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Laos Slashes Quarantine Measures for New Arrivals and Returning Residents

World Bank Assists Laos with Covid-19 Recovery

Laos has announced it has cut the required quarantine period for new arrivals from 14 days to just seven days for certain types of visitors.

Aurora Strategy Group Announces Largest Expansion In Its History

New consultants from Australia, Canada, and the United States offers global reach and additional services

TORONTO, CANADA – News Direct – 3 February 2022 – Marcel Wieder, President and Chief Advocate for Aurora Strategy Group announced the firm’s largest expansion by adding six new consultants in Australia, Canada, and the United States. This follows the recent addition of consultants in Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

 

“Aurora continues to grow and develop new markets for our services,” said Wieder. “As economies begin to reopen, we are positioning our firm to assist clients in helping get their message delivered to government, media and stakeholders.”

 

In addition to its current offering of services, Aurora will now be able to offer clients polling and creative media services inhouse. “These new services provide one stop services to clients,” according to Wieder. “With a growing footprint in Australia, North America, and the Middle East, Aurora can assist clients with consultants on the ground. Plus, as members of the International Public Relations Network, we have access to firms in over 40 countries.”

 

Joining Aurora are Dr. Raphaella Crosby from Armidale, Australia; Hasneet Punia from Brampton, Ontario; Tom Sigurdson from New Westminster, British Columbia; Tony Fazio from San Francisco, California; Bud Jackson from Alexandria, Virginia; Cherri Senders from Los Angeles, California and Nancy Todd from Sarasota, Florida.

 

“This is an exciting time for Aurora Strategy Group as we continue to build out our team,” Wieder said. “The new members of the Aurora team will add additional depth to our existing team. We are thrilled that they have joined us in our journey to open up new markets and working with great clients.”

 

Dr Raphaella Kathryn Crosby is based in Armidale, Australia, and is a pollster and political communication strategist with over 20 years’ experience in election campaigning and Not-For-Profit strategic communication. Best known for her work running the Australian Democrats in 2008-9 and as the Founder and board director for Migraine Australia since 2019, she is passionate about working for social good organizations and driving change agendas.

 

Earlier in her career, Crosby worked for the Federal Government and several leading universities in strategic communication and marketing before joining Essential Media, consulting on research-led campaigns and managing the account of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Her belief in research-led campaigning fueled her drive to complete a PhD in voter behaviour and research methods, then transitioning to work primarily as a pollster. Dr. Crosby now runs the KORE Poll, a regular federal politics poll in Australia that continues her PhD challenge of finding a better model to predict election outcomes and chases the pollster’s unicorn of trying to capture momentum.

 

Dr. Crosby brings together extensive experience from her public service, corporate, political, and not for profit background to be able to provide clients with holistic advice and a deep understanding of how to change hearts and minds in any context. In addition to research and campaigning, she has experience in lobbying and communication in the health, higher education, media, employment, and agriculture sectors.

 

Hasneet Singh Punia is based in Brampton, Ontario, and is an astute leader with over a decade of extensive senior management experience serving as Chief of Staff to both a provincial Minister and Mayor of a large urban Canadian municipality. He has also served as public policy consultant and government relations and stakeholder relations manager in the private sector.

 

Punia has extensive knowledge of how government works at both the provincial and municipal levels. He has developed and maintains strong and effective relationships with government officials (elected and non-elected) and key public affairs influencers. He has developed and executed coordinated public affairs strategies, issues management plans, and built coalitions of like-minded supporters.

 

He has been focusing on disruption technology like ride sharing and micro mobility and how to help local governments adapt to innovation. Punia has served as a campaign manager in several municipal and provincial campaigns and advised candidates in federal election campaigns. Punia is active in the community volunteering at the local food bank, serving as a soccer coach and helping to fundraise for his local hospital. He has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.

 

Tom Sigurdson is based in New Westminster, British Columbia, and has worked with building trades unions for over 20 years. He has twice served (1997 – 2003 & 2011 – 2020) as the Executive Director for the BC Building Trades Council. He worked for Canada’s Building Trades Unions in Ottawa as the Director of Political and Legislative Affairs. In addition to working with the national and provincial organizations, he has worked with local unions affiliated with the Teamsters and Heat and Frost Insulators.

