January 13, 2022

STACK Infrastructure expands APAC footprint with new 36MW campus in Inzai, Japan

Milestone follows recent announcement of STACK’s entrance to APAC market with the opening of its Singapore regional headquarters

STACK Japan Data Center Rendering

DENVER, SINGAPORE and TOKYO, Jan. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — STACK Infrastructure (“STACK” or the “Company”), the digital infrastructure partner to the world’s most innovative companies, today announced a partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”), a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, to develop a 36MW data center campus in Inzai, Japan. The project will break ground in 2Q 2022 with capacity expected to be delivered in 4Q 2023.

STACK’s new Inzai campus will include two buildings totaling 36MW of critical capacity and is ideally located in an area of Tokyo that has seen significant hyperscale data center growth. Each building will have 18MW and separate access points to accommodate multiple users with separation of security and services. The new development will provide scalability and redundancy by connecting to regional substations powered by Tokyo Electric Power Company. The campus, with options for potential campus expansion beyond the initial 36MW, will offer hyperscale and enterprise clients a facility that is designed to enable higher rack density and floor loading specifications, reflecting the evolving requirements in Inzai and the APAC region more broadly.

This partnership pairs STACK’s global excellence in data center development and operations with Oaktree’s leading real estate platform and local resources which enables accelerated entry into the Japanese data center market. STACK brings expertise, talent, and capital to its partners to help them develop their strategic land parcels. STACK has assembled a world class in-country team, to lead the development and operations efforts in Japan.

“STACK’s expansion into Japan exemplifies our focus on establishing a scalable presence in markets that are strategically important to our clients,” said Pithambar (Preet) Gona, STACK’s Chief Executive Officer – APAC. “The decision to enter Japan, a critical location for hyperscale customers, demonstrates STACK’s ability to leverage our partnership model, capital, expertise and ability to attract leading talent in the industry to the STACK platform.”

“We are excited to partner with STACK to accelerate their international expansion in this critical region,” said Hideya Takahashi, Senior Vice President of Oaktree. “STACK’s industry-leading innovative technical solutions paired with Oaktree’s experience in providing ideal locations and infrastructure in the region, will result in a 36MW campus that is looking to exceed the highest level of expectations from clients.”

On the heels of a tremendous year of growth in 2021, STACK kicks off 2022 by adding another international campus to its growing global footprint. Recently STACK also announced the upcoming commissioning of a 24MW facility in Portland, and reported plans to enter Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and other Asia Pacific markets after Japan. STACK also offers several other opportunities in key regions throughout the United States and Canada, including:

A 19-acre data center campus in Toronto, Canada with 8MW coming available in Q3 2022 and an additional 48MW planned to be introduced in future phases starting in 2023
A 125-acre Northern Virginia campus now in its second phase of expansion, which will grow critical capacity to 72MW and come online starting in Q4 of 2022
A 30-acre data center campus in Portland, Oregon with immediate shell and commissioned capacity and future phases totaling 84MW
A 400-acre hyperscale data center campus with 400MW potential critical capacity in AllianceTexas, a master-planned development in Fort Worth, Texas, in partnership with Hillwood
A New Albany, Ohio 42MW data center campus with immediately available and build-to-suit expansion opportunities
A new 79-acre hyperscale data center campus in Avondale, Arizona, with 150MW of potential critical capacity
Build-to-suit opportunities in Atlanta, Georgia, including a potential 12MW in Alpharetta and a 48MW campus in nearby Lithia Springs

ABOUT STACK INFRASTRUCTURE
STACK provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. With a client-first approach, the Company delivers an extensive geographic footprint spanning the United States, Canada, and Asia Pacific with a comprehensive suite of wholesale build-to-suit, colocation, and powered shell solutions. With unparalleled existing and flexible expansion capacity in the leading availability zones, STACK offers the scale and geographic reach that rapidly growing hyperscale and enterprise companies
need. The world runs on data. And data runs on STACK.

For more information about STACK, please visit: www.stackinfra.com.

ABOUT OAKTREE

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $158 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 19 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.

Media Contacts
Sammer Khalaf
press@stackinfra.com

Oaktree
mediainquiries@oaktreecapital.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c0d70b76-ef2e-4b38-8881-6157db4fa552

January 13, 2022

HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis launches as an independent business

HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis launches as an independent business

Biasca, Switzerland, January 13, 2022 – HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis SA (the “Company”), a full-service contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) delivering high-quality, exclusive, personalized solutions to its healthcare clients, today announces its launch as an independent business. Originally established as part of the Helsinn Group by the Braglia family, under the name Helsinn Advanced Synthesis SA, the Company has been a CDMO since 1984.

