kscarbel2

Why is the U.S. Army (i.e. U.S. taxpayer) paying US$440 million to upgrade 1,085 mine-resistant armored vehicles for............the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ?

UPI / March 1, 2017 Navistar Defense received a $440 million contract from the U.S. Army to reset and upgrade 1,085 mine-resistant armored vehicles for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company will perform services on MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, in addition to delivering specified sets, kits, packages and technical publications to the country. The contract was procured under the U.S. foreign military sales program. Work will be performed in West Point, Mo., and is expected to be finished by the end of March 2019. Navistar received $46 million at the time of the contract award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity. The MaxxPro MRAP is designed to protect operators from blasts caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and other ground-level threats. Navistar says the vehicle's V-shaped hull provides improved survivability, and is designed to deflect IED blasts away from the vehicle. In addition to IED attacks, the vehicle is also designed to withstand ballistic arms fire and mine blasts. .

Trump: Infrastructure Plan Will Ride on Public Funds, Too Heavy Duty Trucking / March 1, 2017 In his address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28, President Trump called for a $1-trillion infusion of public and private investment to repair and expand the nation’s infrastructure. He devoted just about one minute of his hour-long speech to promoting that initiative, but it was the first time the president indicated that public— not just private— financing would be needed to fund his infrastructure proposal. Invoking President Dwight Eisenhower, who championed the building of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s, Trump said “the time has come for a new program of national rebuilding. America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East -- all the while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this $6 trillion, we could have rebuilt our country twice, and maybe even three times if we had people who had the ability to negotiate.” Trump said he will be “asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1-trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States -- financed through both public and private capital -- creating millions of new jobs.” What remains to be heard is exactly how the administration expects to pay for the lavish infrastructure outlay promised by the president. Before moving onto other issues, Trump noted further only that his infrastructure proposal will be “guided by two core principles: buy American and hire American.” Despite the lack of details given, the American Trucking Associations was pleased for the attention paid to infrastructure in this major policy speech by the new president. “ATA was pleased to hear President Trump again sound the call to address our nation’s need to improve our transportation infrastructure,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in a statement to HDT. “Trucks move 70% of our nation’s goods – more than half of our GDP – on a system of highways and bridges that is now on life support,” he continued. Spear added that the trucking lobby is “eager to work with the administration and Congress on solutions to funding this bold and long overdue goal.” The Intelligent Transportation Society of America also appreciated the mention of infrastructure by the president. “ITS America looks forward to working with the White House, Congress and others to find intelligent technological solutions to repair and rebuild our extensive transportation system,” the group’s President and CEO Regina Hopper said in a statement issued right after the speech. “Transportation drives our economy and makes America competitive around the world,” she said. “It connects communities, increases job opportunities, and it is essential to addressing equity, poverty, unemployment and access to education and health care.” Hopper added that “safer highways and roads are urgently needed. In 2016, more than 40,000 people died in accidents on our nation’s highways and roads. Intelligent transportation solutions will go a long way to saving lives and preventing injuries.” Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also released a statement soon after the address. “President Trump made infrastructure a priority before the election, and his address tonight reaffirmed his commitment to building a 21stcentury infrastructure,” Shuster contended. “Renewing the American spirit starts with creating jobs and economic opportunity,” he continued. “Our infrastructure is what ties all of these things together. The Committee looks forward to working with the president and the secretary of transportation to improve our infrastructure and strengthen our economy.” The president along with Republican and Democratic leaders as well as stakeholders large and small may all be on the same page when it comes to the crying need to fix and grow the nation’s infrastructure, but the devil in passing any such plan will be in the details. And as there are still none to pore over let alone influence, where Trump’s proposal may ultimately end up remains anyone’s guess.

