International Press Release Submissions

Double silver and bronze for Team SA on another successful night for SA in the pool

Monday, 1 August 2022 – South Africa's swimmers added three more medals to the rapidly increasing Team SA haul at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Monday. Pieter Coetzé claimed his second medal of the Games, adding the 50m backstroke silver to his 100m backstroke gold, while Erin Gallagher claimed silver in the 50m butterfly and Para-swimmer Christian Sadie bronze in the S7 50m freestyle. The biggest smile of the night belonged to Gallagher who outgunned Olympic 100m butterfly champion Maggie MacNeil to earn joint silver with Australia’s Holly Barratt in a new national record time of 26.05. Australian Emma McKeon took the gold in 25.90. “I could not be happier with that swim,” said a thrilled Gallagher afterwards. “I think the last few metres my eyes were closed. I can’t even remember the race to be honest. I put my head down and hoped for the best and I took a while to turn around and look at the time because I was nervous but when I saw the two there, I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked.” Coetzé was not quite as happy with his silver, after being out-touched by New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat in the 50m backstroke. The Kiwi took the gold in 24.65 with Coetzé just .12 of a second behind. “I’m a little bit disappointed but I’m still happy to get the medal and it’s always fun to race – especially with the crowd and everything. “It was very close, it would have been nice to get the touch but that happens.” While Sadie wasn’t particularly happy with his S7 50m freestyle race, he was please to claim a medal at his second consecutive Games after taking silver four years ago. It was Australia’s Matt Levy who claimed gold in 28.95, Singapore’s Wei Soong Toh the silver in 29.10, while Sadie finished in 29.78. “I’m really chuffed to be on the podium. It was really nice racing with the guys. I think it’s the same podium as last time. The swim wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be but I’m happy,” he said afterwards. Rebecca Meder was thrilled with her fourth …


Source: MyPR International

East Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel J. Kritenbrink and African Affairs Assistant Secretary Molly Phee on the Secretary’s Upcoming Travel to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda

Special Briefing Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary Bureau of African Affairs Via Teleconference July 29, 2022 MR PRICE: Thanks very much and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining this call. We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to preview the Secretary’s upcoming travel to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda. We’ll be departing on Tuesday. The Secretary will be on travel from August 2nd through August 12th. We have two briefers for you today. We have Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee. Just a reminder, this call is on the record, but it is embargoed until the conclusion of the call. With that, I’ll turn it over to Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink for some opening comments. ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRITENBRINK: Thank you, Ned, and good afternoon everyone. It’s great to be with you again. I met with many of you earlier this month ahead of the Secretary’s trip to Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan and of course traveled with many of you on that trip. And at that time, I noted that this level of senior-level engagement in the Indo-Pacific reflects just how profoundly important the region is to America’s long-term security and prosperity. And now we’re here just a few weeks later to announce yet another visit to the Indo-Pacific. Secretary Blinken will first head to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on August 3rd to participate in three separate ministerials hosted by Cambodia as ASEAN chair this year. This is a profoundly important time in our relationship with ASEAN. At May’s U.S.-ASEAN Summit here in Washington, D.C., we agreed to elevate our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Secretary will discuss that matter with our ASEAN friends in Phnom Penh, which will lead up to the November …


Source: MyPR International

Secretary Blinken’s Travel to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda

Press Statement Ned Price, Department Spokesperson July 29, 2022 Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda August 2-11, 2022. Secretary Blinken will first travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 3-5 to participate in the U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.  At each ministerial, the Secretary will emphasize the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and successful implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.  He will also address the COVID-19 pandemic, economic cooperation, the fight against climate change, the crisis in Burma, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.  The Secretary will meet bilaterally with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn to discuss U.S. support for ASEAN and efforts to strengthen our bilateral relationship with Cambodia.  Secretary Blinken will also engage with alumni of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. In Manila, the Philippines, on August 6, the Secretary will meet with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo to discuss bilateral efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Philippines alliance, including through increased cooperation on energy, trade, and investment, advancing our shared democratic values, and pandemic recovery. Then, Secretary Blinken will travel to South Africa August 7-9.  The Secretary will launch the U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, which reinforces the U.S. view that African countries are geostrategic players and critical partners on the most pressing issues of our day, from promoting an open and stable international system, to tackling the effects of climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics, to shaping our technological and economic futures. In Pretoria, he will lead the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-South Africa …


