July 17, 2021 – Djibouti News Gazette

July 17, 2021

ServiceMax fait l’acquisition de LiquidFrameworks pour faire progresser les solutions de gestion des services sur le terrain dans le secteur de l’énergie

Une solution de gestion des services sur le terrain conçue spécialement pour ce secteur et une expertise dans le domaine pour relever les défis uniques des secteurs pétroliers et gaziers, industriels et environnementaux

PLEASANTON, Californie, 16 juillet 2021 /PRNewswire/ — ServiceMax, le leader de la gestion des services sur le terrain centrée sur les actifs, a annoncé aujourd’hui qu’il avait signé un accord définitif pour acquérir LiquidFrameworks, une entreprise de premier plan dans les solutions mobiles de gestion des opérations sur le terrain spécialisée dans l’industrie de l’énergie, appartenant à Luminate Capital Partners, société d’investissement privé qui investit dans les sociétés de logiciels de croissance et d’entreprise. Avec cette acquisition, ServiceMax pourra étendre ses solutions de gestion des services sur le terrain afin de répondre aux défis uniques du secteur de l’énergie.

Alors que le marché continue de faire pression sur l’industrie pétrolière et gazière pour qu’elles deviennent plus efficaces en termes de capital, les fournisseurs de services pétroliers doivent transformer leurs anciens processus de gestion des opérations sur le terrain en systèmes numériques. Qu’il s’agisse de longues rotations sur une plateforme offshore avec une connectivité limitée ou de révisions dans une raffinerie, les techniciens de terrain de ce secteur sont chargés de fournir un service au client tout en exploitant de nouveaux systèmes numériques visant à maintenir les actifs, à améliorer la productivité et à accroître les revenus. Cette acquisition permettra à ServiceMax de mieux se positionner pour répondre à la demande d’exécution de services numériques dans ce secteur, tout en élargissant son portefeuille de produits et ses canaux de commercialisation.

« ServiceMax s’engage à faire tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour aider les entreprises à maintenir les actifs stratégiques, et le monde entier, en fonctionnement. Le renforcement de nos offres clients dans le secteur de l’énergie est au cœur de cet engagement », a déclaré Neil Barua, PDG de ServiceMax. « En combinant la plateforme moderne de service sur le terrain de ServiceMax avec l’expertise industrielle de LiquidFrameworks, nous sommes mieux armés pour fournir aux entreprises pétrolières et gazières les outils dont elles ont besoin pour assurer un service cohérent et fiable, et optimiser les performances des actifs. »

« La tradition de l’innovation de ServiceMax a transformé les organisations de service sur le terrain depuis plus d’une décennie », a déclaré Travis Parigi, fondateur et PDG de LiquidFrameworks. « La combinaison de l’offre pour le secteur de l’énergie de LiquidFrameworks, axée sur le terrain, avec la suite de services sur le terrain de ServiceMax, centrée sur les actifs, n’aura pas d’égal sur le marché. Nous sommes déterminés à aider les entreprises à concrétiser les promesses de la transformation numérique. »

« Nous sommes fiers de la croissance et du développement qu’a connu la société LiquidFrameworks au cours de notre partenariat d’investissement, car l’entreprise a fourni une offre SaaS différenciée et stratégique qui a aidé les clients de l’industrie du pétrole, du gaz et des services industriels à réagir rapidement et à naviguer efficacement sur le chemin de la transformation numérique », a déclaré Hollie Haynes, directrice associée chez Luminate. « Nous sommes ravis de voir l’entreprise continuer à soutenir ses clients par le biais de cette association avec ServiceMax, renforçant ainsi sa différenciation concurrentielle dans le paysage de la gestion des services sur le terrain », a noté Mark Pierce, un partenaire opérationnel de Luminate qui siège comme président de LiquidFrameworks depuis l’investissement de Luminate.

AGC Partners agit en tant que conseiller financier et Kirkland & Ellis LLP en tant que conseiller juridique de LiquidFrameworks et Luminate. Centerview Partners agit en tant que conseiller financier et Ropes & Gray LLP en tant que conseiller juridique de ServiceMax.

À propos de ServiceMax
La mission de ServiceMax est d’aider les clients à faire tourner le monde grâce à un logiciel de gestion des services sur le terrain centré sur les actifs. En tant que leader reconnu dans ce domaine, les applications mobiles et le logiciel Cloud de ServiceMax offrent une vue complète des actifs aux équipes de service sur le terrain. En optimisant les opérations de service sur le terrain, les clients de tous les secteurs d’activité peuvent mieux gérer la complexité du service, soutenir une croissance plus rapide et gérer des entreprises plus rentables et axées sur les résultats. Pour plus d’informations, consultez le site www.servicemax.com.

