November 2022 – Page 2 – Madagascar Newswire

November 30, 2022

This HIV Prevention Drug Could Change the Game

A new, long-lasting drug could be a game-changer for preventing HIV infections, experts say.

Advocates are hopeful that those who need it most in low- and middle-income countries will not have to wait for it as long as they have for previous HIV drugs. But questions remain about access and price.

The drug is called cabotegravir and is delivered as a shot once every other month. In clinical trials, it did a better job at preventing infection than another option — a pill taken once a day.

The bimonthly injection seems to be an easier treatment regimen to stick to than daily pills, according to Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, an HIV prevention advocacy organization.

“If you can take a pill every day, that’s great. But if you can’t, we see a lot of people who start [taking the pills] who don’t continue,” he said.

Aside from the inconvenience, there can be a stigma attached to taking the pills, Warren said. The drugs for prevention, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, are the same as the drugs used to treat HIV infection.

“If you’re a young person and your parents find your pill bottle, they say, ‘Why are you taking this pill? Are you HIV infected?’ And the young person may say, ‘No, I’m protecting myself,'” Warren said. “And they say, ‘Well, why are you having sex?'”

Long-lasting drugs like cabotegravir or another new product, a once-a-month vaginal ring, offer patients more choices, he added.

About 1.5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2021, according to the World Health Organization, about 60% of them in Africa.

Uganda and Zimbabwe approved cabotegravir for PrEP earlier this year. They are the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to do so.

These approvals come less than a year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized it.

That’s progress, Warren said. FDA approved PrEP pills in 2012, but “it took three years before any African regulatory agency approved it. So, we’ve already seen a condensing of that timeline.”

Cabotegravir costs $22,000 per year in the United States. ViiV Healthcare, the company that makes the drug, has not officially announced what it will cost in low- and middle-income countries, but it is expected to be much lower. Some aid groups have indicated that ViiV will offer the drug at $250 per year.

“The problem is that actually that won’t be really affordable for countries who need to roll it out and scale up,” said Jessica Burry, a pharmacist with humanitarian group Doctors without Borders.

PrEP pills cost about $54 per year, Warren said.

“The hope is that early in 2023, we can see a price point that is much closer to that 54 [dollars] than to the 250 [dollars],” he said. “Hopefully, in the $100 range per year.”

ViiV said it is working with the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic manufacturers to produce cabotegravir at a lower price for low- and middle-income countries.

ViiV said cabotegravir is more complicated to manufacture than most HIV drugs. No generic manufacturers have been selected yet. Once they are, it will take about three to five years before a generic version is on the market.

The company has filed for regulatory approval in 11 countries so far. Burry says there should be more.

“If they’re going to be the only supplier for the next four or five years until generics are available, then they really need to step up to the plate and actually file, register and get that drug available,” she said.

Demand for the drug is unclear. PrEP pills have been slow to catch on.

About 845,000 people in more than 50 countries took them in 2020, but the United Nations was aiming for 3 million by that time.

“We don’t have a ton of PrEP users, so if you’re ViiV, you’re looking at a very small market,” Warren said.

Warren said providers and advocates need to help grow that market. They need to do a better job connecting people at risk with programs that offer PrEP, he added.

“Some of the early PrEP programs began with us thinking that if you just bought the product, people would magically show up,” he said.

Warren hopes to change that as part of a coalition that includes ViiV, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization and others.

“There’s a huge effort in this coalition to bring in civil society from day one, and the communities that this product is meant to help and support,” he said.

The slow uptake means PrEP has not yet shown that it can make much of a real-world impact, Warren noted. He hopes to see research programs launch next year to find the best ways to reach the communities most at risk and lower infection rates.

“If we can’t show that in the next three years, then we don’t necessarily need all these generic manufacturers, because there will not be a market for this product,” he said.

Source: Voice of America

November 30, 2022

UN Puts Baguette on Cultural Heritage List

The humble baguette — the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world — is being added to the U.N.’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity.

UNESCO experts gathering in Morocco this week decided that the simple French flute — made only of flour, water, salt, and yeast — deserved U.N. recognition, after France’s culture ministry warned of a “continuous decline” in the number of traditional bakeries, with some 400 closing every year over the past half-century.

