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August 10, 2021

Globeleq And Absa Successfully Refinances South African Renewable Plants

LONDON and CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Aug. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Globeleq, the leading independent power company in Africa, and Absa Bank, a leading financier in the renewable energy programme in South Africa, have completed the senior debt refinancing of three of Globeleq’s renewable power plants. The purpose of the refinancing is to enhance the projects’ capital structures, allowing for the release of value to shareholders and the reduction of the tariff to the national utility, and ultimately consumers in South Africa.

The tariff reductions will save the national utility more than ZAR 1 billion across the three assets over the remaining 12-year term of the power purchase agreements. Absa Bank acted as the mandated lead arranger and sole underwriter of the c. ZAR 5.2 billion debt financing package.

This transaction will be the second refinancing of renewable assets under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) Refinancing Protocol. Globeleq hopes to eventually refinance the entire portfolio of assets it owns in South Africa.

Globeleq proactively engaged in June 2020 after the IPPO requested owners of the South African renewable Round 1-3.5 projects to consider participating in a voluntary refinancing programme, and led the refinancing process on behalf of all its shareholders in the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm, 50 MW De Aar Solar and 50 MW Droogfontein Solar plants.

Mike Scholey, Globeleq CEO said: “Globeleq sees this transaction as enabling future secondary market debt, which in turn will stimulate new opportunities, jobs and contribute to the economic development of South Africa. We hope that other IPPs will look to do the same and reduce the cost of their power to Eskom.”

Apart from reducing wholesale electricity prices, the refinancing will unlock funds for the shareholders which, in turn, will encourage re-investment in the sector as well as accelerate equity distributions to the three community trust shareholders, enabling spend on high impact sustainable ventures.

Absa’s Johan Koorts, Resource & Project Finance Principal said: “Absa Bank has been a major supporter of the South African renewable energy programme since its inception and has to date arranged financing for c. 3 gigawatts of projects across various bid windows. This transaction strongly demonstrates Absa’s ongoing commitment to the financing of clean energy and the acceleration of investments that make a sustainable impact on the communities we serve.”

Bernard Magoro, Head of the IPP Office said: “We wish to thank all parties for the commitment shown and the constructive way in which they approached this refinancing and hope that the successful conclusion thereof will lead to more IPPs taking comfort from the process and coming to the fore to participate in this initiative. The IPPO is proud to be part of this achievement.”

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/612609/GLobeleq_Logo.jpg

August 10, 2021

PolkaFoundry to List on AscendEX

Singapore, Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AscendEX, a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite, is excited to announce the listing of PolkaFoundry token (PKF) under the pair USDT/PKF on Aug 10 at 1 p.m. UTC.

PolkaFoundry is a platform for building borderless and frictionless DeFi and NFT dapps on Polkadot. PolkaFoundry aims to be the most convenient platform for developers to build DeFi and NFT dapps, providing a platform for making dapps easily accessible to mainstream end-users. PolkaFoundry will achieve this by utilizing Polkadot’s interoperability and scalability and integrating various DeFi-friendly services onto the platform. In addition, PolkaFoundry focuses heavily on ensuring the UX and features of their dApps are simple to use, promoting mainstream adoption.

The native token PKF has several utilities, including payment for services and transaction fees in the PolkaFoundry ecosystem and payments for PolkaFoundry’s partners’ services. In addition, PKF is used for staking and governance so users can earn shares of block rewards and participate in the on-chain governance process to earn additional rewards for voting on proposals.

PolkaFundry believes that the most significant barrier to blockchain adoption is the complexity of the UX on most platforms and dApps. The average person has difficulty engaging with crypto projects because many projects did not design their UX’s for mainstream users. Concepts like wallets, private keys, coins, exchanges, etc. require education and can confuse new users leaving many dApps with a small active user base. Polkafoundry has spent years researching dapp UX’s and has used their research to develop the UX built into PolkaFoundry to enable novice users and professionals to access and use the platform easily.

Polkadot promises a fast-growing ecosystem that offers security, scalability, and interoperability, so PolkaFoundry decided to build its platform on it. To enable dapps to port from Ethereum, PolkaFoundry is EMV-compatible. PolkaFoundry’s foundational goal is to bring the benefits of blockchain to the masses by making its products and services accessible to people outside the crypto community.

About AscendEX

AscendEX (formerly BitMax) is a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite including spot, margin, and futures trading, wallet services, and staking support for over 150 blockchain projects such as bitcoin, ether, and ripple. Launched in 2018, AscendEX services over 1 million retail and institutional clients globally with a highly liquid trading platform and secure custody solutions.