The transition into a privately owned, independent company reflects the growth of the Company over the past years and a desire to fully focus the Company on delivering the best CDMO standards to its healthcare clients. As a subsidiary of the newly formed 3B Future Holding SA (also wholly owned by the Braglia Family) and supported by a team of passionate senior executives with extensive experience and skills in contract manufacturing for the pharmaceutical industry, HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis believes it is well placed to serve its clients as an innovative and technology-advanced manufacturing plant. The Company’s executive team will remain in place and Waldo Mossi, previously General Manager, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Mossi, who has been with the Company for 27 years, has led the Company as General Manager for the past 8 years.

HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis’ dedicated team will continue to offer exclusive, personalized services to its clients, including the development and manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), cGMP Advanced Intermediates, High Potency APIs (HPAPIs) and anticancer compounds, and to support its clients with their analytical and regulatory requirements. Over the years, the Company has always strived to deliver a cutting-edge service to its clients on their major projects and has done so by investing in innovative technology within its plants while striving to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment. Going forward,

HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis intends to build new laboratories to further strengthen its pharmaceutical offering and to anticipate future regulatory requests.

To view the new HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis website, please follow this link.

Waldo Mossi, CEO of HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis, commented: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting next step for HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis. Having spent the last decade developing our facilities, with investment totalling over CHF 100 million, we are excited by the prospect of supporting our clients and all of their manufacturing needs as an independent business. Our passion to deliver the best outcomes will remain unchanged, underpinned by the experience and know-how synonymous with our team. I feel honored to serve as CEO and to have been given this golden opportunity to lead HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis through this important milestone for the Company.

Riccardo Braglia, Chairman of the HAS Healthcare Advanced

Synthesis Board, commented: “The Braglia family is proud to see HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis officially launch as a business independent from Helsinn. It is a testament to the team’s sustained commitment to delivering tailored solutions to its clients and its focus on quality, reliability, supply chain management and safety. I would like to personally thank Waldo Mossi for his 27 years of service and am delighted that he has accepted the new role of CEO. Waldo, alongside the HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis Board, will form the leadership team to guide the company on its next strategic steps as a leading full-service CDMO delivering high-quality exclusive, personalized solutions to its healthcare clients.”

About HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis

HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis is a full-service CDMO committed to providing a reliable, first-class and tailor-made offering. The company develops and manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), cGMP Advanced Intermediates, High Potency APIs (HPAPIs) and anticancer compounds for its clients from clinical to commercial supply, on an exclusive basis.

The production plant is located in Biasca, Switzerland and was established in 1984. The site is routinely inspected by the FDA, SwissMedic, and other global regulatory agencies. Production scale ranges from grams to tens of kilograms for HPAPIs and Anticancer compounds from kilograms up to tens of tons (APIs) in plants fully dedicated to cGMP manufacturing.

Please visit our new website: https://www.hashealthcare.com

For more information:
HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis Media Contact

Biasca, Switzerland

Giulia Rigonalli

Tel: +41 (0) 91 873 94 00

Email: mediarelations@hashealthcare.com

For more information, please visit https://www.hashealthcare.com

January 13, 2022

Remington and Manchester United Extend Partnership

Manchester United Head of Academy Highlights Importance of Individuality and Confidence for Young Players

Remington Extends Partnership with Manchester United

MANCHESTER, England, Jan. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPB) and Manchester United (NYSE: MANU) jointly announced today the extension of their global partnership, which will see Spectrum Brands’ iconic Remington personal care brand continuing its successful partnership as Manchester United Official Electrical Styling Partner.

As part of the announcement, Manchester United Head of Academy, Nick Cox, has spoken about the importance of instilling confidence in young players coming through the ranks.

As the head of one of the most famous and successful Academies in football, Nick says: “Our aim is to help instil confidence across the club’s Academy players as soon as they step through the door. These young players are looking to follow in the footsteps of regular first-teamers like Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay, and from experience, having confidence to be themselves is just as important as their footballing abilities within our youngest age groups.

“Our role in The Academy is not only to develop the boys as footballers, but also into well-rounded human beings who are comfortable and confident in who they are as individuals.

“We encourage all of them to showcase their own style and flair on the training pitch, which helps bring out the best of their abilities but also makes sure they enjoy the experience, too.

