends the message to the public that the national tax office can get away with impunity, and it is above the law rather than a servant of the law and the people. The message too is that religious freedom and freedom of expression is all relative in Taiwan.”

Prof. Lin, Jun-Lin, chairman of Chinese Orthodox Alliance, said, “I implore our government to allow people to live and work in peace and happiness, as well as enjoy complete freedom of religion or belief, which will aid the government in calming the people’s hearts. Don’t put us all in danger and disturb our peace of mind. Hurry up and return justice to Tai Ji Men, which is the same as returning justice to all of us. We are always with you, Tai Ji Men members. Your business is already the business of all people!”

Kang Shih-Ju, a former Taiwanese legislator, advocated for the Tai Ji Men case to be resolved, saying, “No matter what your political party is, I would admire you if you could put an end to such a clear and simple case. I would be convinced that the ‘transitional justice’ you are talking about is really related to human rights.”

Brenda Chen, a graphic designer and a Tai Ji Men member in Northern California, told how she left Taiwan to escape the nightmare that Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen had created for her when he illegally detained her father, Dr. Hong, his wife, and another disciple in 1996. Her father, who passed away seven years ago, lost his career and reputation as a result of Hou’s defamation. They were also discriminated against by their relatives.

A shocking video was introduced by Konrad Swenninger, founder of Soteria International in Denmark. In the video, tax collector Shih Yueh-sheng revealed that he was pressured by prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen to give false testimony against Tai Ji Men 24 years ago. The prosecution relied mainly on the tax collector’s fraudulent testimony to indict Tai Ji Men, and the National Taxation Bureau imposed unjustified taxes on Tai Ji Men based solely on this false indictment.

In the video, Shih Yueh-sheng said that there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation of tax evasion against Tai Ji Men, and that he advised the Investigation Bureau’s field office at the time that issuing tax bills to Tai Ji Men would be problematic because it was unclear how to compute the tax amount. Although the Investigation Bureau’s field office knew it was illegal, it still insisted on asking him to do it! Shih Yueh-sheng said Hou Kuan-jen fabricated the case.

“It proves that what happened was not a mistake,” Prof. Massimo Introvigne, a lawyer, sociologist, and managing director of CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions), said of the video, adding, “It was a deliberate framing of Tai Ji Men for obscure motivations through false documents, false accusations, and a false tax investigation that never happened. Now if this is not enough to reopen the Tai Ji Men case and cancel the 1992 tax bill, give back to Tai Ji Men their sacred land, I don’t know what more is needed. It’s a general principle of the law all over the world that when new elements emerge even final decisions can and should be revised. Revision is a fundamental principle of justice.”

To help the audience better understand the case, several videos were presented, including a video titled “18 Years of State Violence Turn a Sweet Home into Ruins,” — the story of Tai Ji Men’s academy on Lai-nan Street in Kaohsiung before and after the organization’s persecution began; a music video titled “The Truth of the Tai Ji Men Case,” succinctly summarizing the case; and a music video titled “No Way,” announcing Tai Ji Men members’ determination to continue the fight for the truth and justice and their declaration that in no way will they compromise or back down.

“Human rights offenders are frequently governments,” said Dr. Hong, the leader of Tai Ji Men, in his speech in support of the World Humanitarian Day on August 19, and he urged people to follow their conscience: “The ultimate judge of the universe is conscience. It is never too late to awaken our conscience and change our ways to atone for our mistakes. Throughout our lives, we should seek the truth, distinguishing true from false, right from wrong, and good from bad, and defending righteousness and justice without fear, despite the obstacles that lie ahead.”

About Action Alliance to Redress 1219: Action Alliance to Redress 1219 is a group of international and Taiwanese legal, religious, and human rights specialists working to restore the truth about the ongoing persecution of Tai Ji Men in Taiwan by a small group of bureaucrats that has lasted for 25 years, as well as their misuse of authority and violations of the law. In addition to rectifying the Tai Ji Men case and revealing the truth, it is also committed to defending religious freedom, speaking out for related injustices in Taiwan. The Alliance calls on those in power not to ignore people’s fundamental human rights and demands that perpetrators be held accountable to protect democracy, the rule of law, and justice.

Media Contact:
Lily Chen
Representative
admin@act1219.org
626-202-5268
https://act1219.org/eng/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0342b956-f707-492d-b5a1-e10a1197e6d6

Young Africans Struggle With Jobs, Education Amid Pandemic

HARARE – The future looked promising for Tinashe Mapuranga, an intern at a leading bank in Zimbabwe who appeared set to get a staff position as soon as he completed his college degree. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Amid the lockdowns, the 24-year-old was one of the first to be laid off and has no idea when he’ll be able to get his degree because of frequent school closures.

“It has really affected me a lot in my studies. I have no money to buy data and I don’t have a personal laptop to study online and keep up like what others are doing,” said Mapuranga, who lives with his mother in Chitungwiza, a sprawling working-class area southeast of Harare, the capital.

“I was supposed to finish in November or December 2021, but as of now, we haven’t completed much of the work,” he said. “Truly speaking, I am not sure when I will finish the degree. I can’t wait to graduate and find a job and do something tangible in life.”