The U.N. cultural agency’s chief, Audrey Azoulay, said the decision honors more than just bread; it recognizes the “savoir-faire of artisanal bakers” and “a daily ritual.”

“It is important that these craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future,” added Azoulay, a former French culture minister.

With the bread’s new status, the French government said it planned to create an artisanal baguette day, called the “Open Bakehouse Day,” to connect the French better with their heritage.

Back in France, bakers seemed proud, if unsurprised.

“Of course, it should be on the list because the baguette symbolizes the world. It’s universal,” said Asma Farhat, baker at Julien’s Bakery near Paris’ Champs-Elysee avenue.

“If there’s no baguette, you cant have a proper meal. In the morning you can toast it, for lunch it’s a sandwich, and then it accompanies dinner.”

Despite the decline in traditional bakery numbers, France’s 67 million people still remain voracious baguette consumers — purchased at a variety sales points, including in supermarkets. The problem is, observers say, that they can often be poor in quality.

“It’s very easy to get bad baguette in France. It’s the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery that’s in danger. It’s about quality not quantity,” said one Paris resident, Marine Fourchier, 52.

In January, French supermarket chain Leclerc was criticized by traditional bakers and farmers for its much publicized 29-cent baguette, accused of sacrificing the quality of the famed 65-centimeter (26-inch) loaf. A baguette normally costs just over 90 euro cents (just over $1), seen by some as an index on the health of the French economy.

The baguette is serious business. France’s “Bread Observatory” — a venerable institution that closely follows the fortunes of the flute — notes that the French munch through 320 baguettes of one form or another every second. That’s an average of half a baguette per person per day, and 10 billion every year.

Although it seems like the quintessential French product, the baguette was said to have been invented by Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839. Zang put in place France’s steam oven, making it possible to produce bread with a brittle crust yet fluffy interior.

The product’s zenith did not come until the 1920s, with the advent of a French law preventing bakers from working before 4 a.m. The baguette’s long, thin shape meant it could be made more quickly than its stodgy cousins, so it was the only bread that bakers could make in time for breakfast.

The “artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” was inscribed at the Morocco meeting among other global cultural heritage items, including Japan’s Furyu-odori ritual dances, and Cuba’s light rum masters.

Source: Voice of America

November 29, 2022

World Health Organization Updates Emergency Use Listing for Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine as a Primary Series in Adolescents and as a Booster in Adults

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an updated Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a primary series of two doses in adolescents aged 12 through 17 and as a booster in adults aged 18 and older.

“Today’s updated Emergency Use Listing from the WHO allows us to offer our protein-based vaccine as a primary series to adolescents and as a booster for adults around the world,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “WHO member countries now have a vaccine option for these indications developed using an innovative approach to traditional technology that can also be stored in standard refrigeration, making it easy to transport.”

Primary Series in Adolescents
The updated EUL for Nuvaxovid as a primary series in adolescents aged 12 through 17 was based on data from the ongoing pediatric expansion of the Phase 3 PREVENT-19 trial of 2,232 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 75 sites in the U.S., to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Nuvaxovid. In the pediatric expansion, Nuvaxovid achieved its primary effectiveness endpoint and demonstrated 80% clinical efficacy overall at a time when the Delta variant was the predominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain in the U.S.

Preliminary safety data from the pediatric expansion showed the vaccine to be generally well-tolerated. Serious and severe adverse events were low in number and balanced between vaccine and placebo groups, and not considered related to the vaccine. Local and systemic reactogenicity was generally lower than or similar to adults, after the first and second dose. The most common adverse reactions observed were injection site tenderness/pain, headache, myalgia, fatigue, and malaise. There was no increase in reactogenicity in younger (12 to <15 years old) adolescents compared to older (15 to <18 years old) adolescents. No new safety signal was observed through the placebo-controlled portion of the pediatric expansion.

