position:president and chief executive officer

Abu Dhabi Ports Signs 30-Year Deal with MSC to Build Terminal – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/abu-dhabi-ports-signs-30-year-deal-with-msc-to-build-terminal

http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/shutterstock_760560643.jpg

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to build a new container terminal at its Khalifa Port.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has spent billions developing the port, which opened in 2012, as part of ongoing efforts to diversify its oil-rich economy.

Khalifa Port is on a man-made island roughly half-way between the centres of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south from Dubai’s huge Jebel Ali port.

Construction of the new terminal will include deepening berths to make Khalifa Port capable of handling the world’s biggest bulk cargo vessels, state-owned Abu Dhabi Ports said in a statement on Monday.

Swiss-based MSC will invest 4 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion) over the life of the concession in operational equipment which will include increasing the number of ship-to-shore cranes from 12 to 25, it said.

“We are confident that with this investment we will continue to ensure a high level of service for our customers and have the capacity to grow the scale of our operations in the UAE,” MSC’s President and Chief Executive Officer Diego Aponte said.

Abu Dhabi Ports expects the overall capacity of Khalifa Port to increase to 8.5 million TEUs from 2.5 million TEUs in five years. ($1 = 3.6728 dirham)

Sixth edition of The Tobacco Atlas launched today

The sixth edition of The Tobacco Atlas was launched today at the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town, South Africa. The publication shows that the tobacco industry is increasingly targeting vulnerable populations in emerging markets, such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where people are not protected by strong tobacco control regulations.

The Atlas, which is co-authored by American Cancer Society (ACS) and Vital Strategies, shows the scale of the tobacco epidemic around the globe. It highlights where progress has been made in tobacco control, and describes the latest products and tactics being deployed by the tobacco industry to grow its profits and delay or derail tobacco control efforts. In response to an evolving tobacco control landscape, the Sixth Edition includes new chapters on regulating novel products, partnerships, tobacco industry tactics and countering the industry.

“The Atlas shows that progress is possible in every region of the world. African countries in particular are at a critical point – both because they are targets of the industry but also because many have opportunity to strengthen policies and act before smoking is at epidemic levels.” said Jeffrey Drope, PhD, co-editor and author of The Atlas and Vice President, Economic and Health Policy Research at the American Cancer Society.

At the press conference where The Atlas was launched, Emma Wanyoni from Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance and the Kenya International Institute of Legislative Affairs, spoke about the challenges they have face in Kenya, where it took 10 years to get a tobacco control policy put in place, she urged governments to act now with tough tobacco control laws to avoid the unnecessary injuries and death caused by tobacco.

“The Atlas shows that wherever tobacco control is implemented, it works. People benefit economically and in improved health. And the industry rightly suffers,” said José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Strategies.

“Tobacco causes harm at every stage of its life cycle, from cultivation to disposal,” said Dr. Neil Schluger, Vital Strategies’ Senior Advisor for Science and co-editor and author of The Atlas. “It is linked to an ever-increasing list of diseases, burdens health systems, and exacerbates poverty. The only way to avert this harm is for all governments to vigorously implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and to enforce the proven strategies that reduce tobacco use.”

Dr Schluger stressed that while Africa has seen real successes in tobacco control recently, economic growth has increased consumers’ ability to afford tobacco products and there is a lack of tobacco control interventions to deter tobacco use. The Sixth Edition of The Tobacco Atlas reveals that the tobacco industry deliberately targets countries that lack tobacco control laws and exploits governments, farmers and vulnerable populations across Africa.

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ANALYSIS-How soaring US oil exports to China are transforming the global oil game
▻https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFL8N1PV014

The transformation is reflected in figures released in recent days that shows the U.S. now produces more oil than top exporter Saudi Arabia and means the Americans are likely to take over the No.1 producer spot from Russia by the end of the year. C-OUT-T-EIA

The growth has surprised even the official U.S. Energy Information Administration, which this week raised its 2018 crude output forecast to 10.59 million bpd, up by 300,000 bpd from their last forecast just a week before.
[…]
The U.S. supplies will help reduce China’s huge trade surplus with the U.S. and may help to counter allegations from U.S. President Donald Trump that Beijing is trading unfairly.
[…]
The flood of U.S. oil may even change the way crude is priced.

Most OPEC producers sell crude under long-term contracts which are priced monthly, sometimes retro-actively. U.S. producers, by contrast, export on the basis of freight costs and price spreads between U.S. and other kinds of crude oil.