Source: MyPR International

Commencement Of Business Rescue Proceedings While A Company Is In Liquidation

The mere fact that a company that is liquidated can be placed under supervision seems at first sight nonsensical in most cases. In certain circumstances however it might just be what the doctor ordered. The question, however, is whether South African law allows for a company that is in winding up to be placed in business rescue. A company that is already in liquidation, or where a winding up application is pending before a court, cannot commence business rescue proceedings voluntarily, that is by adopting a resolution. However, section 131 (1) of the Companies Act, 2008 read with section 131 (6) of the Act provides a lifeline in appropriate circumstances. These provisions state that a court application to commence business rescue proceedings may be lodged by an affected person, even if liquidation proceedings have already commenced. An affected person includes a shareholder, employee or creditor. Section 131(6) of the Act provides that when an affected person applies to the court to commence business rescue proceedings while liquidation proceedings already commenced, the liquidation proceedings will be suspended until the court decides on the application to commence business rescue proceedings. If the court grants the order, business rescue proceedings will commence, if the court refuses the order, liquidation proceedings will no longer be suspended and will continue. An application to commence business rescue proceedings may be brought “at any time”. The extent of the term “any time” was considered in Richter vs ABSA 2015 (5) SA 57 (SCA) where the court held that an application to commence business rescue proceedings may be lodged until almost completion of liquidation proceedings, being any time before the company is dissolved or deregistered. This does not however mean that the liquidator or other affected persons cannot oppose the application to commence business rescue proceedings. In Van Staden NO v Pro-Wiz Group (Pty) Ltd 2019 (4) SA 532 (SCA) …


Source: MyPR International

Three more medals for Team SA in Birmingham pool

Sunday, 31 July – South African swimmers added a full complement of medals to Team South Africa’s collection at the Commonwealth in Birmingham on Sunday night. Olympic champion and world record holder Tatjana Schoenmaker made sure the gold was never in doubt in the 200m breaststroke, the defending champion leading from start to finish to win in a time of 2:21.92. Claiming the bronze medal in the same race was Schoenmaker’s Tuks teammate and friend Kaylene Corbett, who produced a great final 50m to finish in a time of 2:23.67, with Australia’s Jenna Strauch taking the silver in 2:23.65. “It’s obviously amazing,” said a thrilled Schoenmaker afterwards. “Four years ago Kaylene was standing in the crowd and she’s always crying for me so for me it was the happiest moment. I really didn’t care what my result was – I was so happy for her to win her first international medal and then the blessing is to share that podium. We’re so proud to wear the green and gold but being able to sing that anthem together, we just felt united with our country in that moment,” she added. An equally emotional Corbett said: “We’ve fought for women’s sport since 2016 when none of the South African girls made the Olympic team but we’ll keep fighting until we’re done swimming so this is definitely a step in the right direction having two girls on the podium in comparison to 2018 when she was on the podium and I was crying in the stands so I must say, it’s nice to cry on the podium than next to the pool.” Also making a trip to the podium was Chad le Clos, who was looking to make it four consecutive golds in the 200m butterfly at the Commonwealth Games but was just out-touched by New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt – Le Clos taking silver in 1:55.89 and Clareburt the gold in 1:55.60. “I’m gutted not to have won, I’ll be honest with you,” said Le Clos, who won his Olympic gold in the same event exactly 10 years ago to the day. “I was stinging in the last 50m. But fair play to Lewis, he broke the …