Booster in Adults
The updated EUL for Nuvaxovid as a booster in adults aged 18 and older is supported by data from Novavax’ Phase 2 trial conducted in Australia, from a separate Phase 2 trial conducted in South Africa, and from the United Kingdom (U.K.)-sponsored COV-BOOST trial. As part of the Novavax Phase 2 trials, a single booster dose of Nuvaxovid was administered to healthy adult participants approximately six months after their primary two-dose vaccination series of Nuvaxovid. The third dose produced increased immune responses comparable to or exceeding levels associated with protection in Phase 3 clinical trials. In the COV-BOOST trial, Nuvaxovid induced a meaningful antibody response when used as a heterologous third booster dose.

In the Novavax-sponsored trials, following the booster, local and systemic reactions had a median duration of approximately two days. The incidence of Grade 3 or higher events remained relatively low. Safety reporting of reactogenicity events showed an increasing incidence across all three doses of Nuvaxovid, often seen with increased immunogenicity. Medically attended adverse events (AE), potentially immune-mediated medical conditions, and severe AEs occurred infrequently following the booster dose and were balanced between vaccine and placebo groups.

In the 12 through 17-year-old population, Novavax’ vaccine has been authorized in more than 10 markets including the U.S., the European Union (EU), and the U.K. The vaccine has also been authorized as a booster in the U.S., EU, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, and a number of other countries have policy recommendations allowing use of the vaccine as a heterologous or homologous booster dose. Novavax’ vaccine is actively under review in other markets for both indications and has ongoing trials to further explore its efficacy and safety as a booster.

The WHO previously granted EUL for Nuvaxovid in adults aged 18 and older in December 2021.

Trade Name in the U.S.
The trade name Nuvaxovid has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Important Safety Information: WHO

Nuvaxovid is contraindicated in persons who have a hypersensitivity to the active substance, or to any of the excipients.
Events of anaphylaxis have been reported with administration of Nuvaxovid. Appropriate medical treatment and supervision should be available in case of an anaphylactic reaction following the administration of the vaccine. Close observation for at least 15 minutes is recommended and a second dose of the vaccine should not be given to those who have experienced anaphylaxis to the first dose of Nuvaxovid.
Anxiety-related reactions, including vasovagal reactions (syncope), hyperventilation, or stress‐related reactions may occur in association with vaccination as a psychogenic response to the needle injection. It is important that precautions are in place to avoid injury from fainting.
Vaccination should be postponed in individuals suffering from an acute severe febrile illness or acute infection. The presence of a minor infection and/or low-grade fever should not delay vaccination.
Nuvaxovid should be given with caution in individuals receiving anticoagulant therapy or those with thrombocytopenia or any coagulation disorder (such as haemophilia) because bleeding or bruising may occur following an intramuscular administration in these individuals.
The efficacy of Nuvaxovid may be lower in immunosuppressed individuals.
Administration of Nuvaxovid in pregnancy should only be considered when the potential benefits outweigh any potential risks for the mother and foetus.
The effects with Nuvaxovid may temporarily affect the ability to drive or use machines.
Individuals may not be fully protected until 7 days after their second dose. As with all vaccines, vaccination with Nuvaxovid may not protect all vaccine recipients.
The most frequent adverse reactions in clinical trials in individuals 12 years of age and older were headache, nausea or vomiting myalgia, arthralgia, injection site tenderness, injection site pain, fatigue, and malaise.

For more information on Nuvaxovid, including the Summary of Product Characteristics with Package Leaflet, adverse event reporting instructions, or to request additional information, please visit the following websites:

About Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373)
Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) is a protein-based vaccine engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. The vaccine was created using Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle technology to generate antigen derived from the coronavirus spike (S) protein and is formulated with Novavax’ patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Nuvaxovid contains purified protein antigen and can neither replicate, nor can it cause COVID-19.

Nuvaxovid is packaged as a ready-to-use liquid formulation in a vial containing ten doses. The vaccination regimen calls for two 0.5 ml doses (5 mcg antigen and 50 mcg Matrix-M adjuvant) given intramuscularly 21 days apart. The vaccine is stored at 2°- 8° Celsius, enabling the use of existing vaccine supply and cold chain channels. Use of the vaccine should be in accordance with official recommendations.