“I’m confident that over the coming years, we’ll continue to see exciting young players come through the Academy and into the first team.”

The partnership, which includes both the men’s and women’s teams, will see Remington and the club continue working together to deliver high-impact marketing campaigns and exceptional Remington Manchester United Collection styling products to Manchester United and Remington fans alike. The ongoing, multi-channel activation between Remington and Manchester United aims to celebrate the power of having the confidence to be yourself.

Since the launch of the partnership in 2019, Remington has created over 800 different consumer activations which have featured in over 50 different countries to a reach of over 1.1 billion Manchester United fans and followers globally. Remington’s pitch side advertising is also visible to a matchday TV audience of 3.5 billion football fans per annum.

The two global names have worked on many engaging and creative campaigns. Throughout the pandemic the Club and Remington, with the help of first team players, created useful ‘how to’ home haircut videos and fun style challenges. The latest collaboration promotes the ‘Give the Gift of Style’ a campaign featuring players Paul Pogba, David DeGea, Jadon Sancho and Edinson Cavani helping out busy fans by wrapping Remington products for well deserving recipients.

A range of Remington co-branded products are now available in over 39 markets through Remington’s outlets and globally through the online club store, with two new products added to the collection earlier this year.

Manchester United Director of Partnerships, Sean Jefferson, comments:

“As a global household name, Remington products are synonymous with style and the success of its Manchester United Collection products is testament to this. However, our partnership extends beyond the amazing product range on offer, to creating interesting and exclusive content to engage with our fans, and promoting positive messaging around finding confidence in being you.

“We are very proud to extend our relationship with Remington and look forward to continuing to build on our successful partnership.”

Tim Wright, Vice President for Appliances at Spectrum Brands Holdings comments:

“The first three years of our partnership with Manchester United have been incredibly positive and enabled us to engage with fans of the club in exciting and creative ways.

“Extending the partnership is a fantastic opportunity to continue showcasing the quality and versatility of Remington products to passionate fans of the world’s biggest and most revered sports club.”

To watch the full interview with Nick Cox, visit https://youtu.be/Q1WpfL4ElI8.

– ENDS –

Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact remington.mufc@hatchpr.co.uk. Hi-res images are available here: https://we.tl/t-PDlBjiOYOw.

About Manchester United

Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on earth. Through our 144-year heritage we have won 66 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 1.1 billion followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media and mobile, broadcasting and match day.

About Remington

As a leading and widely recognized global brand of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Remington has been helping the world get ready for more than 80 years. Powered by decades of industry-leading innovation, Remington takes pride in being at the very cutting edge of technology. Remington works with top salon professionals from around the world to produce electrical personal care products that really work, care for you, and deliver superior results every single time. For more information about Remington, visit http://www.remingtonproducts.com/ (US) or https://eu.remington-europe.com/ (EU).

About Spectrum Brands Holdings

Spectrum Brands Holdings is a home-essentials company with a mission to make living better at home. We focus on delivering innovative products and solutions to consumers for use in and around the home through our trusted brands. We are a leading supplier of residential locksets, residential builders’ hardware, plumbing, shaving and grooming products, personal care products, small household appliances, specialty pet supplies, lawn and garden and home pest control products, and personal insect repellents. Helping to meet the needs of consumers worldwide, Spectrum Brands offers a broad portfolio of market-leading, well-known and widely trusted brands including Kwikset®, Weiser®, Baldwin®, National Hardware®, Pfister®, Remington®, George Foreman®, Russell Hobbs®, Black+Decker®, Tetra®, DreamBone®, SmartBones®, Nature’s Miracle®, 8-in-1®, FURminator®, Healthy-Hide®, Good Boy®, Meowee!® , OmegaOne®, OmegaSea®, Spectracide®, Cutter®, Repel®, Hot Shot®, Rejuvenate®, Black Flag®, and Liquid Fence®. Spectrum Brands, a member of the Russell 1000 index, generated fiscal 2020 net sales of approximately $4.0 billion. For more information visit www.spectrumbrands.com

Wes Brown, Man Utd Academy graduate and Club Legend (L), chats with Nick Cox (R), Head of Academy as part of the REmington global contract extension video content