Trump illustrates need for $1 trillion infrastructure package with advice from a ‘friend in trucking’ Overdrive / March 1, 2017 In an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked legislators to produce and pass a $1 trillion spending package meant to “launch a national rebuilding” of the country’s infrastructure, Trump said, including funds for rebuilding U.S. highways. “[President Eisenhower] initiated the last truly great national infrastructure program, the building of the Interstate highway system. The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding,” Trump said. “Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways, gleaming across our very, very beautiful land.” Trump’s call for infrastructure investment came a day after he mentioned in a speech to the National Governors Association recently consulting with “a friend who is in the trucking business.” “He said, my trucks are destroyed going from New York to Los Angeles. They’re destroyed,” Trump said Monday. “He always prided himself on buying the best equipment. He said, the roads are so bad that, by the time we make the journey from New York to Los Angeles or back, he said the equipment is just beat to hell. I said, when has it been like that before? He said, it’s never — he’s been in the business for 40 years — he said it’s never been like that.” Tuesday’s address was Trump’s first to Congress since his inauguration as president. In most years, the speech would be referred to as the annual State of the Union address. However, presidential tradition dictates the speech only be dubbed the State of the Union if the president has been in office for a full year. Trump in his address lamented U.S. spending abroad, “all while our infrastructure at home crumbled,” he said. “America has spent $6 trillion in the Middle East. With this $6 trillion, we could have rebuilt our country twice, and maybe even three times,” he said, referring to money spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and subsequent reconstruction efforts in those countries. However, unlike wartime spending in the Middle East, Trump’s infrastructure funding premise relies on enticing private investors to help reach the $1 trillion target. Trump said the investment would be split between “both public and private capital.” Privately funded infrastructure projects could mean more tolls on U.S. roadways, especially near urban centers, where traffic volume makes it easier for private companies to recoup their investment and earn profits. Talk of big spending on infrastructure was revived by Trump this week after mentioning it little in the first six weeks of his presidency. Trump promised during his campaign a $1 trillion investment into the country’s transportation infrastructure if elected. In a speech to the National Governors Association on Monday, Trump circled the issue, telling the country’s governors “it’s not like we have a choice” on infrastructure spending. “It’s not like, oh gee, let’s hold it off. Our highways, our bridges are unsafe,” he said.

Cummins X15 Efficiency Wins TWNA Technical Achievement Award The Cummins X15 Efficiency Series diesel has won the Truck Writers of North America’s 2016 Technical Achievement Award. The award was presented during an awards luncheon at the American Trucking Associations Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Cummins redesigned its ISX15 to meet 2017 federal greenhouse gas and fuel economy requirements and introduced two models called X15 Performance and X15 Efficiency. The Efficiency version employs an Atkinson Cycle in its valve action that adds fuel efficiency important to fleet managers, said John Baxter, a freelance technical writer, former mechanic, and a member of the TWNA panel. That caught the attention of his colleagues in the voting. “The engine won for its advanced combustion design that includes a little-used Atkinson Cycle*, and other features,” explained Jim Park, chairman of the TWNA awards committee and Heavy Duty Trucking equipment editor. “It beat out four other finalists who had previously topped a pool of 15 candidates for the award. A panel of industry journalists from Canada and the U.S. debated and voted over a period of several weeks.” * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson_cycle The 14.9-liter diesel gains 3% in fuel efficiency over the preceding model, the ISX15, through improvements to air-handling, combustion efficiency, reduced parasitic losses and advanced electronics, according to Tim Proctor, Cummins X15 engine system technical leader. Maintenance should cost 40% less than previous engines over five years. “The engine’s valve events are modified so that compression is slightly limited, allowing for greater-than-normal expansion during the power stroke that follows,” Baxter explained. “That means that the gases expand to 20 times their volume at the pistons’ top center by the time they are released, as opposed to standard expansion factors in the range of 15-17 to 1. Allowing the burning gases more room to expand captures energy that is normally thrown away when the exhaust valve opens.” Baxter continued, “The engine also features a new piston design that conducts heat more effectively away from the combustion bowl and into the cooling system. This takes considerable heat stress off the oil, allowing longer change intervals, and allows use of a smaller oil pump, reducing the parasitic loss associated with driving it. We congratulate Cummins on the originality of their re-design of the X15.” The other four finalists were: Accuride EverSteel wheel with a special anti-corrosion treatment Volvo and Mack “wave” piston, part of engine upgrades to comply with new GHG regulations SAF-Holland P89 disc brake, a high-performance, lightweight and moderate-cost braking product Volvo iSee and Mack Predictive cruise control, which “learns” routes and operates a truck’s powertrain to gain maximum efficiency TWNA first presented the Technical Achievement Award in 1991 to Grote Industries for its red LED marker lamp and has since honored companies large and small for their products and services. Founded in 1988, TWNA is a professional organization composed of writers, editors, public relations specialists, marketing personnel and others involved in the business of creating or producing information related to the world of trucking. “Cummins is honored to receive the Technical Achievement Award for our 2017 X15 Efficiency series, and it is especially relevant to us that this recognition comes from truck industry writers, many of whom have experienced the enhanced driveability and responsive performance of the X15 engine first hand,” said Proctor. .