This has led to a surge in traded volumes of U.S. crude futures, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), leaving volumes of other futures like Brent or Dubai far behind.

“Buyers, like sellers of U.S. oil, started hedging WTI,” said John Driscoll, director of Singapore-based consultancy JTD Energy Services.

Despite all these challenges to the traditional oil order, established producers are putting on a brave face.

“We have no concern whatsoever about rising U.S. exports. Our reliability as a supplier is second to none, and we have the highest customer base with long-term sales agreements,” said Amin Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil behemoth.

Running out of time | John J. Hamre - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
▻https://thebulletin.org/running-out-time11368

I am dismayed by our rhetoric in Washington. We are talking like frightened little rabbits, afraid of a wolf in the forest. We have nothing to be afraid of, and the more we act like frightened little critters, the more we reward North Korea for pursuing a dead-end strategy. We tried a policy of dissuasion for the past 15 years, and it has failed. But a strategy of deterrence has worked and will continue to work.

(John J. Hamre was elected president and chief executive officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in January 2000. Before joining CSIS, he served as the 26th US deputy secretary of defense.)

#corée_du_nord #nucléaire #équilibre_de_la_terreur

How Aging Research Is Changing Our Lives - Issue 50: Emergence
▻http://nautil.us/issue/50/emergence/how-aging-research-is-changing-our-lives

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Biologist Eric Verdin considers aging a disease. His research group famously discovered several enzymes, including sirtuins, that play an important role in how our mitochondria—the powerhouses of our cells—age. His studies in mice have shown that the stress caused by calorie restriction activates sirtuins, increasing mitochondrial activity and slowing aging. In other words, in the lab, calorie restriction in mice allows them to live longer. His work has inspired many mitochondrial hacks—diets, supplements, and episodic fasting plans—but there is not yet evidence that these findings translate to humans.If you hear the word immortality, just run. Last year, Verdin was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the largest independent (...)

Israel Should Back Off anti-BDS Fight in U.S. Campuses, Jewish Leader Says -
In candid comments, Jay Sanderson tells Haaretz that aggressive efforts to combat the movement repel most Jewish students and ultimately do more harm than good.

Judy Maltz Mar 13, 2016

Haaretz.com
▻http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/1.708075

A senior Jewish federation executive has unusually blunt words for Israeli government officials planning to take up arms in the anti-BDS struggle on U.S. college campuses: Back off, he says.
“The Israeli government needs to get out of this business,” says Jay Sanderson, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, which serves the largest Jewish community in North America outside of New York. “It should not be involved in what’s happening on the college campuses. There’s lots of ignorance about what this issue is really about, and rather than addressing it in a nuanced way, the Israeli government is simply stoking the flames.”
Last June, the government allocated $25 million to a special campaign to combat the international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. The funding was allocated to the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which is meant to be gathering intelligence on anti-Israel activities abroad, including on college campuses, and sabotaging them. The college campuses of California have been a particular hotbed of BDS activities in the past two years.
In an interview in his Beverly Hills office, Sanderson argued that the various divestment votes taken against Israel on college campuses in the state have been meaningless.

Qui est Ed Burkhardt ?
Chairman de Montréal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) propriétaire du train ayant provoqué l’accident de #Lac_Mégantic
Président et CEO de la société mère de MMA : Rail World, Inc.

Sur le site de la société mère
Rail World, Inc.
▻http://www.railworldinc.com/RailWorldInc.htm

A railway management, consulting and investment corporation specializing in privatizations and restructurings. Its purpose is to promote rail industry privatization by bringing together government bodies wishing to sell their stakes with investment capital and management skills. Rail World was incorporated in July 1999 by Edward A. Burkhardt, who is the President and Chief Executive Officer.

United States and Canada
Mr. Burkhardt serves as Chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, a 750 mile regional railway operating in Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick. He is President of The San Luis Central Railroad Company, a short line railway based in Monte Vista, Colorado, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, a regional carrier serving the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Estonia
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AS Baltic Rail, based in Tallinn, which is developing the Finland - Baltic States – Poland rail corridor involving automatic change of track gauge at the Lithuania / Poland border. He led the Estonian Railways privatization in 2001 and served as Chairman of its Supervisory Board until it was repurchased by the Estonian government in early 2007.