Mapuranga spends most of his time at home, tending a tiny vegetable garden that is the family’s main source of food. His mother ekes out a living traveling to South Africa to sell things like stone carvings and brooms on the streets, a trade also badly hit by the pandemic.

“We’ve been trying to hustle to get some money,” he said. “I tried to do a small business selling cooking gas but the authorities chased us away from the streets. My father passed away. My mother is into informal business, but it’s also down with these lockdowns. Things are not well right now. It’s tough.”

Mapuranga’s situation might look dire, but he says he’s concerned about some of his unemployed peers who have fallen into alcohol, drugs and prostitution.

“Many youths have lost hope,” he said.

Across Africa, many others like Mapuranga are battling the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, losing jobs and seeing their education disrupted, a survey of people aged 18-24 in 15 countries has found.

The pandemic increased the already-high level of unemployment among the group, according to preliminary findings of the second annual Africa Youth Survey.

Nearly 20% of the 4,500 respondents said they became unemployed because of the pandemic and 37% were forced to stop or pause their education. Another 8% saw their pay docked, 18% had to move back home and 10% said they had to care for family members, according to the survey, which was commissioned by the Johannesburg-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, whose founder, Ivor Ichikowitz, runs Paramount Group, an aerospace, security and military contractor.

Of the 1.3 billion people in Africa’s 54 countries, an estimated 250 million are aged 18-24. The study was conducted in major urban and trading centers in Angola, Congo, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. The researchers for PSB Insights, a global polling company, were nationals of each country where the survey took place and went door-to-door for in-depth, face-to-face interviews.

People surveyed said the pandemic caused substantial disruptions to their schooling, emphasizing the need for more computers and internet access in Africa for online education.

Bola Badejo, 29, saw her salary at the broadcast station where she worked in Abuja, Nigeria, cut in half, and she complained that she could not make it on the equivalent of $146 a month.

“I was already poor and I was working just for the sake of doing the job,” she said. Then, in April 202, she was laid off.

“I fell into depression because the whole thing was really sad. I felt I had nowhere to go,” Badejo said.

After seven months without a job, she started a home cleaning business, and that has boosted her outlook, she said.

Badejo is typical of many who have found different ways to support themselves.

In 2020, about 40% of those surveyed expressed optimism about the future. The pandemic dented that confidence, lowering it to 31%, according to the survey.

Uganda has had two lockdowns since April 2020, the second of which was relaxed in July. But businesses involving close human interaction — bars, gyms and nightclubs — remain closed by presidential order, leaving many young people without work.

Ronald Maathe, a 25-year-old janitor at a gym outside Uganda’s capital of Kampala, shook his head sorrowfully when saying that his monthly salary is now the equivalent of $43. That’s half of what he used to earn before the pandemic.

“After I pay the rent, I am left with almost nothing,” he said. “The half salary doesn’t do anything.”

His face lights up when describing how he makes ends meet by selling passion fruit — or grenadillas — that he buys from farmers near the border with Congo. He makes a small profit on every sack of fruit he sells in Kampala.

“My business is still small. But I have a dream,” he said. “If I can get someone to hold my hand, and give me a loan to expand my business, that’s what I want. I am not waiting for the government to help me.”

Source: Voice of America

Air Quality, Climate Change Closely Linked

GENEVA – In the first report of its kind, the World Meteorological Organization examines the close link between air quality and climate change and how measures stemming from COVID-19 influenced air quality patterns in 2020.

Government-imposed lockdown measures and travel restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a marked improvement in air quality in many parts of the world. For example, the WMO said Southeast Asia experienced a 40% reduction in air particles in 2020.

However, the chief of the WMO’s Atmospheric Environment Research Division, Oksana Tarasova, said the dramatic fall in emissions of key air pollutants was short-lived. She said city dwellers who reveled in seeing blue skies during periods of lockdown inactivity, had to again endure living under a pollution cloud once the cars started rolling again.

“As soon as mobility has increased, we are back to business as usual,” Tarasova said. “So, those improvements were not very long lasting. And that is why we always stress that the extreme measures which were taken under lockdown is not a substitute for long term policies.”

During this same period, the WMO said extreme weather events fueled by climate and environmental change triggered unprecedented sand and dust storms and wildfires that affected air quality.

In parallel with the human-induced experiment on lockdowns and travel restrictions, Tarasova said those, and other natural phenomena also were controlling air quality around the world.

“There were several very strong events that happened in 2020 related to bio-mass burning where the smoke pollution from this burning bio-mass impacted air quality in large parts of Siberia, the United States,” Tarasova said. “Early in the year, there was an episode in Australia that caused dramatic deterioration of air quality in those parts of the world.”

The episode Tarasova refers is to Australian wildfires.

The WMO says changes in climate can influence pollution levels directly. It says the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves may lead to greater accumulation of pollutants close to the surface. It notes the intense wildfires breaking out in many parts of the world and huge dust and sandstorms also worsen air pollution.

The weather agency warns air pollution has significant impacts on human health. That is borne out by estimates from the latest Global Burden of Disease assessment. The data show global mortality from pollution nearly doubled from 2.3 million in 1990 to 4.5 million in 2019 — most due to particulate matter.

Source: Voice of America