Transport Topics / February 28, 2017 Expectations of improvements in comfort, safety and convenience underpin truck cab design, but a surge in digital information also must be accommodated in a driver’s home away from home, experts said. Representatives of three truck manufacturers addressed cab design as part of the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting here Feb. 28. TMC is a division of American Trucking Associations. The truck cab “must be adjustable to the driver … so they don’t adjust to it to operate their vehicle,” said Ivan Neblett, manager of international markets and product strategy at Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), producer of Freightliner and Western Star brand trucks. For example, the seat is a critical element in the cab because that’s where a driver spends most of his or her time, he said. “Air seats have come a long way and today are almost the norm, but there will be further advancements,” Neblett said, such as with the heating and ventilation of the seat, cushion designs and how the headrests interact with the seat belts. At the same time, cab design means modeling the entire vehicle for improved aerodynamics, said Wade Long, director of product marketing at Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA). “Cab design is based on what is behind it. … We are driving the air to where we want it to be … aerodynamic mirrors help reduce noise and make it more comfortable driving,” Long said. Gauges are other key elements in the cab. In theory, the more gauges you’ve got, the more information a driver can read, said Darren Gosbee, vice president of powertrain and engineering at Navistar Inc., the parent company of the International brand of trucks. “But we can’t just keep adding gauges. We have run out of space,” Gosbee said. One consideration would be to locate a screen in front of the driver to display virtual gauges, or to assist in driver coaching using graphics that illustrate the truck’s position on the road, or show real-time fuel economy or information relayed from the back office to the cab, he said. The possibilities of what to display are endless since so much information and connectivity is available, said Gosbee. “But this could backfire because of driver distraction.” Voice activation will become more of a factor in managing the cab environment, he said. VTNA’s Long said, “You have heard about the Internet of Things, a truck is one of those things.” Meanwhile, truck makers use aluminum, steel and high-strength steel to form the shape of their cabs and apply adhesives to join the pieces together, which can present an issue when it comes to repairing the cabs, said one attendee who was an owner of a heavy-duty repair shop. For instance, when taking a roof off, then reinstalling it — what kind of glue is needed, what is the procedure “to do that in a repair-friendly cab, if there is one?” he said. One suggestion from the panel was to look at repair manuals from the truck makers, through the local dealer. “We’ve asked [for manuals],” the repair shop owner said. “We are asking for help here to get some repairs done … everything rolls in the door.” “Sometimes we don’t come up with the exact right answer in this forum,” moderator John Adami, a principal with Northwest Heavy Duty Inc., a manufacturer's rep agency, said. Adami suggested he could help arrange a conversation with technical support contacts at the truck makers who might provide more help. “That is one of the great values of TMC, that relationship-building opportunity,” he said. Adami said he understood it is frustrating to lack information in a world where we expect now to be able to repair things with internet videos. “But you suggest a scenario where that does not yet exist.” Another questioner from a motor carrier said fleets “struggle more and more” with the layout in new trucks to find a place — that won’t obscure the driver’s vision — to mount an electronic logging device, which for most will soon be mandatory. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ELD rule takes effect Dec. 17, and will shift almost all drivers to electronic logging and away from paper reports. VTNA’s Gosbee suggested as the industry moves forward, an app for ELDs could be available.