Source: MyPR International

Double gold for SA swimmers in Birmingham

Saturday, 30 July 2022 – Teen swimming sensations Lara van Niekerk and Pieter Coetzé led the medal charge on the second night of swimming at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday. Van Niekerk claimed Team South Africa’s first medal of the Games by powering to gold in the 50m breaststroke final which featured three South African swimmers. She claimed the victory in another Commonwealth Games record time of 29.73 seconds. Tatjana Schoenmaker finished fourth in 30.41 and Kaylene Corbett sixth in 31.10. “It felt amazing, the crowd was going wild, so I knew it was going to be close. But I was just happy that I could swim the second fastest time I’ve ever done and to win a medal is a bonus so I’m super-happy,” said the beaming 19-year-old afterwards. Olympic champion Schoenmaker, whose focus will be on her main 100 and 200m breaststroke events, was thrilled for her teammate to claim the first medal of the Games for the country. “It’s amazing – we’re always supporting women so it’s great to have a woman grab the first one. We can just be so proud of them. Being the senior now in the group it’s nice to see the juniors come up and take the win,” she said after the race. Later in the evening, Coetzé outgunned the field in the 100m backstroke final, speeding to gold in 53.78 seconds. “It was definitely a bit closer than I expected and I was definitely expecting to go a bit faster than the semi but my coach told me it’s not about times at all, it’s just about getting the win. It’s my first international medal and it’s amazing to get a gold,” said Coetzé. Elsewhere, Matt States finished sixth in the 200m freestyle final in 1:47.75 and followed that up with fourth in the 400m individual medley in 4:16.61. “I was so tired – especially swimming the 200 and 400 heats this morning as well but next time I’ll probably be more specific and choose between them,” said Sates, who still have the 200IM, 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle to come. Four …


Source: MyPR International

SA rowing duo set a new world record in Italy

29 July 2022, Varese, Italy: South African rowers Damien Bonhage-Koen and Christopher Baxter have set a new world record in the U23 men’s heavyweight pair event at the U19 and U23 World Rowing Championships, currently under way in Varese Italy. The pair took gold in 6:19,99, beating the previous world record by 0,07 seconds. South Africa fielded a team of 18 athletes at the championships, who qualified for participation in May. “We are delighted to see the current team of managers and coaches building the next generation of Olympic hopefuls,” says team manager, Darryn Roff. “We are tremendously proud of Damien and Christopher and look forward to more great rowing over the next two days.” The RMB National Squad will participate in two more events this weekend: the women’s double sculls (Katherine Williams and Courtney Westley) on Saturday, 30 July at 16:02 (SA time) and the junior men’s coxed fours (Jayden Thomson, Dilano Sà, Cristiano De Freitas, Braden Howard and Ethan Romburgh) on Sunday, 31 July at 11:55 (SA time). The full set of results will be released on Monday, 1 August. Press release written by CN&CO on behalf of RMB National Squad and RowSA Blake Dyason 0797112922 CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za International/. SA rowing duo set a new world record in Italy Submission Details Author: Blake Dyason from RMB National Squad and RowSA. More Info link: Images: For a high res version of THIS image please contact RMB National Squad and RowSA Facebook: Twitter: …


Source: MyPR International

The beMatrix ECO Frame – A Sustainable Alternative to the Anodised Frame

As the world evolves continuously, digital technology has become a game-changer in the exhibition stand development. In addition to optimising products and processes, beMatrix considers the environmental footprint of its products and processes. The ECO frame is their latest innovation. A few years ago, beMatrix presented this frame as an ecological alternative to the anodised frame. Anodising is an auxiliary step in the manufacturing process that adds an extra layer of protection to frames. This process involves the usage of chemicals which are very harmful to the environment. Subsequently, beMatrix pioneered the ECO frame, which replaces the anodising process with a sandblasting and brushing process.   “We work with our machine builder to fine tune this cleaning technique to achieve the same finish as an anodised frame. Starting in 2019, our ECO frames will have an almost identical appearance to the anodised frames. An additional benefit of this eco-friendly process is that these frames are completely recyclable, while anodised frames are not,” said Zahir Wadvalla, beMatrix Head of Operations.   Founded in 1993, beMatrix invented the largest aperture aluminium frame system, which revolutionized the game in terms of sustainability. The general characteristics of this system align with the 3 P (Production, Preparation, and Process) event-driven process for developing a bespoke product concurrently with the operation that will produce it. This is the golden goal that results in lower ongoing costs.   The low weight is one of the reasons why their frames are considered more usable, allowing the stand manufacturer to use fewer workers for assembly. The beMatrix aluminium frame system can be reused more than 200 times in different configurations, this is an excellent ROI indicator for the manufacturer, reducing the need for raw materials to produce new frames.   The beMatrix frame system allows 360 degrees of configuration: the frames can be used …