AscendEX has emerged as a leading platform by ROI on its “initial exchange offerings” by supporting some of the industry’s most innovative projects from the DeFi ecosystem such as Thorchain, xDai Stake, and Serum. AscendEX users receive exclusive access to token airdrops and the ability to purchase tokens at the earliest possible stage. To learn more about how AscendEX is leveraging best practices from both Wall Street and the cryptocurrency ecosystem to bring the best altcoins to its users, please visit www.AscendEX.com.

For more information and updates, please visit:

Website: https://ascendex.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global

Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish

Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex

About Polkafoundry

For more information and updates, please visit:

Website: https://polkafoundry.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PolkaFoundry

Telegram: https://t.me/PolkaFoundry

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PKF Listing0809-en_PC-en

Marketing Department
AscendEX
marketing@ascendex.com

August 10, 2021

Kinesio® Announces the Release of Kinesio® Medical Taping for the Mature Adult

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kinesio Tape is announcing a new focus on Medical Taping for the Mature Adult, though Kinesio and Dr. Kenzo Kase® have been treating this population for more than 40 years.

In his new book, Dr. Kase provides easily relatable scenarios that affect the mature adult community on a daily basis. He draws upon his own experiences in an insightful and interesting way that allows readers to see a glimpse into the mind of the inventor. Kinesio Medical Taping (KMT) techniques were developed in a clinical environment and aim to improve patient outcomes in palliative care while offering visual aides to guide you every step of the way.

This book outlines ways to help provide care for mature adult patients while using a specifically formulated tape that is designed to be gentle but still effective in treating common conditions that the mature adult often faces such as osteoarthritis and diabetic neuropathy. Kinesio Tex Light Touch+ is the only tape of its kind on the market that is specifically formulated to be gentler on the skin while achieving phenomenal results. Dr. Kase’s expertise and over 40 years of valuable experience combined with this specially formulated line of tape is the perfect recipe for maximum impact.

Kinesio Tape is designed and manufactured in the USA, and proudly serves more than 100 countries globally. With the introduction of Kinesio Medical Taping for the Mature Adult, Dr. Kase’s vision to Tape with Wisdom has taken yet another form. With Dr. Kase’s expertise and his many full years of experience traveling the globe and teaching the method, he has already impacted the lives of thousands of people. Kinesio Medical Taping for the Mature Adult will only add to that impact and encourage the mature adult to continue living a healthy, happy, and active lifestyle.

About Kinesio Holding Corporation: Kinesio Holding Corporation is a U.S. based manufacturer of unique therapeutic tapes that are sold all over the world. The Kinesio Taping® Method is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while allowing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion.

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Mature-Adult-2nd-Edition-qr-code

Karli Jenkins
Kinesio Holding Corporation
505-797-7818
kjenkins@kinesiotaping.com

August 10, 2021

US Hurricane Center Says Tropical Storm Likely to Form in Caribbean

Forecasters with the U.S. National Hurricane Center say a weather system in the southern Caribbean and moving toward Puerto Rico is likely to become a tropical storm.

In its latest report, the center said its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sent a hurricane hunter aircraft into the system — referred to as Potential Tropical Cyclone Six — earlier Tuesday. Reports from the plane indicate that the storm had maximum sustained winds near 55 kilometers per hour with higher gusts, but it did not observe a well-defined closed circulation.

Forecasters say that gradual strengthening is expected and that the system is expected to become a tropical storm Wednesday. The forecast track has it passing near or over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later Wednesday and Wednesday night. Tropical storm warnings have been posted for those areas.

A potential forecast track for the storm showed it possibly threatening the coast of Florida by late next week, but forecasters said it is too soon to make those predictions with any certainty.

In its 2021 Hurricane Forecast earlier this year, NOAA forecasters predicted that during the hurricane season running between June and November 30, the United States would see between six and 10 hurricanes, with three to five of them being major storms.

They said there was a 60% chance the season could be busier than that, but nowhere near the record season of 2020, which saw 14 hurricanes, seven of them major.

Source: Voice of America

August 10, 2021

COVID-19 Cases in Israel Rise Despite Third Shot for Those Over 60

JERUSALEM – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has just added Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to its list of places where travel is not recommended because of growing rates of COVID-19. On Monday, for the first time since February, Israel documented just under 6,000 new cases, almost 400 of them serious. The increase comes despite Israel’s decision to give a third vaccination to all adults over 60.