Novavax has established partnerships for the manufacture, commercialization, and distribution of Nuvaxovid worldwide. Existing authorizations leverage Novavax’ manufacturing partnership with Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. They will later be supplemented with data from additional manufacturing sites throughout Novavax’ global supply chain.

About the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) Phase 3 Trials
The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) continues being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 trials.

PREVENT-19 (the PRE-fusion protein subunit Vaccine Efficacy Novavax Trial | COVID-19) is a 2:1 randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-M adjuvant in 29,960 participants 18 years of age and over in 119 locations in the U.S. and Mexico. The primary endpoint for PREVENT-19 was the first occurrence of PCR-confirmed symptomatic (mild, moderate or severe) COVID-19 with onset at least seven days after the second dose in serologically negative (to SARS-CoV-2) adult participants at baseline. The statistical success criterion included a lower bound of 95% CI >30%. A secondary endpoint was the prevention of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic moderate or severe COVID-19. Both endpoints were assessed at least seven days after the second study vaccination in volunteers who had not been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. In the trial, the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine achieved 90.4% efficacy overall. It was generally well-tolerated and elicited a robust antibody response after the second dose in both studies. Full results of the trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The pediatric expansion of PREVENT-19 is a 2:1 randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded trial to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and efficacy of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-M adjuvant in 2,247 adolescent participants 12 to 17 years of age in 73 locations in the U.S., compared with placebo. In the pediatric trial, the vaccine achieved its primary effectiveness endpoint (non-inferiority of the neutralizing antibody response compared to young adult participants 18 through 25 years of age from PREVENT-19) and demonstrated 80% efficacy overall at a time when the Delta variant of concern was the predominant circulating strain in the U.S. Additionally, immune responses were about two-to-three-fold higher in adolescents than in adults against all variants studied.

Additionally, a trial conducted in the U.K. with 14,039 participants aged 18 years and over was designed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded study and achieved overall efficacy of 89.7%. The primary endpoint was based on the first occurrence of PCR-confirmed symptomatic (mild, moderate, or severe) COVID-19 with onset at least seven days after the second study vaccination in serologically negative (to SARS-CoV-2) adult participants at baseline. Full results of the trial were published in NEJM.

About Matrix-M Adjuvant
Novavax’ patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant has demonstrated a potent and well-tolerated effect by stimulating the entry of antigen-presenting cells into the injection site and enhancing antigen presentation in local lymph nodes, boosting immune response.

About Novavax
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) is a biotechnology company that promotes improved health globally through the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. The company’s proprietary recombinant technology platform harnesses the power and speed of genetic engineering to efficiently produce highly immunogenic nanoparticles designed to address urgent global health needs. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, has received authorization from multiple regulatory authorities globally, including the U.S. FDA, the European Commission, and the WHO. The vaccine is currently under review by multiple regulatory agencies worldwide, including for additional indications and populations such as adolescents and as a booster. In addition to its COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax is also currently evaluating its COVID-19-Influenza Combination (CIC) vaccine candidate in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, its quadrivalent influenza investigational vaccine candidate, and an Omicron strain-based vaccine (NVX-CoV2515) as well as a bivalent format Omicron-based / original strain-based vaccine. These vaccine candidates incorporate Novavax’ proprietary saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies.

For more information, visit www.novavax.com and connect with us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements herein relating to the future of Novavax, its operating plans and prospects, its partnerships, the timing of clinical trial results, the ongoing development of NVX-CoV2373, NVX-CoV2515 and a bivalent Omicron-based / original strain based vaccine, the CIC investigational vaccine candidate, a quadrivalent influenza investigational vaccine candidate, the scope, timing and outcome of future regulatory filings and actions, including Novavax’ plans to supplement existing authorizations with data from the additional manufacturing sites in Novavax’ global supply chain, additional worldwide authorizations of NVX-CoV2373 for use in adults and adolescents, and as a booster, the potential impact and reach of Novavax and NVX-CoV2373 in addressing vaccine access, controlling the pandemic and protecting populations, the efficacy, safety, intended utilization, and expected administration of NVX-CoV2373, and the expected administration of NVX-CoV2373 are forward-looking statements. Novavax cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, challenges satisfying, alone or together with partners, various safety, efficacy, and product characterization requirements, including those related to process qualification and assay validation, necessary to satisfy applicable regulatory authorities; difficulty obtaining scarce raw materials and supplies; resource constraints, including human capital and manufacturing capacity, on the ability of Novavax to pursue planned regulatory pathways; unanticipated challenges or delays in conducting clinical trials; challenges meeting contractual requirements under agreements with multiple commercial, governmental, and other entities; and those other risk factors identified in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Novavax’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov and www.novavax.com, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of the statements. Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.