Navistar, Volkwagen Close Strategic Alliance Deal Heavy Duty Trucking / March 1, 2017 Navistar International Corp. announced the closing of its "wide-ranging strategic alliance" with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes an equity investment in Navistar, a procurement joint venture, and technology and supply collaboration. "This alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus marks a significant milestone in our company's history, and we expect it will create multiple benefits for both companies in both the near and long term," said Troy Clarke, Navistar chairman, president and CEO. "Now that the transaction has closed, we will move quickly to collaborate with an industry-leading, strategic partner to increase our global scale, strengthen our competitiveness, and provide our customers with expanded access to cutting-edge products, technology and services." In fact, evidence of the new collaboration was already evident this week with Navistar's announcement at the ATA Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting of the new A26 engine, based on the crankcase of a D26 engine from MAN – a German truck and engine manufacturer wholly owned by Volkswagen. "The authorities have given our strategic alliance with Navistar the green light. Our newly-founded purchasing cooperation will begin work immediately. This puts both partners in a stronger position for the future. The strategic alliance provides Volkswagen Truck & Bus with access to the all-important North American market. This is a major step toward becoming a global champion," said Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus. With the closing of the alliance, Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquired approximately 16.2 million newly issued shares in Navistar, representing 16.6% of post-transaction undiluted common stock (or 19.9% of pre-transaction outstanding common stock), effective Feb. 28. As a result, Navistar receives $256 million to be used for general corporate purposes. Renschler and Matthias Gründler, Chief Financial Officer of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, are joining Navistar's board of directors. The companies' ongoing technology and supply collaboration, which operates out of Stockholm, Sweden, is intended to facilitate collaboration on several aspects of commercial vehicle development, including advanced powertrain technology solutions. Global Truck & Bus Procurement LLC, the procurement joint venture created by Navistar and Volkswagen Truck & Bus, will start work effective immediately. Operating out of Navistar's headquarters in Lisle, Illinois, it's made up of representatives from both companies who will be combining the demand of five brands, including Volkswagen Truck & Bus's Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, in addition to Navistar's own International and IC Bus brands. Navistar continues to expect significant synergies from both the strategic technology collaboration and the procurement joint venture, expecting at least $500 million in "cumulative synergies" over the first five years.

Navistar, Volkswagen close alliance deal Fleet Owner / March 1, 2017 Navistar International Corporation announced the closing of its wide-ranging strategic alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes an equity investment in Navistar by Volkswagen Truck & Bus and framework agreements for a procurement joint venture and strategic technology and supply collaboration. “This alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus marks a significant milestone in our company’s history, and we expect it will create multiple benefits for both companies in both the near and long term,” said Troy Clarke, chairman, president and CEO, Navistar. “Now that the transaction has closed, we will move quickly to collaborate with an industry-leading, strategic partner to increase our global scale, strengthen our competitiveness, and provide our customers with expanded access to cutting-edge products, technology and services.” “The authorities have given our strategic alliance with Navistar the green light. Our newly-founded purchasing cooperation will begin work immediately. This puts both partners in a stronger position for the future. The strategic alliance provides Volkswagen Truck & Bus with access to the all-important North American market. This is a major step toward becoming a global champion,” said Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus. With the closing of the alliance, Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquired approximately 16.2 million newly issued shares in Navistar, representing 16.6% of post-transaction undiluted common stock (or 19.9% of pre-transaction outstanding common stock), effective Feb. 28, 2017. As a result, Navistar receives $256 million to be used for general corporate purposes. As part of the alliance agreement and in line with Volkswagen Truck & Bus’s ownership stake, Renschler and Matthias Gründler, chief financial officer of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, are joining Navistar’s board of directors. “We are excited to welcome Andreas Renschler and Matthias Gründler to the Navistar Board, and are confident that we will benefit from their deep industry knowledge and fresh perspectives,” said Clarke. “Their expertise in commercial vehicle production will be invaluable as we strive to become the North American champion in our industry.” Global Truck & Bus Procurement LLC, the procurement joint venture created by Navistar and Volkswagen Truck & Bus, will start work effective immediately. As part of the alliance, it will create new opportunities for quality improvement and cost reduction, and will enable both companies to benefit from increased global scope and scale. The joint venture is operating out of Navistar’s headquarters in Lisle, Illinois, and comprises representatives from both companies who will be combining the demand of five brands, including Volkswagen Truck & Bus’s Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, in addition to Navistar’s own International and IC Bus brands. The companies’ ongoing technology and supply collaboration, which operates out of Stockholm, Sweden, is intended to facilitate collaboration on several aspects of commercial vehicle development, including advanced powertrain technology solutions. Ultimately, it is expected to optimize research and development spend and expand the technology options both companies will be able to offer customers. Navistar continues to expect significant synergies from both the strategic technology collaboration and the procurement joint venture. As previously announced, Navistar expects the alliance to be accretive beginning in the first year, and for cumulative synergies for Navistar to ramp up to at least $500 million over the first five years. By year five, it expects the alliance will generate annual synergies of at least $200 million for Navistar. This annual run rate is expected to grow materially thereafter as the companies continue to introduce technologies from the collaboration. Volkswagen Truck & Bus houses the MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, and RIO brands. The company intends to boost its profitability, customer innovation, and global presence over the next decade to become a leading commercial vehicle group worldwide. .