 

Sigurdson was a two term NDP Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly (1986 – 1993) serving on several Legislative Committees as well as Official Opposition Critic for Labour, Education, Employment & Immigration and Career Development & Employment. He has been a volunteer board member for Habitat for Humanity (Lower BC Mainland), the Immigrant and Employment Council of BC, the Construction Sector Council and SkillPlan. He was appointed to serve as a board member for the BC Industry Training Authority as well as a Governor of the BC Institute of Technology.

 

Sigurdson has worked with Indigenous leaders on workforce development programs and continues to engage in workshops as a non-indigenous co-presenter on historical colonization and current reconciliation actions.

 

Sigurdson has managed numerous political campaigns at the national, provincial, and municipal levels in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

 

Tony Fazio is based in San Francisco, California, and has over 50 years of experience working as a community organizer, political consultant, and non-profit advisor to hundreds of campaigns in a variety of communication industries. Mr. Fazio can create and advise winning battles for Political Candidates, Initiative Referendum Campaigns, Labor Organizations, Public Relations Agencies and Public Affairs Companies across America.

 

Mr. Fazio has worked in 45 different states since he started his career.

 

Fazio’s political consulting firm, Winning Directions, that he founded has been in existence since 1981 and has been recognized for its creativity and winning track record, receiving over 100 Pollie Awards the political industry’s highest honor on behalf of its clients.

 

Fazio was the past President of the American Association of Political Consultants, Campaigns and Elections magazine recognized him as an expert and rising star in the political business and American University hosts the Anthony J Fazio Political Direct Mail Archive, which houses more than 10,000 of his individual pieces of direct mail. Tony is also on the executive board of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.

 

Cherri Senders is based in Los Angeles, California, and brings more than 25 years of experience in journalism and communications to her role as publisher, communications director, and consultant to dozens of labor unions and non-profits. With an extensive background in messaging to both union members as well as the public, Cherri honed her skills writing about social issues for local and national publications ranging from Omni, Working Woman and California Magazine to the LA Times and the LA Weekly. Her interest is in helping the public understand the issues complex confronting working families today.

 

Whether tackling day-to-day issues or long-term campaigns, Cherri uses her experience in print, web, and social media, and develops and implements strategic plans that deliver measurable results on time and within budget. Her company’s award-winning publications, web sites and campaigns have helped in numerous outreach efforts, from on-going member education to contract ratifications to local, and state elections.

 

Cherri has a BA from the University of Maryland, where she majored in English Literature.

 

Bud Jackson is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and is an internationally recognized strategic communication and political consultant who has scripted, produced, and executed millions of dollars in highly successful and award-winning television and digital paid communication campaigns on behalf of political candidates, advocacy organizations, unions, and private sector clients. He also serves clients in public relations and crisis communication.

 

Jackson is an early pioneer of utilizing mass communication as a catalyst to build grassroots support and activism. He produced the first-ever television ad to draft a candidate for United States President (Draft Wesley Clark for President) and soon thereafter became the first media consultant to shoot, edit and upload daily videos on behalf of a United States presidential campaign. In 2006, Draft Obama for President retained him to encourage Barack Obama to run for President of the United States. His ad “Believe Again” was the first television ad the 2008 presidential election and aired in early presidential primary states and Hawaii while the Obamas were vacationing on the island.

 

Jackson is a president emeritus of the American Association of Political Consultants MidAtlantic chapter. National Journal’s Hotline profiled him, and Campaigns and Elections Magazine featured him as a “Mover and Shaker” in American politics. He appears frequently on television and radio programs and is often quoted in print and online media as an experienced political and communication strategist. He occasionally lectures on current political events, campaign strategy and strategic communication and is a contributing author to Louisiana State University’s Guide to Political Communication.

 

 A Massachusetts native now in Washington, DC, he is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Communication and has an Executive MBA degree from Quantics School of Business and Technology in Washington, DC.

 

Nancy Todd is based in Sarasota, Florida and is a political consultant and president of Nancy Todd, Inc., an international strategic consulting firm.

 

Todd cut her political teeth in Louisiana where she attended LSU law school and volunteered in political campaigns. She started with the legendary Matt Reese in 1979. Since then, Todd has been a consultant to over 196 campaigns in 42 states and six countries, with a winning record of 98 percent.

 

She has worked with candidates and projects both nationally and internationally and has received several national awards for creativity in political advertising. Todd has served as Chairman and Past President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Political Consultants and now Past President and Chairman of the American Association of Political Consultants. In 2009 Todd was inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame of the AAPC, the first such woman to be so honored.

