CEO Jamal Muashsher celebrated the opening of Valvoline Global’s first-ever London office, marking a major milestone in the company’s strategic business growth worldwide

LONDON, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Valvoline™ Global Operations, a worldwide leader in automotive and industrial solutions, has announced the opening of its first-ever London office, a regional hub, marking a significant leap forward in the company’s global expansion.

Valvoline Global Operations expands its worldwide presence with new regional hub office in London. Local employees and global leadership recently celebrated the opening of the workspace marking a significant leap forward in the company’s strategic business growth worldwide. Pictured from left to right: members of Valvoline Global Operations Senior Leadership Team, including Chief Financial Officer, Jim Holms; Chief Human Resources Officer, Tracey York; Senior Vice President and General Manager – EMEA, Davide Crespi; Chief Executive Officer, Jamal Muashsher; Chief Operations Officer, Tom Gerrald. Photo Credit: ‘Photographs by Photographer London’ https://freelanceeventsphotographer.co.uk/

“Opening our London hub location marks a pivotal milestone in Valvoline Global’s growth strategy,” said Valvoline Global CEO, Jamal Muashsher. “We’re excited to strengthen our European footprint, as we aim to inspire and enable what and who move the world forward. This is an important next step for our team as we continue to invent – and reinvent – the best solutions to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers in this crucial region, and beyond.”  

Located in Central London’s Fitzrovia district, the nearly 5,000 sq. ft. high-tech, collaborative space will be home to up to 29 Valvoline Global employees. The new location joins two existing Valvoline Global international hubs in Singapore and Lexington, Ky. (U.S.), which is also home to the company’s global corporate and R&D headquarters.

The office unveiling comes at an historic moment marked by rapid growth for Valvoline Global as it approaches its 160^th anniversary next year. In 2024, the company was one of the fastest growing lubricants brand worldwide, with sales in more than 140 countries and territories. Fueling this growth, the company continues to lead advancements across fast-paced industries, with global first-in-class products such as Restore & Protect, designed to restore a car’s engine to run like new*; fluids for electric vehicles (EVs); and heat transfer solutions for high performance computing (HPC).

The company also continues to expand its global motorsports footprint through its ongoing collaboration with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team, headquartered in Silverstone (U.K.). Notably, off the track, Valvoline Global has teamed up with the team and Milton Keynes College as part of the company’s international Aspiring Mechanics Program. 2025 marks the second year in a row for the Valvoline Global program in the U.K., which provides hands-on mechanic experiences and unique learning opportunities to local students.

“We’ve spent months preparing for this moment, so seeing this new office finally become a reality is very exciting for all of us,” said Davide Crespi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA. “Our hub office in London will be key to expanding Valvoline Global’s presence and impact throughout EMEA as we work to continually serve our customers across the region with exceptional products, while also benefitting the local economy and community.”

About Valvoline™ Global Operations
THE ORIGINAL. Inventing the Way Forward.

Valvoline™ Global Operations is a worldwide leader in automotive and industrial solutions, creating future-ready products and best-in-class services for partners around the globe. Established in 1866, we introduced the world’s first branded motor oil, claiming our position as The Original Motor Oil.

As The Original, we’ve been innovating to solve problems for over 150 years. With sales in more than 140 countries and territories, our solutions are available for every engine and drivetrain, including high-mileage and heavy-duty vehicles, offered at more than 80,000 locations. And we’re committed to powering the future of mobility for vehicles with electric, hybrid and internal combustion powertrains – today and as we move forward. We are now a part of Aramco, one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies. Our strategic partnership creates a powerful combination to drive unparalleled product innovation and sustainable business solutions.

For more information, please visit: www.valvolineglobal.com

*When used as directed for four or more consecutive oil changes. In adapted sequence IIIH Testing.

Edtech company offers Japanese-speaking educational community new solution that supports transparency and upholds academic integrity

OAKLAND, Calif., April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Turnitin, a leading provider of technology solutions in academic integrity, has launched its AI writing detection feature for Japanese language submissions, expanding upon its award-winning product portfolio. The new feature helps Japanese-speaking educational communities advance learning, uphold academic integrity and promote original thinking in the classroom.