Transport Topics / March 1, 2017 Navistar International Corp. and Volkswagen’s Truck & Bus division completed their alliance announced in September, with the German automotive company acquiring 16.2 million common shares, or 16.6% of equity, and the Lisle, Illinois, truck maker getting $256 million. The deal was completed Feb. 28 and announced March 1 after the government regulators approved the transaction. “We never doubted it would close. The final approval was not in the U.S. or Europe but in one of the other places where we both do business,” Navistar Chairman and CEO Troy Clarke said in an interview shortly after the transaction was completed. The deal gives Navistar three separate major owners that collectively own about a half of the original equipment manufacturer: Carl Icahn, Mark Rachesky and VW. Icahn and Rachesky have had two seats each on Navistar’s board of directors, and now VW also has two. Joining the board are Truck & Bus CEO Andreas Renschler and Chief Financial Officer Matthias Grundler. Clarke said they joined the board Feb. 28, raising membership to 12 people. Renschler is the former head of the Daimler AG global truck division, the world’s largest heavy truck maker. VW’s two major heavy truck brands in Europe are MAN and Scania. Clarke said the VW money will be used for general purposes and that it gives the parent of International trucks and engines some breathing room. Clarke has been leading Navistar’s turnaround effort since 2013, during which time the company has carefully monitored cash reserves. “We do manage cash specifically and deliberately,” Clarke said. “We don’t anticipate using the money immediately, but it is good to plus-up our balances.” Although very useful, the money is probably not the most important part of the deal. Clarke said the two companies remain separate, as VW owns only about one-sixth, but the two will collaborate extensively. Most obvious is the new procurement joint venture, with the two OEMs pooling their purchasing power. Clarke said this will have three components: basic commodities, including oil, antifreeze and paints; components, such as fuel pumps; and finally, the development of future products. “This is a longer thing, where technology and procurement overlap,” Clarke said. Executives and managers from the two companies had been talking about how to proceed on a somewhat detached, conceptual basis. Now, Clarke said, they are also plunging into specifics. Not only are engineers and other professionals working with each other on trucks and engines in Lisle and VW’s headquarters city of Braunschweig, Germany, but also on technology. Clarke said Navistar and VW share an interest in connected vehicles, or the “digitization” of commercial vehicles, as the Germans call it. “This is a huge area,” Clarke said of telematics for maintenance and customer service, and technology for active safety systems, autonomous driver assistance and platooning. “There’s as much excitement here [in technology] as in the greasy bits” of oil filters and wheel ends. Technological advancement was sometimes difficult as a stand-alone company, Clarke said. That could mean prioritizing between developing a new cab and working on emissions regulations. “Now we have enough for both,” he said. “It’s great having a partner who looks at things the same way we do.”

Reuters / March 1, 2017 Volkswagen is ready to consider a new truck partner in China, for example with FAW in addition to Sinotruk (aka CNHTC), as a way to push its expansion in China, trucks chief Andreas Renschler told Manager Magazin. “We are thinking about how we can better establish ourselves in China,” said Renschler, adding that FAW is a strong player there. Asked about VW’s existing alliance with Sinotruk, in which VW Truck & Bus’s MAN unit holds a 25.1 percent stake, Renschler said: “This partnership has existed for what seems like forever, with few ups and lots of downs.”