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

Attachment

Remington Extends Partnership with Manchester United

January 13, 2022

Review of Regional Weather for December 2021

1. Overview

1.1 During December 2021, coastal central parts of Viet Nam, Peninsular Malaysia and southern half of the Philippines experienced above-average rainfall (Figure 1). The largest positive anomalies (wetter conditions) were recorded over the central Philippines and the Peninsular Malaysia (due to Super Typhoon Rai and Tropical Depression 29W respectively, which made landfall in mid-December), for both satellite-derived rainfall estimates datasets (GSMaP-NRT and CMORPH-Blended). For the rest of the Mainland Southeast Asia, rainfall anomalies were negligible, as expected at the start of dry season for the northern ASEAN region. A mix of above- and below-average rainfall was experienced for most regions in the equatorial region. There is some discrepancy between the two satellite datasets for the below-average rainfall for central parts of Borneo, with more extensive drier conditions based on CMORPH-Blended (Figure 1, right) compared to near- to above-average rainfall for GSMaP-NRT (Figure 1, left). Elsewhere in the southern Maritime Continent, wetter-than-average rainfall conditions were recorded over much of the land masses.

1.2 The observed large-scale rainfall anomaly pattern (i.e. above-average rainfall in regions linked to tropical storm and cyclone activity and below-average rainfall over parts of equatorial region) is broadly consistent with the predictions from the subseasonal weather outlooks for December 2021
(29 November – 12 December, 13 – 26 November, and 27 December – 9 November), apart from the positive anomalies (wetter conditions) for Peninsular Malaysia not highlighted in the outlooks.

Figure 1: Rainfall anomalies for the month of December 2021 based on GSMaP-NRT data (left) and CMORPH-Blended data (right). The climatological reference period is 2001-2020. Green colour denotes above-average rainfall (wetter), while orange denotes below-average rainfall (drier).

1.3 Below-average temperatures were recorded over central and eastern regions of Mainland Southeast Asia in December 2021 (Figure 2). In contrast, above-average temperatures (more than 1°C warmer) were recorded over parts of Myanmar. Elsewhere, near- to slightly above-average temperature were recorded.

Figure 2: Temperature anomalies for the month of December 2021 based on ERA-5 reanalysis. The climatological reference period is 2001-2020. Red colour denotes above-average temperature (warmer), while blue denotes below-average temperature (colder).

2. Climate Drivers

2.1 A Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) was present over the Western Pacific (Phase 6) at the start of December 2021, based on the MJO phase diagram below (Figure 3). From second week of December onwards, this signal was not very coherent (very slow eastwards propagation towards Phase 7) and likely influenced by the background La Niña conditions. Phase 6 tends to bring wetter conditions to eastern Maritime Continent, while Phase 7 tends to bring drier conditions to the western Maritime Continent at this time of the year.

Figure 3: The MJO phase diagram. The diagram illustrates the movement of the MJO through different phases, which correspond to different locations along the equator (denoted in the text with the first day of the month in blue and the last day of the month in red). The distance of the index from the centre of the diagram is related to the strength of the MJO. Values within the grey circle are considered weak or indiscernible (data from the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia).

2.2 Over the tropical Pacific Ocean, La Niña conditions were present. Sea surface temperatures in the Nino3.4 region (used to monitor ENSO) and the atmospheric indicators over the tropical Pacific Ocean were consistent with La Niña conditions. La Niña events tend to bring wetter-than-average conditions to much of the Maritime Continent during the December to February period.

January 13, 2022January 14, 2022

Hong Kong COVID-19 Tracking App Spurs Opposition

A new Hong Kong mandate that restaurants and other establishments require use of an app aimed at recording people’s locations and telling them if they have been near a COVID-19 patient has spurred opposition from the city’s pro-democracy voices.

The LeaveHomeSafe app scans a two-dimensional QR barcode at taxis and other locations. If a COVID-19 patient has been there, the app will alert users and provide health advice. The government required the use of the app Dec. 9 in all indoor premises including government buildings, restaurants, public facilities, and karaoke venues. Those over the age of 65, 15 years or younger, the homeless and those with disabilities are exempt.

Previously Hong Kongers could record these movements using a paper form, but the cursive characters written by opposition Hong Kongers or pro-democracy activists expressing their distrust in government were often illegible for authorities.

Hong Kongers believe the app can be a tool used by authorities to monitor citizens, according to a human rights advocate.

“Given Beijing’s use of mass surveillance in China, many Hong Kong people suspect that the app is one way for the Hong Kong and Beijing governments to normalize the use of government surveillance in Hong Kong,” Human Rights Watch senior China researcher Maya Wang told VOA by email.

An office worker in her 20s entering a Taiwanese restaurant recently was one of the Hong Kongers harboring doubts about the app. Before entering the restaurant, she said she stopped texting on her phone to use a second phone to scan the restaurant’s QR code using LeaveHomeSafe.