The AI writing detection feature for Japanese submissions is available within Turnitin Originality and iThenticate as a separate add-on. It is embedded within customers’ existing workflow, providing a seamless experience with helpful insights. Like the English version, the feature provides educators with an overall percentage of likely AI-generated content. Currently, Turnitin’s AI writing detection model for Japanese is trained to detect content from the GPT-4, GPT 4-o and GPT 4-o-mini language models.

“As AI continues to integrate itself into different aspects of life, including in the classroom, Turnitin’s new feature gives Japanese educators deeper insights into their students’ writing,” said Betsy Matsunaga, director of sales for Turnitin APAC. “Educators, relying on their experience, judgement, and a student’s past writing style, should decide what is or what is not acceptable regarding original writing. Our AI writing detection for Japanese submissions can offer valuable data with helping educators drive student engagement and informed discussions.”

A recent survey conducted by the Japanese National Federation of University Co-operative Associations revealed a significant increase in the use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, among university students. The survey, which gathered responses from 11,590 undergraduate students across 31 national, public and private universities, found that 50% of students are now using generative AI regularly, a notable rise of 22 percentage points from the previous year when usage was below 30%. While many students appreciate the convenience of AI in summarizing information, students also raised concerns about the reliability of sources and the ethical implications of using AI for academic assignments.

“This launch demonstrates our company’s commitment to listening to customers’ requests and addressing their needs in the classroom through continuous innovation,” said Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer of Turnitin. “Although originally available for English language submissions only, customer feedback highlighted the strong need for AI writing detection for Japanese submissions to support authenticity and academic transparency for our Japanese-speaking customers and educational partners.”

Turnitin’s dedicated AI engineering team began working on a writing detection solution more than two years before the launch of ChatGPT and introduced its AI writing detection feature for English writing submissions within months of OpenAI’s generative AI application release. The company and the feature have also received numerous industry accolades and honorable mentions, including the 2024 SmartBrief on EdTech Readers’ Choice Awards, 2024 Bett Awards, EdTech Breakthrough Awards 2024, 2023 Tech & Learning and 2024 GSV 150.

About Turnitin
Turnitin is a global company dedicated to ensuring the integrity of education and meaningfully improving learning outcomes. For more than 25 years, Turnitin has partnered with educational institutions to promote honesty, consistency, and fairness across all subject areas and assessment types. Over 16,000 customers in 185 countries use Turnitin solutions to uphold academic integrity, increase learning performance, and enable students and professionals to do their best, original work.

Press Contact
press@turnitin.com 

Logo – https://laotiantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/turnitin_v1_logo.jpg

HONG KONG, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On March 31st, GAC’s global strategic model, the AION V, was officially launched in Hong Kong. The new car is available in two versions: Premium and Luxury, with official guidance prices set at HKD 218,000 and HKD 238,000 respectively. Customers placing advance orders can benefit from early-bird pricing: HKD 208,000 for the Premium version and HKD 228,000 for the Luxury version.

Positioned as a “new tough and intelligent driving SUV,” the AION V targets family users seeking intelligent technology, extended range performance, spacious comfort, and safety excellence. It delivers a dual proposition to Hong Kong consumers: cutting-edge smart technology paired with premium mobility experiences.

The AION V redefines in-cabin comfort through one-touch reclining front seats that seamlessly transform into fully padded, full-length luxury beds. Its flagship-class rear space rivals that of high-end full-size SUVs. Equipped with an 8.88-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.6-inch central touchscreen, the vehicle offers an elevated smart driving interface. Additionally, its 400V+3C ultra-fast charging technology achieves a 30%-80% charge in just 16 minutes, ensuring cost-efficient and stress-free journeys.

At the launch event, actor Moses Chan shared his test-drive impressions, stating: “The AION V outperforms million-dollar family cars in functionality, making it the ultimate choice for Hong Kong households.”