Contacts:
Investors
Erika Schultz | 240-268-2022
ir@novavax.com

Media
Ali Chartan or Giovanna Chandler | 202-709-5563
media@novavax.com

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1506866/Novavax_High_Res_Logo.jpg

November 29, 2022

EYES ON IRAN ART ACTIVATION FACES THE U.N. IN NEW YORK

AN EVENT MARKED THE OPENING FEATURING HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, GISSOU NIA,SHEIDA SOLEIMANI, SHIRIN NESHAT with SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY JON BATISTE

NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Iranian artists Sheida Soleimani, Aphrodite Désirée Navab, Z, Icy and Sot, Shirin Neshat, Mahvash Mostala, Sepideh Mehraban, and Shirin Towfiq, alongside artists Hank Willis Thomas and JR, activate New York’s FDR Four Freedoms State Park with a provocative multi-day and multi-media art installation facing the United Nations entitled Eyes on Iran, November 28, 2022 – January 1, 2023.

Timed for the U.N. initiative, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the installations are focused on the power of collective sight, with eyes facing the U.N., signifying the world’s eyes on Iran. ‘Eyes in the Sky’ flying billboards featuring artworks by Thomas and Mostala will fly on December 3 in New York City and on November 28 and 30 in Miami. An interactive installation by artist JR will take place on December 4. Eyes on Iran aims to amplify the mission of Woman, Life, Freedom, a campaign demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran is removed from the Commission on the Status of Women.

The New York installation was unveiled at an event featuring former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Human Rights Lawyer and Director of the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council Gissou Nia, artists Sheida Soleimani and Shirin Neshat, actor and singer Sepideh Moafi and more at FDR Four Freedoms State Park with a performance by Grammy award-winner Jon Batiste.

“We are calling on the world to take more action, starting at the United Nations. We must remove Iran from the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women. The fact that Iran is a member is a bitter irony,” said Clinton. “What we are seeing is a revolution led by young women who are just not willing to live with the loss of freedom being imposed upon them.”

November 28 is significant because it is the anniversary of the 1943 Tehran Conference where Allied leaders, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met in Tehran to coordinate the Allied military strategy and also stated a shared desire for the maintenance of the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Iran. Today, Woman, Life, Freedom shares the call for human rights for the people of Iran.

“The world’s eyes have been focused on the courage of Iranian citizens in their quest for freedom, in the face of increasingly grave danger,” said human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam Mackay. “The Islamic Republic has censored them and attempted to blind the world to the potential of this movement. ‘Eyes on Iran’ is our response to their call for a free Iran.”

“When we say that we must keep our ‘Eyes on Iran,’ we mean that what is happening deserves not only our attention but our vision. In solidarity with the courageous Iranians who are risking their lives to express their human rights, many artists throughout the diaspora and beyond are bringing our vision to bear to ensure international audiences and institutions remain aware of what is happening in Iran, in their eyes and in their hearts, and feel moved to respond,” says artist Shirin Neshat.

An interactive installation by artist JR will take place on December 4 at FDR Four Freedoms State Park. Eyes on Iran aims to amplify the mission of Woman, Life, Freedom, a campaign demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran is removed from the Commission on the Status of Women. Additional artists featured online including Emily Elise, Mahdis Nikou, Priscillia Kounkou Hoveydam, Ernesto Yerena, Hourdad, Golnar Adili, and Anonymous Artists.

In October, the campaign published a two-page ad in The New York Times with a petition signed by women leaders from more than 14 countries, including Clinton, demanding the U.N. Member States remove the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women. Within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, along with nearly 100,000 others, signed the petition.