 

She is a frequent speaker both nationally and internationally for governments, heads of state, key leaders in emerging democracies and major universities including Harvard, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Vanderbilt University. Her articles and commentary have appeared nationally in newspapers and professional publications.

 

Aurora Strategy Group is an award-winning public affairs, government and public relations firm headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Australia, Canada, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

SunMirror AG: Sampling Results Moolyella Field Campaign Feb 2022

Sampling results from filed campaign at SunMirror’s Moolyella Lithium Project confirm potential for both Lithium and Tin

ZUG, SWITZERLAND – EQS Newswire – 3 February 2022 – SunMirror AG is pleased to announce rock sample results of the field campaign Arnel Mendoza (Principal Geologist of Geonomik Pty Ltd) and Essam Wahdan (Geological Consultant) performed at SunMirror’s Moolyella Lithium Project in July 2021.

A total of twenty-eight rock samples were collected from the property and analysed for 23 elements, including lithium (Li), tin (Sn), tantalum (Ta), cesium (Cs), beryllium (Be), and rubidium (Rb). Industry best practices were followed during the collection and dispatch of the samples. Standards and blanks were not employed during sampling. All material was assayed at NAGROM analytical laboratory based in Kelmscott, Western Australia. A summary of the assay results is shown in the table below:

Summary statistics of select elements from rock samples

 

Li (ppm)

Li2O (%)

Sn (ppm)

Ta (ppm)

Cs (ppm)

Be (ppm)

Rb (ppm)

Min

10

0.00

2

1

4

2

95

Max

6190

1.33

629

109

240

189

8044

Average

566

0.13

137

28

46

45

1246

SD

1264

0.28

176

28

57

58

1504

 

The highest lithium, tin, cesium, and rubidium concentrations were recorded from one spodumene- bearing pegmatite from an area in the licence called Pegmatite Gully (1.33% Li2O), and the second highest sample was 0.67% Li2O from an area called Eluvial Gully. Each of the other target areas sampled contained material with lithium concentrations greater than 0.1% Li2O, with spodumene only identified in samples from Pegmatite Gully and Eluvial Gully.

Tin Potential

The Moolyella site has a rich tin history. Alluvial cassiterite (SnO2) was first identified in the Moolyella area in 1898 during exploration for alluvial and bedrock gold. Mining took place from 1898 until 1986 in the ore field, with a few brief hiatuses, and it is estimated that nearly 8,000 tonnes of tin concentrate was recovered. The tin grades at Moolyella, 2.40 kg/m3, represent some of the highest alluvial tin grades in the World. Approximately 141 tonnes of tantalite ((Fe,Mn)Ta2O6) ore and concentrates were also recovered in these operations, confirming the presence of tantalum in the area. Mining and exploration focused exclusively on tin.

The source of the tin mineralization is the Moolyella Monzogranite (2830 Ma), which has intruded older Archean orthogneisses of the Fig Tree Gneiss Group (3490-3460 Ma) and the Johansen Monzogranite (3131-3307 Ma). The Fig Tree Gneiss and the Johansen Monzogranite comprise the Mount Edgar Batholith, which is a gneiss-granitoid complex surrounded by contemporaneous greenstone belts. The highly evolved (fractionated) Moolyella Monzogranite formed aplite dykes, greisen, and pegmatite sheets, all of which contain elevated concentrations of incompatible elements such as tin (Sn), tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), tungsten (W), and lithium (Li). Weathering of low-angle pegmatite sheets (varying in thickness from a few centimetres to 3 m) and greisen zones at the edge of the monzogranite resulted in the formation of the Sn placer deposits.

In summary, the Moolyella licence area is considered highly prospective for presence of additional lithium-bearing pegmatites. As next step, a two-stage, contingent, work program is recommended for the property. Remote sensing structural/alteration study, geological mapping, mineralogical studies, lithogeochemical sampling, airborne geophysical (magnetic, radiometric) surveying, and limited auger drilling are proposed for Phase One. RC drilling, to follow in Phase two.

Dr Heinz Kubli, SunMirror’s CEO; “In summary, the Moolyella licence is considered being highly prospective for presence of additional lithium-bearing pegmatites. We plan to commence the follow- up work program as recommended by our experts. Both Lithium and Tin are strategic minerals in great demand and expected to profit from the growth of electrification of transport and the growing use of renewable energy.”