À propos de LiquidFrameworks
LiquidFrameworks est l’un des principaux fournisseurs de solutions mobiles de gestion des opérations sur le terrain, basées sur le Cloud, destinées aux secteurs de l’énergie, de l’industrie et des services environnementaux. La solution FieldFX® de LiquidFrameworks offre aux entreprises de nombreux avantages, notamment une augmentation et une accélération de la génération de revenus, une augmentation de la trésorerie, un plus grand respect des contrats, une meilleure précision des factures et une amélioration de la réactivité vis-à-vis des clients. La société LiquidFrameworks est basée à Houston, au Texas. Pour participer à la conversation, suivez @LquidFrameworks sur Twitter.

À propos de Luminate Capital
Luminate Capital Partners est une société de capital-investissement qui investit dans des entreprises de logiciels en pleine expansion. Luminate s’associe aux équipes de direction pour fournir des capitaux afin de stimuler l’amélioration de la stratégie, de la croissance et des opérations. Le portefeuille d’entreprises leaders du marché de Luminate comprend également AMTdirect, AutoQuotes, Axonify, Compliance & Risks, Comply365, Conexiom, Fintech, LiquidFrameworks, MSI, Oversight Systems, PDI, Quantivate, StarCompliance et Thought Industries. Pour plus d’informations, consultez le site https://www.luminatecapital.com.

Contacts presse

Pour ServiceMax :
ServiceMax@wisecollective.co

Pour LiquidFrameworks :
Emily Rhodes
713-552-9250
erhodes@liquidframeworks.com

Pour Luminate :
Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli, Relations publiques,
914-834-4334
chris@tofallipr.com

July 17, 2021

Gunmen Kidnap Dozens of Villagers in Northwestern Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA – Gunmen abducted at least 60 people in northwestern Nigeria after riding motorbikes into five villages and firing sporadically into the air, a police official and several residents said Saturday.

Nigeria is battling an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, mainly in northwestern areas, where thinly stretched security forces often fail to stop the abductions.

The latest kidnapping took place in Zamfara state overnight Friday, said regional police spokesman Mohammed Shehu, adding that investigations were ongoing.

Four residents told Reuters armed men had attacked villages in the Shinkafi area, causing panic and abducting at least 60 villagers before escaping into the nearby forest.

The gunmen, who are known locally as bandits and have increasingly targeted schools, also fired a rocket that hit the house of the senior district head of the local council, said one resident, asking not to be named.

“The armed bandits rode on over 70 motorbikes and each motorbike was [carrying] three people with weapons destroying properties and abducting people,” Junaidu Badarawa, one of five people who were kidnapped but later released, said by phone.

Source: Voice of America

July 17, 2021

South African Authorities Probe Coastal Chemical Spill in Durban

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – South African authorities in the port city of Durban said Saturday they were investigating a coastal chemical spill that may have been caused by a warehouse fire during unrest this week.

Other possible sources are also being investigated as the cause of the spill, which is affecting marine and bird life, the eThekwini municipality said late Friday, urging local residents not to use beaches in the area.

“Extensive environmental impacts are being reported at uMhlanga and uMdhloti lagoons and beaches in the vicinity, that have killed numerous species of marine and bird life,” the municipality said in a statement.

“The pollution is considered serious and can affect one’s health if species are collected and consumed. Lagoon and seawater contact must be avoided.”

Reuters reporters saw dead fish that had washed onshore on Saturday, as a clean-up company worked to mop up the spill.

KwaZulu-Natal province’s head of environmental affairs, Ravi Pillay, said water samples would be tested Monday.

“We will see the results from there,” Pillay told Reuters. “We have some evidence of some limited impact on marine life. Our team is satisfied that there is no impact on public health.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday the unrest that ripped through several parts of the country in the past week was stabilizing and calm had been restored to most affected areas.

Protests broke out after former President Jacob Zuma was jailed for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry and swiftly degenerated into looting and arson which has killed more than 200 people and destroyed hundreds of businesses.

The municipality also said some residents were reporting smoke residue from burned chemical products. It advised people to close windows and doors and put wet cloths over vents until the smoke cleared.

Pillay said air quality testing was being undertaken.