Wang Shunsheng, Vice President of GAC INTERNATIONAL, emphasized: “The AION V epitomizes GAC’s technological mastery and stands as a global benchmark under our ‘One GAC 2.0’ strategy, exemplifying ‘Top-tier Quality and Pioneering Technology’.”

By combining class-leading specifications with aggressive pricing, the AION V delivers unparalleled value to Hong Kong consumers, poised to redefine standards for intelligent mobility experiences.

VANCOUVER, BC, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — MiniTool Software Limited has released a new version of its video conversion tool –  MiniTool Video Converter 4.0. This update brings a whole new user interface and optimized features.

New Upgrade Highlights in MiniTool Video Converter 4.0

• Revamp the user interface, optimize the software features, and streamline the operation process.
• Show the bitrate of the source and converted audio files.
• Support searching for specific recorded files by file name.
• Fix the issue that the converted encoding format doesn’t match the selected encoding format.

Revamp the UI and Optimize the Software Features and Operation Process

MiniTool Video Converter 4.0 introduces a new user interface and optimizes the software features and operation process. One of the most noticeable changes in the UI update is that the page color has changed from black to white, making the page more aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, it adds a progress bar for importing files and a prompt for failed uploads. When you mouse over the uploaded file, the full name of the file will be displayed. MiniTool Video Converter version 4.0 also adds a process bar to show the conversion process.

Additionally, MiniTool Video Converter 4.0 will show the number of completed tasks and automatically jump to the Converted subtab once the conversions are completed. What’s more, the newly added “Delete All” option is available for the Video Convert and Screen Record modules. When you use the “Delete All” option to remove the converted or recorded files, a window will pop up asking whether to delete the local files or not.

With the new user interface and optimized operation process, MiniTool Video Converter grants you a better experience.

Display the Bitrate of the Source and Converted Audio Files

Another new upgrade highlight in MiniTool Video Converter 4.0 is that it can display the bitrate of the source and converted audio files. Knowing the bitrate of source audio files can help reduce or increase the bitrate of the converted files for certain purposes.

Support Searching for Specific Recorded Files by File Name

A search feature is essential to efficiently locate a specific document among various files. Instead of manually scrolling through numerous files, you can find the file you need in seconds with a quick search feature.

MiniTool Video Converter 4.0 introduces a quick search feature in the Screen Record module, allowing recorded files to be easily located in the recording list by file name.

Fix the Conversion Issue

Furthermore, MiniTool Video Converter 4.0 addresses the issue that the converted encoding format doesn’t match the selected encoding format. It ensures the consistency of the converted encoding format and the selected encoding format.

About MiniTool Video Converter

Developed by MiniTool Software Ltd., MiniTool Video Converter is a free and versatile application for Windows 11 and 10. It can work as a video/audio file converter and screen recorder.

As a file converter, it supports converting between video and audio files in a wide range of formats. Moreover, it can convert videos for devices and social media platforms, such as iPhone, iPad, Samsung, YouTube, and Instagram. You can also use it as a video/audio compressor to reduce file size by changing format, encoder, quality, resolution, or other parameters.

Besides, the screen recording feature of MiniTool Video Converter enables you to record the whole or part of the computer screen with the option to capture the system and microphone sounds. You can choose to record your screen at the original, high, or standard quality with 5 frame rate options, including 50fps, 30fps, 25fps, 20fps, and 15fps.

About MiniTool^® Software Ltd.

MiniTool^® Software Ltd. is a dedicated software development company that provides complete software solutions in the video editing, data recovery, data backup, and partition management industry.