The Moolyella Lithium Project consists of one exploration licence covering an area of approximately 93 km2 and is located in East Pilbara Shire, Pilbara Region, Western Australia. The licence is owned by Lithium 1 Pty Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of SunMirror AG.

SunMirror AG has not yet carried out any drilling at Moolyella. As such the project does not yet have an established mineral resource according to JORC (The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves).

About SunMirror AG

The Group invests into strategic mineral exploration assets with a focus on sustainable green battery metals, like cobalt, lithium and nickel, as well as iron ore and gold deposits in developed markets. The company aims to either produce minerals at a later stage or sell those assets to strategic buyers. SunMirror is differentiated by taking a “mine-to-market” approach to sustainability across the value chain, creating a mining industry “best practice.”

The company’s shares (ISIN CH0396131929) are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange (official market, ticker: ROR1) and are traded on the regulated unofficial markets Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin (ticker: ROR) as well as on tradegate and Xetra. For further information, please visit: www.sunmirror.com.

#SunMirror

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Monkeys Find New Home at Wildlife Conservation Center

Two monkeys placed into the care of the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife
Two monkeys placed into the care of the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (Photo: LCTW)

Two monkeys kept as pets became the center of social media debate recently after being confiscated by wildlife authorities and placed in a wildlife conservation center.

Laos Confirms 400 New Cases of Covid-19, Five Deaths

Houaphanh Covid Update

Laos has recorded 400 cases of Covid-19 across the country today, with five new deaths attributed to the coronavirus.

Vientiane Landfill Fire Finally Out

Vientiane landfill fire finally out

A fire that broke out at the Vientiane Capital landfill site last weekend has finally been extinguished.

Shots Fired as Unpaid Chinese Workers Protest in Khammouane

Chinese laborers stage protest in Khammouane Province
Unpaid Chinese laborers stage a protest in Khammouane Province.

Chinese workers staged a protest at the Sino-Agri Potash Company in Khammouane Province on Sunday after working without pay.

GEODIS to open a new warehouse facility at Brisbane Airport (BNE)

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – Media OutReach – 3 February 2022 – From its new facility, GEODIS, a global leading transport and logistics services provider, will provide airfreight, ocean freight, contract logistics and customs brokerage solutions for its customers in a wide range of market sectors, including automotive and FMCG.



 

Strategically located at Brisbane Airport, the new site will have easy access to key locations, being only 14km from the central business district, and 22km from the Port of Brisbane. It will serve the growing logistical needs of GEODIS’ customers.

 

The planned 4,500m2 warehouse facility, which is due to be operational by second half of 2022 will feature 4,000 pallet locations, 1,500m2 of bulk space, and a cool room for perishable goods supply to marine and hospitality logistics customers, especially cruise lines.

 

Stuart Asplet, GEODIS’ Sub-Regional Managing Director, Pacific Regional Director Sea Freight, Asia Pacific said: “At this new facility, GEODIS will showcase its expertise in import and export services including customs brokerage to ensure complete supply chain transparency. GEODIS in Brisbane already has a strong package of solutions for our customers. This new, strategically positioned facility will not only enable us to meet the fast-changing needs of our customers today but will give us ample room to grow our offerings in the market.”

BNE Property is delivering the purpose-built warehouse at Brisbane Airport’s Export Park, a precinct home to large-scale warehousing, freight handling, and distribution centres, as well as catering, wholesaling, and storage facilities.  

Martin Ryan, Brisbane Airport Corporation Executive General Manager Commercial, said: “It’s fantastic to have another great tenant join BNE’s growing business community. Brisbane Airport’s size, accessibility, and amenity continue to attract great commercial and industrial businesses, and we are extremely pleased that GEODIS has selected BNE as the perfect place to continue to grow its business.”

GEODIS in Australia features 30,888 m2 of warehousing space across seven locations and offers customers end-to-end solutions spanning a large range of services, including freight forwarding, supply chain optimization, and contract logistics.

 

GEODIS – www.geodis.com

GEODIS is a top-rated, global supply chain operator recognized for its commitment to helping clients overcome their logistical constraints. GEODIS’ growth-focused offerings (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport), coupled with the company’s truly global reach thanks to a global network spanning nearly 170 countries, is reflected by its top business rankings: no. 1 in France and no. 7 worldwide. In 2020, GEODIS employed over 41,000 people globally and generated €8.4 billion in revenue.

#GEODIS

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.