Source: MyPR International

“Collaborative space” is the buzzword, but it is “private space” that is lacking in many buildings

Some Office Property Thoughts – Covid-19 merely sped up the longer-term trend towards greater remote working. The more interesting impact, which is still unfolding, is on office building design, as office landlords and tenants battle to compete with the attractions of the home. Covid-19 lockdown didn’t change the direction of the rising long-term Work from Home (WFH) trend. It merely accelerated it, and likely sustained the long-term decline in the size of the office market relative to the entire property market of South Africa. But it may change some office design trends significantly. While “collaborative space” is a buzzword, I believe that “private space” in office buildings is what is sorely lacking. Office Sector – Long Term Underperformer as technology advanced The office property sector has been a regular underperformer in the commercial property sector in recent decades. Since 1995, MSCI data shows average office property total return of 11.3% per annum. By comparison, Retail and Industrial Property averaged 14.5% and 14.2% per annum respectively over that period. Information and communications technological advancements had for decades been improving employee productivity in key office-bound sectors such as the “Finance, Real Estate and Business Services” Sector. As a result, the sector’s employee numbers weren’t growing as fast as its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) over the years, and it is employee numbers that drive the need for office space. Furthermore, the shift to open plan offices, away from the old-fashioned closed offices that many employees had in earlier decades, enabled space saving, as employers could greatly increase the density of employee workspace. I believe that cost saving was probably more of a consideration in the move to open plan than were employee productivity considerations. In addition, information and communication technological advances greatly reduced the amount of space required for document storage, while also increasing the …


Source: MyPR International

Avis to provide complimentary Chauffeur Drive airport transfers for Emirates’ First and Business Class customers in SA’s 3 major cities

Avis is proud to partner with Emirates as the preferred service provider for complimentary Chauffeur Drive airport transfers for Emirates’ First and Business Class customers. The complimentary service will be available to the airline’s First and Business Class customers traveling to any of the airline’s three gateways in South Africa, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Avis has an exceptional and established track record of providing safe and convenient chauffeur driven services to all its customers. Building on this track record, the business deployed its world class systems to ensure that the partnership with Emirates is one that will exceed customer expectations. “A lot of work and planning went into preparation towards the “Go-Live” Date, and through our project implementation methodologies, the team has been able to deliver and execute on the plans we had put in place.  I would like to thank teams from Emirates and Avis for all their hard work and look forward to providing Emirates customers a world class service,” says Rebone Motsatsi, Executive: Car Rental Operations. At Avis, the safety of all customers is our number one priority. Therefore, all vehicles that will be used to transport Emirates customers are top of the range, fitted with vehicle management systems to assist the chauffeurs with real time geographical position, speed and route monitoring. Emirates customers can be assured that their First and Business Class journey with the airline will not end when they land but, it will continue with Avis Chauffeur Drive to their next destination. ENDS About the Company Avis Car Rental was established in Bloemfontein in 1967 under Zeda Car Rental and Tours (Pty) Ltd, with a fleet of just three cars. In 1969, the Avis Rent a Car name and brand was officially launched in South Africa. In 2004, Barloworld Limited acquired full ownership of Avis southern Africa, and in 2015 obtained the rights to operate the Budget Car Rental brand. Today, Avis Budget …


Source: MyPR International