Source: Voice of America

July 17, 2021

Ethiopia Warns News Outlets Not to ‘Mischaracterize’ Tigray

Ethiopia’s media regulator is warning foreign news outlets that publishing specific references that it says mischaracterize the country’s war-torn northern Tigray region will be met with legal consequences.

“In reviewing and monitoring the news reports, the Ethiopian Media Authority [EMA] has found that some foreign media are repeatedly characterizing [the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – TPLF] as a national army by calling it the Tigray Defense Force or TDF,” said an official statement issued on agency letterhead Friday that was sent to VOA.

An earlier warning had been sent to at least two foreign media outlets.

The statement sent to VOA, signed by agency chief Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, comes one day after the EMA revoked the license of the Addis Standard’s publisher, accusing the monthly magazine and news website of advancing the agenda of a “terrorist group,” without providing more specifics.

That “terrorist group” was thought to be the TPLF, which Addis Ababa has been battling in Ethiopia’s north since November, Reuters has reported. The TPLF is a former member of the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for more than 30 years. In May, Ethiopia designated the group a terrorist organization.

EMA officials on Thursday said they revoked the license over complaints that the Addis Standard was advancing “the terrorist group’s agency,” including by “legitimizing a terrorist group as a ‘Defense Force.’” The suspension drew outrage from global press freedom watchdogs, who’ve accused the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of taking an increasingly hard line against domestic news outlets covering the conflict.

‘A grave violation of Ethiopian law’

Friday’s warning directed at foreign outlets appeared to escalate TPLF coverage restrictions.

“Bearing in mind that Tigray is one of the federation units of Ethiopia that cannot have a force with that nomenclature [such as ‘Defense Force’] and as the country’s parliament has labeled TPLF a terrorist organization, the [EMA hereby] informs that use of such terminology violates Ethiopia’s territorial integrity, national interest and security,” Friday’s statement said.

Warning all foreign media against “using such characterization,” the statement said, “further use of the same terminology by any foreign media will be a grave violation of Ethiopian law, which will lead to stringent measures.”

When Prime Minister Ahmed came to power in 2018, it appeared that Ethiopia would shake off its reputation as having a repressive media environment, but conditions for journalists have worsened in the face of new political challenges, according to reports by multiple press freedom advocates.

Friday’s new coverage guidelines for the Tigray conflict come two weeks after police in the capital arrested about 20 journalists and staff from the independent broadcaster Awlo Media Center and YouTube-based broadcaster Ethio-Forum, both of which have been critical of the government.

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Sunday said federal police had since released three of the journalists.

Source: Voice of America

July 17, 2021

Malawi Adds More COVID-19 Vaccines in Attempt to Stem Surge

BLANTYRE, MALAWI – The Malawi government has announced it will start inoculating its citizens with several COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to protect more of its population amid growing coronavirus infections. Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says the extra vaccine is necessary to fill a gap.

Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says the COVID-19 vaccines Malawi has added include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sputnik, Sinovac and Sinopharm.

Kandodo, who also is the co-chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, says the country is expected to receive a donation of 300,000 doses each of the Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines in early August.

“We have done this because we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket, as has been the case,” said Kandodo. “That’s why we have opened up to include other vaccines, which can fill the gaps that would be created.”

She assured Malawians that the government has independently verified the safety and efficacy of the newly recommended vaccines.

Malawi stopped vaccinating its citizens in June when it ran out of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Records show that about 400,000 people have been vaccinated — far short of the 11 million people needed to reach herd immunity.

In May, Malawi destroyed about 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, which expired in April.

The incineration was largely because many Malawians were reluctant to be vaccinated due to concerns about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

Malawi is expected, however, to receive a fresh consignment of 192,000 doses of the AstraZeneca next week.

But Kandodo said the vaccine will be restricted to unvaccinated health workers and those who already have a single dose.

“We know there are a lot of people who are now willing to take the jab. But bear with us, other vaccines are coming,” said Kandodo. “And the importance of Johnson &Johnson’s is that it’s a single dose vaccine. So, those who have never taken any vaccines will take these Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.”

Health rights campaigner Maziko Matemba is advising the government to make vaccine available through a standardized program and stop relying on donated vaccine.

“Vaccine has to be part of our routine program so that everyone who wants that vaccine needs to get it,” said Matemba. “Once you have the rights information and you are convinced that this is the vaccine that can save me, you should be able to get it, other than passing two to three weeks without vaccines at all.”

Kandodo said the problem Malawi is facing, though, is not about money to buy the vaccine but where to find it.

She said the Malawian government has just received about $30 million from the World Bank to help purchase COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: Voice of America