People in Africa continue to pop out kids faster then a PEZ dispenser, creating a population far larger than the situation at any time can support, and the U.S. taxpayer is supposed to feed them ? There’s always a “famine” going on in Africa. It’s standard operating procedure. It’s not our job, and we can no longer afford it anyway. We need legislation that allows the U.S. taxpayer to “opt out”, disallowing our tax money to be spent as foreign aid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trump’s plan to slash foreign aid comes as famine threat is surging The Washington Post / March 1, 2017 President Trump has proposed large cuts to foreign aid at a time of acute need across Africa and the Middle East, with four countries approaching famine and 20 million people nearing starvation, according to the United Nations. It is the first time in recent memory that so many large-scale hunger crises have occurred simultaneously, and humanitarian groups say they do not have the resources to respond effectively. The United Nations has requested $4.4 billion by March to “avert a catastrophe,” Secretary General António Guterres said last week. It has so far received only a tiny fraction of that request. The details of Trump’s budget proposal have not been released, and large cuts to foreign assistance will face stiff opposition from Congress. So far, U.S. funding for the hunger crises has come out of a budget approved last year under President Obama. But the famines or near-famines in parts of Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen underscore the reliance on continued U.S. assistance to save some of the world’s most desperate people. In Nigeria, millions have been displaced and isolated by Boko Haram insurgents. In Somalia, a historic drought has left a huge portion of the country without access to regular food, as al-Shabab militants block the movement of humanitarian groups. In South Sudan, a three-year-old civil war has forced millions of people from their homes and farms. In Yemen, a civil war along with aerial attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have caused another sweeping hunger crisis. In 2016, the United States contributed about 28 percent of the foreign aid in those four countries, according to the United Nations. “Nobody can replace the U.S. in terms of funding,” said Yves Daccord, the director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who said of the current crises: “I don’t remember ever seeing such a mix of conflict, drought and extreme hunger.” U.S. aid officials said they were still trying to discern what the White House was planning to allocate to humanitarian assistance. Even though foreign aid is typically around 1 percent of the government’s budget, that is enough to make the United States by far the world’s largest donor. Last year, the United States contributed $6.4 billion in humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations, more than a quarter of global funding. “We remain committed to a U.S. foreign policy that advances the security, prosperity and values of the American people,” said a USAID spokesman, who added that he was not authorized to speak on the record. But asked whether the United States planned to contribute to the new U.N. appeal for hunger relief, the USAID official said, “We have no new funding to announce at this time.” Early reports said Trump planned to propose 37 percent cuts to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development budgets. Many experts said they expected that those cuts would exclude U.S. contributions to security assistance. “That leaves a much smaller component, which takes us directly to cuts in humanitarian assistance,” said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. The four hunger crises pose an enormous challenge for the humanitarian community, which is now torn between those emergencies. The last time a famine was declared in Africa was in Somalia in 2011. Nearly 260,000 people died, and aid groups later determined that they had waited too long to act. Famine is only declared when at least 30 percent of a population is acutely malnourished, and two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying each day. Humanitarian groups have tried to apply the lessons from the 2011 disaster by moving quickly at the signs of deepening food crises. But the number of countries at risk of famine simultaneously makes a swift, thorough response to each of them very difficult. “The donors are struggling left, right and center with their own allocations,” said Silke Pietzsch, the technical director for Action Against Hunger. “There are just too many fires to take care of.” The United Nations was, by its own admission, late to recognize the scale of the crisis in northeastern Nigeria. Last year, when aid workers from Doctors Without Borders began traveling to parts of the country that had been blocked by Boko Haram fighters, they found soaring malnutrition rates and scores of people dying of preventable illnesses. Now, huge swaths of the region are still inaccessible to aid workers. “No one can go 15 miles outside of the local government capitals,” said Yannick Pouchalan, the country director for Action Against Hunger. “There are still many people without any access to humanitarian assistance.” USAID has been the largest provider of assistance in the crisis, Pouchalan said. “If that aid stops, it means we won’t reach the people in need,” he said. None of the crises are strictly about a lack of food aid or humanitarian funding. “These are man-made crises in need of political solutions,” Pietzsch said. In South Sudan, where two counties are already in the midst of famine, continued clashes between government and opposition forces have restricted the access of aid workers and kept people from farming on their land. The United Nations and other humanitarian groups have frequently been targeted by armed groups affiliated with both sides of the conflict. During fighting in July, government forces stole 4,500 metric tons of food from a World Food Program compound in Juba, the capital, enough to feed more than 200,000 people. More than 1 million children in the country are malnourished and could die without a rapid intervention, according to UNICEF. The United States has given more than $2.1 billion to South Sudan since the start of the conflict in December 2013. USAID claims that American food donations reach 1.3 million people every month and “has saved lives and helped to avert famine for three consecutive years,” according to a State Department statement last week. Yet as the situation there worsens and food prices continue to rise as a result of an unusually bad harvest across much of Africa, the need for humanitarian assistance is expected to grow. In South Sudan, 700,000 people are already in “phase four” of the hunger crisis, the last stage before famine. In Somalia, Save the Children has warned that the country has reached a “tipping point” and could quickly enter a famine “far worse than the 2011 famine.” Of the four crises, Somalia’s is the most clearly linked to drought conditions, but insecurity caused by al-Shabab militants frequently keeps humanitarian workers from reaching civilians.