Poland
He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail Polska, based in Warsaw. Rail Polska completed two short-line railway acquisitions in early 2003: Kolex (based in Oświecim) and ZecTrans (based in Wrocław). Rail Polska has been granted unrestricted operator license on the Polish rail network, and commenced long-haul train operations, primarily handling power-station coal, in October 2003. Rail Polska is currently expanding rapidly in the deregulated European rail marketplace.

Il en manque. Sur le site de Rail World Ukraine, on trouve un peu d’historique de ses interventions passées (et de ses grosses plus-values antérieures…-
▻http://www.railworld.com.ua/component/content/article/9

New Zealand :
While with Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt led the privatisation and subsequently served as Chairman of Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd., the rail and ferry system of New Zealand, from its start-up in September 1993 thru August 1999

United Kingdom :
Also while with Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt served as Chairman and Chief Executive of English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd. during the period from its start-up in December 1995 through July 1999. He led the investor group that purchased five railway operations from the British Railway Board, which handled 93% of rail freight in the United Kingdom.

Australia :
Mr. Burkhardt was also Chairman of Australian Transport Network from 1997 through August 1999, which purchased Tasrail, a freight carrier operating in the island State of Tasmania, Australia. Subsequently, Tasrail purchased the Emu Bay Railway from the mining company Pasminco and merged the two rail operations. ATN also was an investment of Wisconsin Central.

Estonia :
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Navirail OÜ, based in Tallinn, which operates a freight ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn. He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AS Baltic Rail, also based in Tallinn, which is developing the Finland - Baltic States – Poland rail corridor involving automatic change of track gauge at the Lithuania / Poland border. He led the Estonian Railways privatization in 2001 and served as Chairman of its Supervisory Board until it was repurchased by the Estonian government in early 2007.

Poland :
He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail Polska, based in Warsaw. Rail Polska completed two short-line railway acquisitions in early 2003: Kolex (based in Oświecim) and ZecTrans (based in Wrocław). Rail Polska has been granted unrestricted operator license on the Polish rail network, and commenced long-haul train operations, primarily handling power-station coal, in October 2003. Rail Polska is currently expanding rapidly in the deregulated European rail marketplace.

Ukraine :
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail World Ukrain e, based in Kyiv. RWU was incorporated in 2009 to edngage in a freight forwarding business specializing in traffic flows crossing Ukraine’s western border, and to work with Ukrainian Railways on locomotive projects and in certification of the Talgo variable track-gauge system, for which Rail World holds the freight license.

Par ailleurs, il suscite une admiration effrénée des sectateurs d’#Ayn_Rand de la #Atlas_Society (article assez ancien, 1998)
La conclusion du dithyrambe (et accessoirement pamphlet antisyndical…)
Wisconsin Central Railroad | Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and Individualism | The Atlas Society
▻http://www.atlassociety.org/wisconsin-central-railroad

Ed Burkhardt may have been naïve in his wish that his company be everybody’s favorite railroad. But for those of use who admire the creators and executors of new ideas that profitably solve old problems, the Wisconsin Central has to be our favorite (nonfiction) railroad.

Cette conclusion suit la partie où l’auteur défend le valeureux Ed Burkhardt des viles attaques prétextant sa responsabilité dans un malheureux accident de chemin de fer en 1996 dans le Wisconsin (la société à partir de laquelle le héros prît son envol.

Dans les mots du laudateur, sous le titre de paragraphe :
Power and Envy

Inevitably, the success of Wisconsin Central attracted the animosity of those who resent achievement. The vultures were ready to pounce whenever misfortune struck. And they did pounce in the aftermath of a train derailment caused by a broken switch in the small community of Weyauwega, Wisconsin, in March 1996. Thirty-five cars derailed, almost half of them containing liquefied petroleum gas. One car exploded, but the heroic efforts of the train’s conductor minimized the extent of the fire. No one was injured.

Dans la presse canadienne (#paywall)

Lac-Mégantic : un présage de la tragédie au Wisconsin | Explosion Lac-Mégantic | Dossiers JdeM | Le Journal de Montréal
▻http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/07/09/un-presage-de-la-tragedie-au-wisconsin

Les compagnies ferroviaires opérées par Ed Burkhardt, le patron de la Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, n’en sont pas à leur premier déraillement en plein cœur d’une ville. Un grave accident survenu en 1996 au Wisconsin rappelle étrangement la tragédie de Lac-Mégantic, et pose la question des leçons tirées de l’événement.