Israel was one of the first countries in the world to roll out a vaccine program, and the first to offer a third shot to adults over 60.

Despite that, the number of people contracting COVID-19 continues to climb. Professor Salman Zarka, Israel’s coronavirus czar, says the country is approaching a critical point.

He said that Israel is asking everyone who can, to get vaccinated – not only for themselves but as a sign of mutual responsibility. Zarka said it won’t stop coronavirus but more shots could prevent a fourth lockdown.

Despite an intensive campaign, there are still more than one million Israelis 12-years-old and above who are eligible to get vaccinated but have not yet done so. The rates are higher among teenagers and in the Arab community.

A new Israeli study found that, despite the delta variant, vaccines provide a high level of protection. The study found that the rate of serious infection is six times higher in older people who were not vaccinated than in those who were.

Israel is also trying to contain the delta variant by requiring anyone coming into Israel, including vaccinated Israelis, to quarantine.

Mark Feldman, the CEO of Ziontours, told Israel Radio that the new regulations have frustrated many would-be travelers, leading them to cancel their trips.

“They want to make it so that from almost any country in the world, if you go there, you better be expected to do a seven-day quarantine upon your return here,” said Feldman. “They don’t care that to get on any plane to come to Israel you have to do a test, the government doesn’t seem to care that when you land in this country you need to do a test.”

Feldman added that the government has made it all but impossible for non-Israelis to enter the country and has frequently changed its policy.

“As much as the new government has tried, the problem is the policy changes day by day so it’s incredibly difficult to make plans both to travel out of Israel, and to travel from Israel,” said Feldman.

Israel has reinstated its Green Pass, meaning anyone who wants to enter a restaurant, a gym or a hotel, must either show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. The government has also set up more than 400 stations around the country for rapid COVID19 testing.

Next month, schools are set to reopen, and there are several Jewish holidays when families gather and many attend synagogue. Some Israeli officials say another lockdown is likely then. Others say that if more Israelis vaccinate and wear masks, they hope serious COVID-19 cases will drop and a lockdown will be avoided.

Source: Voice of America

August 10, 2021

Malawi’s Corruption Monitor Arrests Cabinet Minister, Two Other Officials over Fuel Deals

BLANTRYE, MALAWI – Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested the energy minister and two other officials for alleged corruption involving a state oil contract. Political analysts said the arrests show Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera’s anti-corruption drive is targeting more than just the former ruling party.

Malawi Energy Minister Newton Kambala has been arrested along with presidential adviser Chris Chaima Banda, and Enock Chihana, a partner in the governing Tonse Alliance.

Martha Chizuma is the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, or ACB. She told a televised press conference the arrests Monday stem from investigations into complaints from the National Oil Company of Malawi, or NOCMA, about interference in awarding of contracts to fuel suppliers.

“The other part of this investigation was alleged serious political interference and some corrupt practices in the procurement process,” Chizuma said. “And there is a recommendation that there must be prosecution of those that were allegedly involved.”

The investigation found that Energy Minister Kambala attempted to influence NOCMA to award contracts for 2020-2021 fuel supplies to three potential oil suppliers.

The probe also determined that Chihana and Banda aided and abetted Kambala when he attempted to influence the award of the contract to supply 40,000 tons of fuel to one supplier.

Political analysts said the arrests, the first of the president’s allies, show Chakwera’s anti-corruption drive is targeting not only members of the former ruling party.

Sheriff Kaisi is a lecturer of political science at Blantyre International University.

“Now he has started living by his word,” Kaisi said. “Because historically and traditionally in Malawi, it’s rare that you see the government or any government institution which is enforcing governance issues for example to arrest someone holding ministerial position.”

Chakwera previously had been accused of targeting only officials of opposing parties in the anti-corruption campaign when he took power in June of last year.

However, Kaisi says the challenge now is delays in prosecutions.

“We need to quickly point out that at the Anti-Corruption Bureau there are quite a lot of cases,” Kaisi said. “Some have taken 20 years and they have not yet concluded. So, we are asking the government through anti-Corruption Bureau that the president has started living by his words, what is remaining now is to move very fast so that due process of the law should go normally.”

The ACB said the three suspects will appear in court soon after it finishes interrogating them.

Its spokesperson, Egrita Ndala, told state broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Tuesday that charges would include abuse of public office, and aiding and abetting crime.

Source: Voice of America