The Woman, Life, Freedom campaign is a partnership between artist collective For Freedoms, a coalition of Iranian women leaders and Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit elevating women leaders.

Key Links:

Press Images

Woman Life Freedom Website

Press Release: Open Letter Calling for the Immediate Expulsion of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women

About Our Partners:

For Freedoms is an artist collective that centers art and creativity as a catalyst for transformative connection and collective liberation. By wielding the power of art, we aim to deepen and expand our capacity to interrogate what is and imagine what could be. Together, we seek infinite expansion.
www.forfreedoms.com

Vital Voices Global Partnership celebrates 25 years of directly investing in more than 20,000 women leaders across 184 countries since 1997. Driven by the universal truth that women are the key to progress in their communities and nations cannot move forward without women in leadership positions, Vital Voices has provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, U.S. Youth Poet Laureates, prime ministers, award-winning innovators, pioneering human rights defenders, and breakthrough social entrepreneurs.
www.vitalvoices.org

Four Freedoms Park Conservancy (FFPC), founded in 2011, operates under a Friends Agreement with New York State Parks to produce and curate public programs at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park. The park, designed by American modernist architect Louis Kahn, is among the greatest architectural masterpieces in New York City. By leveraging this spectacular architecture and the unique location of the park, the Conservancy produces events, installations,public art, and partners with local organizations that, together, serve a singular purpose: igniting the conversation around the Four Freedoms and the legacy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, which are visited by more than 78 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit www.parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer mobile app or call 518.474.0456. Also, connect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Attachments

Sarah Brown McLeod
DEPARTMENT PR
sarah@department-pr.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8704529

November 29, 2022

China Owns 400 Nuclear Warheads, According to Pentagon Report

A Pentagon report warns that China now has more than 400 nuclear warheads, approximately doubling its nuclear arsenal in just two years, while its military has increased “unsafe” and “unprofessional” military behavior toward the United States and its allies in the region, especially Taiwan.

The pace of China’s accelerating nuclear expansion may enable Beijing to field a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, according to the Pentagon’s annual “China Military Power” report to Congress that was released Tuesday.

The United States’ nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 3,800 warheads in active status, would still dwarf China’s.

The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) launched approximately 135 ballistic missiles for testing and training in 2021, “more than the rest of the world combined, excluding ballistic missile employment in conflict zones,” according to the report. It also continued to construct three intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo fields, which will contain at least 300 new ICBM silos.

The Pentagon report was based on information about China’s military capabilities that was collected through December 2021, but it also accounted for some major events in 2022, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, according to a senior defense official.

Bradley Bowman, a veteran and senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the “quantity and quality” of Chinese missiles is “particularly concerning.”

“If one looks at the capability and capacity of China’s missile arsenal, it’s breathtaking,” Bowman said, adding that China’s military modernization has “methodically and deliberately gone after capabilities specifically designed to defeat the United States.”

South China Sea

China also has increased the number of “unsafe and unprofessional” encounters with the U.S. military and its allies and partners in the region, including Australia.

“We’ve seen more coercive and aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region, including some of which we would highlight as being dangerous,” the senior defense official said, citing aircraft aerobatics, lasing and discharging objects as examples.

On Tuesday, China said it had “tracked and dispelled” a U.S. warship from waters near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing considers much of the resource-rich sea its territory — despite the territorial claims of other nations — and has created hundreds of hectares of artificial islands to bolster its claims.

The U.S. Navy confirmed to VOA the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile cruiser conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the Spratly Islands Tuesday but described China’s statement about the mission as “false.”

“USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) conducted this FONOP in accordance with international law and then continued on to conduct normal operations in waters where high seas freedoms apply,” the Navy said in a statement.

“The United States is defending every nation’s right to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as USS Chancellorsville did here. Nothing the PRC says otherwise will deter us,” the Navy added, describing China’s claims to the Spratly Islands as “excessive” and “illegitimate.”

The U.S. frequently conducts these operations in the South China Sea to challenge the territorial claims of China and others and to promote free passage through international waters that carry half the world’s merchant fleet tonnage, worth trillions of dollars each year.