“It’s an act of human right and privacy violation as we can no longer choose the way we live and the app is part of the digital surveillance system,” she told VOA, referring to the government app.

Government officials sought to allay such privacy concerns last February, as health secretary Sophia Chan said the COVID-19 tracking app would not send personal data to the authorities.

“The fact is there is no issue of data privacy, because the data would be just stored in the phone of the person. There is no platform that collects those data,” Chan told reporters.

Hong Kong also has a new Health Code app for people to show they have not been exposed to COVID-19 to travel to mainland China, using LeaveHomeSafe records. The LeaveHomeSafe privacy statement says users are required to upload their visit records from the app to the health code system “only with their express consent” and “at their sole discretion.”

“The visit record, which by itself in isolation is not personal data, will be kept in users’ mobile phones for 31 days and will then be erased automatically,” the privacy statement adds.

The government announced the requirement for broader use of the LeaveHomeSafe app in November, before the omicron variant and when Hong Kong’s confirmed infection number was in single digits.

The government said in a statement then it had made the decision “amid the severe COVID-19 pandemic situation across the world” and that “it strives to foster favourable conditions for resuming cross-boundary travel with the Mainland and cross-border travel in the future.”

Wang said Hong Kongers are right to be suspicious of the government’s intentions with the tracing app.

Even though Hong Kong differs from China in significant ways, such as a privacy ordinance that protected people’s privacy for many years, she said, “these legal protections are increasingly being undermined as Beijing and Hong Kong governments do away with other protections of civil liberties, such as a free press and freedom of expression.”

The announcement of the mandate followed a clampdown on the use of the fake version of the app in the same month. The police arrested five people for using fake apps.

Two were confirmed to be arrested on suspicion of using false instruments — the same charge for using a falsified passport or fabricated visa to enter the city — that can send offenders to prison for up to 14 years and incur up to about $19,000 in penalty.

Officials have long been wary of certain residents’ opposition to the use of the app. In September, the police arrested three core members, aged 18-20, of the pro-democracy student activism group Student Politicism under the national security law.

They have been charged with conspiracy to incite subversion for “stirring hatred towards the government … including urging people not to use the LeaveHomeSafe app and to fill in fake [personal] information on the paper forms,” Steve Li Kwai-wah, superintendent of the police national security department told media in a September press conference.

Eric Lai, researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law, said the measure seeks to “repress” Hong Kongers’ rights.

“The government of Hong Kong has a track record of using COVID-preventive measures to repress the exercise of citizen’s rights, such as the use of social distancing rules to criminalize citizens protesting in public sites” he told VOA by email.

The police were accused of targeting restaurants and shops that support democracy by conducting checks only in such shops, according to local media StandNews, which is now closed.

Many of such shops complained about losing the freedom not to use the app and said they would offer carry-out orders that do not require its use instead.

Source: Voice of America

January 13, 2022January 14, 2022

Djokovic in Australian Open Draw as COVID Vaccine Row Drags On

Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic was included in the Australian Open draw as top seed Thursday while the government considers whether to revoke his visa for a second time.

Australia’s immigration minister could use discretionary power to cancel Djokovic’s visa over concern about the Serbian’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Djokovic drew unseeded fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening match that is expected to take place on Monday or Tuesday.

Djokovic’s status remains uncertain after Thursday’s draw was held following a 75-minute delay to determine the brackets for the men’s and women’s singles draws at the first major tennis tournament of 2022.

The controversy has intensified debate worldwide over the rights of the unvaccinated and become a complicated political issue for Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he seeks re-election.

Immigration minister Alex Hawke is still considering whether to deport Djokovic, who had his visa cancelled upon arrival in Melbourne last week when his vaccination exemption was rejected.

After being held with other asylum-seekers at an immigration detention hotel for several days, Djokovic won a legal dispute on procedural grounds that allowed him to remain in the country.

Djokovic acknowledged earlier this week that errors were made on his entry documents about his activities in the weeks before traveling to Australia.

The Serbian star issued a statement Wednesday saying his assistants had incorrectly declared that he had not traveled anywhere in the 14-days before departing for Melbourne last week. Reports have surfaced showing he traveled to Serbia and Spain.

Djokovic also said he did not know he tested positive for COVID-19 on December 16 until the next day, after he appeared at a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children. He also admitted that he should have canceled a planned magazine interview and photoshoot the day after learning of his status.

Source: Voice of America