MIAMI, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As stated in the press release issued by TerraForm Power Parent, LLC on April 1, 2025, via GlobeNewswire:

“On January 20, 2025, a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (Case Number: 8:18-cv-02523-PX) by Carlos Domenech against TerraForm Power Parent, LLC, formerly TerraForm Power, Inc. (“TERP”), and TerraForm Global Holdco LLC, formerly TerraForm Global, Inc. (“Global”), was resolved” in favor of Mr. Domenech. “Mr. Domenech was the CEO and President of TERP and Global and an Executive Vice President of SunEdison, the former sponsor and controlling shareholder of TERP and Global, until he was terminated by the TERP and Global Boards of Directors and SunEdison without cause on November 20, 2015. Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P., together with its institutional partners, acquired TERP and Global after Mr. Domenech’s termination”

“Mr. Domenech claimed in this lawsuit that he was unlawfully terminated for reporting to the Board of Directors of SunEdison his claims that SunEdison executives had made false statements about SunEdison’s liquidity to the investing public. Mr. Domenech alleged, among other things, false reporting by SunEdison executives of financial results and forecasts, and other misconduct. SunEdison filed for bankruptcy on April 21, 2016.”

“After nine years of litigation, the liability issues underlying Mr. Domenech’s allegations were the subject of a two-week bench trial conducted before the Honorable United States District Judge Paula Xinis in July and August 2024, who decided liability in favor of Mr. Domenech. The matter was resolved for $34,500,000.”

Carlos Domenech’s Comment on the Court Ruling

“This ruling underscores the gravity of the reasons behind my unlawful termination. It affirms my ethical course of action focused on protecting the interests of SunEdison, TERP, and Global shareholders while ensuring strict compliance with the law in matters of proper and transparent corporate governance—unlike the actions of other SunEdison executives and directors.”

“Core values and individual character shape a company’s culture. Integrity is the foundation, ensuring trust, transparency, and lasting success”.

Important Notice

This press release contains projections and pro forma financial information based upon assumptions that are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, the statements in this press release. This press release and any projections or pro forma information contained herein represent only our management’s current estimates as of the date of this release and have not been subject to independent audit. We assume no duty to update the information contained in this press release. We make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this press release. Unless otherwise specified, all greenhouse gas or carbon offsets or equivalencies are based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

This recent upgrade enables TEPCO Power Grid, Inc. (TEPCO PG) to use the smart meter as a communication hub for other devices

TOKYO, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Landis+Gyr (SIX: LAND) announced completion of upgrades to the utility’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) for electric metering that enable smart meters to act as a communication hub connecting gas and water meters, EV chargers, battery storage and solar panel inverters to the AMI network.

TEPCO PG and Landis+Gyr have worked closely to bring these major upgrades to the system, including the full migration of the system onto new virtualized IT infrastructure without disrupting services to numerous retail utilities. These retail utilities receive meter readings every 30 minutes from TEPCO PG to accurately forecast energy demands.

The firmware upgrades will allow DERMS providers and asset owners to meter other assets, including distributed energy resources (DERs) across TEPCO PG’s distribution network. Additionally, it will allow DERMS providers and asset owners to control such assets through TEPCO PG’s AMI while maintaining security and privacy.

The new system employs standards-based open technology called Wi-SUN Enhanced HAN, which allows device and communication module providers to participate in the ecosystem with minimum investment. This is one of the first commercial applications of this standard globally.

Moving forward, Landis+Gyr will continue to work with TEPCO PG to transition to a next generation AMI system. The companies intend to collaborate closely on a system-wide upgrade to a Wi-SUN FAN and cellular-based network, resulting in a standards-based, open technology.

The project will add more bandwidth and flexibility to the system, unleashing the full capability of Wi-SUN and increase interoperability with other technologies, while lowering costs and encouraging innovation. The expanded product ecosystem that results will accelerate the path toward a smart energy future while enhancing the largest AMI/IoT platform in the world.

About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is a leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions. We measure and analyze energy utilization to generate empowering analytics for smart grid and infrastructure management, enabling utilities and consumers to reduce energy consumption. Our innovative and proven portfolio of software, services and intelligent sensor technology is a key driver to decarbonize the grid. Having avoided around 9 million tons of CO₂ in FY 2023, Landis+Gyr manages energy better – since 1896. With sales of USD 2.0 billion in FY 2023, Landis+Gyr employs around 6,700 talented people across five continents. For more information, please visit our website www.landisgyr.com.