An international court ruling in The Hague held that China had no historic title over the South China Sea, but Beijing has ignored the decision.

‘New normal’ around Taiwan

China has stated it wants to have the ability to control Taiwan, by force if necessary, by 2027, and officials have seen an “elevated level of new, intimidating and coercive activity” around the island. China considers Taiwan a wayward province.

“I don’t see an imminent invasion. I think what we do see is sort of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) establishing kind of a new normal in terms of the level of military activity around Taiwan following the speaker’s visit,” a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon.

China executed a high number of missile launches and military demonstrations around the Taiwan Strait during and immediately after Pelosi’s trip, which the speaker said was made to “stand by” the democratic island and honor the U.S. commitment made to Taiwan under a 1979 law.

Since then, China has lowered the number of aggressive actions around Taiwan but has not reduced its aggressive behavior to the level it was prior to her visit.

“Strait centerline crossings have become increasingly, you know, sort of routinized. In contrast, those used to be something that the PRC reserved for relatively rare occasions where they wanted to send sort of more of a political signal,” the senior defense official said.

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Cambodia last week that Beijing considers Taiwan to be a “red line,” according to a statement provided by the Chinese Ministry of Defense.

“Taiwan is China’s. Taiwan and the resolution of the Taiwan issue is China’s own affair in which no outside force has the right to intervene,” Wei said, according to the statement.

Russia and beyond

China has continued its military cooperation with Russia. In 2021, a large-scale joint exercise with Russia’s army was conducted on Chinese soil for the first time. The drills were known as Zapad/Interaction.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, a senior defense official said Beijing has not provided direct military assistance to Moscow but has supported Russia by amplifying Russian disinformation and propaganda.

“Russia’s value as a partner to the PRC remains high,” the official said.

China has the world’s largest navy in terms of ship numbers, with a battle force of about 340 ships and submarines. China’s army, according to the report, has 975,000 active duty members, and Beijing’s aviation force is the largest in the region and third-largest in the world, with more than 2,800 aircraft.

The report added that in addition to China’s base in the small African nation of Djibouti, Beijing has considered several other nations for future Chinese military facilities ranging from Cambodia to Tajikistan to Kenya.

Cyber-enabled espionage by China also remains a “sophisticated, persistent threat,” according to the report. The Pentagon accuses China’s military of attempting to take radiation hardened integrated circuits, gyroscopes, syntactic foam trade secrets, military communication jamming equipment, aviation technologies, anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and other technologies.

Responding to VOA at the Pentagon earlier in November, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “China is the one country out there that geopolitically has the power potential to be a significant challenge to the United States.”

He added that China wants to have the top military in the world by 2049 and has made gains in cyber, space, land, sea and air, but stressed that the United States’ military will not let the Chinese military surpass it.

“And as long as we remain No. 1, then we will deter the war that people worry about, a great power war between China and the United States,” Milley said.

Source: Voice of America

November 29, 2022

Twitter Rolls Back COVID Misinformation Policy

Twitter has rolled back a policy that was aimed at tackling misinformation related to COVID-19 on the social media platform, lending itself to the risk of a potential surge in false claims even as cases rise in China and some parts of the world.

The move also comes amid concerns of Twitter’s ability to fight misinformation after it let go about half of its staff, including those involved in content moderation, under new boss Elon Musk.

“Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” according to an update on its blog page. The update was first reported by CNN on Tuesday.

The specific measures that Twitter will drop were not immediately clear, and the company did not immediately respond to a request to share more information.

At the onset of COVID in 2020, Twitter instated a number of measures including labels and warning messages on tweets with disputed information about the health crisis and a framework to have users remove tweets that advanced harmfully false claims related to vaccines.

Meta Platforms Inc-owned META.O Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s GOOGL.O YouTube services employed similar measures, which are currently in place.

Early this year, Twitter said that since March 2021 it had stopped enforcing a “civic integrity policy” related to lies about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Billionaire Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, paying $44 billion for the company, and has moved quickly to initiate a number of changes to product and staff. Musk said on Oct. 29 he would set up a content moderation council with “widely diverse viewpoints.

Source: Voice of America

November 28, 2022

J&T Express annonce que Lionel Messi est l’ambassadeur mondial de la marque

SHANGHAI, 28 novembre 2022/PRNewswire/ — Le fournisseur mondial de services logistiques J&T Express a annoncé aujourd’hui que la star du football et icône du sport mondial Lionel Messi était son premier ambassadeur de marque mondial. Connu pour sa recherche incessante de l’excellence et sa résilience, le septuple Ballon d’Or comprend l’engagement continu d’amélioration qui est au cœur de J&T Express.

À l’instar de J&T Express, qui s’engage à aider en permanence les communautés locales dans lesquelles il opère, Messi croit fermement à la nécessité de rendre à la société ce qu’elle lui a donné, comme en témoigne la contribution de l’attaquant en tant que meilleur buteur. Messi attribue ses performances, tant sur le terrain qu’en dehors, en grande partie à l’effort de collaboration de son équipe. Cette démarche s’inscrit dans le droit fil des efforts déployés par J&T Express pour apporter les meilleures solutions technologiques à ses clients sur tous ses marchés mondiaux, grâce à la collaboration avec des partenaires de réseau locaux.

Dans le cadre de son partenariat avec J&T Express, Messi fera mieux connaître J&T Express, non seulement en tant que fournisseur logistique de premier plan, mais aussi en tant que spécialiste du commerce électronique à tous les niveaux de la chaîne d’approvisionnement, ainsi qu’en tant que véritable champion et praticien de l’esprit « mieux ensemble ».

Rachel Liu, directrice mondiale de la marque de J&T Express, a déclaré à propos de cette annonce : « Nous sommes honorés et ravis de collaborer avec Lionel Messi en tant qu’ambassadeur mondial. C’est un athlète générationnel dont l’éthique de travail, l’humilité et le dévouement correspondent aux valeurs que nous véhiculons chez J&T Express. Par son courage et ses réalisations, Messi est une source d’inspiration pour beaucoup. Cela reflète parfaitement nos valeurs de construction d’une entreprise bienveillante, responsable et durable. »

« J&T Express a accompli des réalisations remarquables depuis son lancement. Nous partageons de nombreuses similitudes dans notre passion et notre détermination à ne jamais cesser de nous améliorer. Tout comme le sport du football unit des millions de personnes à travers le monde, J&T Express cherche à développer des solutions logistiques pour connecter ses clients au monde. Je suis impatient de faire partie de ce projet », a déclaré Messi.

J&T Express et Messi vont ensemble accroître la popularité de la marque et promouvoir une meilleure connaissance des offres de J&T, qui cherche à contribuer à la transformation de la chaîne de valeur des services logistiques.

L’arrivée de Messi au sein de J&T Express marque le début d’une série de campagnes de marketing et de médias sociaux sur le thème #JTBetterTogether, entre autres activités, que le prestataire de services logistiques prévoit de mener à l’occasion des fêtes de fin d’année et de la nouvelle année.

À propos de J&T Express

J&T Express est un prestataire de services logistiques mondial qui possède des entreprises de livraison express de premier plan en Asie du Sud-Est et en Chine, le marché le plus important et à la croissance la plus rapide au monde. Fondé en 2015, le réseau de J&T Express s’étend sur 13 pays, notamment l’Indonésie, le Vietnam, la Malaisie, les Philippines, la Thaïlande, le Cambodge, Singapour, la Chine, l’Arabie saoudite, les Émirats arabes unis, le Mexique, le Brésil et l’Égypte. Adhérant à sa mission « axée sur le client et l’efficacité », J&T Express s’engage à fournir aux clients des solutions logistiques intégrées grâce à des infrastructures intelligentes et à un réseau logistique numérique, dans le cadre de sa stratégie mondiale visant à connecter le monde avec une efficacité optimisée et à apporter des avantages logistiques à tous.

Photo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1955884/J_T_Express_names_Lionel_Messi_Global_Brand_Ambassador.jpg

Logo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1721319/JT_Express_Logo.jpg

November 28, 2022