Only in America........................ Will President Trump act ? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge approves release of Florida nightclub shooter's widow Reuters / March 1, 2017 A judge cleared the way on Wednesday for the widow of the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, to be released from jail and also appeared to throw doubt on the strength of the government's case against her. Noor Salman, 30, was arrested in California in January on federal charges she knew before the June 2016 shootings that her husband, Omar Mateen, was planning the attack and concocted a cover story for him. Prosecutors want Salman to remain jailed before her trial in Florida. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu said in an Oakland courtroom that the government had not shown Salman was a danger to the community or a serious flight risk. "I find the weight of the government evidence as debatable," Ryu added. Commenting on the prosecutor's charges against Salman, the judge said: "All the government assertions are hotly debated." Salman is charged with obstructing justice and aiding Mateen in his attempt to provide material support to a terrorist organization. Mateen was killed in a shootout with police after he took hostages during a three-hour standoff at the Pulse nightclub and carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Ryu gave prosecutors in Florida 48 hours to challenge her ruling, meaning Salman could not walk free from jail until Friday at the earliest. William Daniels, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Florida, said by telephone that prosecutors would file a motion by Friday with a judge in Orlando challenging Salman's release. Ryu likened Salman's release to house arrest, ordering her to live with her uncle in Rodeo, California, and saying she could leave home only for court and medical appointments. Her conditional release will be secured with a $500,000 bond.

. .

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017 . .

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Kenworth Trucks Australia Press Release / February 26, 2017

Volvo Trucks Australia / February 27, 2017 Maxine Taylor, 52, keeps her family tradition alive, driving a 175-tonne rated road train across the Australian outback in 48-degree temperatures. Her father and her husband - both now passed away - had the same profession. “I think my husband would be very proud,” Taylor says, adding that her father drove a Volvo too. “So it’s very close to my heart.“ Six days a week for eight weeks in a row, she makes an 800 kilometre round trip to pick up manganese. After the eight weeks have passed she gets two weeks off before it all starts over again. .

Scania reaches milestone: 250,000 connected vehicles Scania Group Press Release / February 27, 2017 Connectivity is an integral part of Scania’s customer offering since many years. As Scania now launches a new connectivity offering, the number of connected Scania vehicles has reached a quarter million. This amounts to two thirds of Scania’s 5-year rolling fleet. “The world of heavy transport stands on the brink of a fundamental shift towards sustainable transport. Digitalisation and connectivity will play a pivotal role in enabling this shift,” says Henrik Henriksson, President and CEO of Scania. With the aim to lead the shift towards sustainable transport systems, Scania has outlined a strategy that focuses on greater energy efficiency, smarter and safer transport and the increased utilisation of alternative renewable fuels. One key enabler of change is connectivity, which Scania pioneered as a standard feature. Today more than 50,000 Scania customers globally benefit from in-depth data on fleet performance for their one-quarter million vehicles. “We continue to get a growing share of our revenue from connectivity and other new areas. This past year we saw about 5% of our top line directly or indirectly depending on connected vehicles,” says Henriksson. Through connectivity there is great potential to eliminate waste in the transport system, and ensure the highest uptime. This is essential in an industry where a truck that spends just a few days off the road can have high impact on a customer’s earnings. The right combination of connected services can also help reduce fuel costs, which usually constitute one-third of transport company expenditure. In addition, with a connected fleet, there is enormous potential in finding flow efficiency gains in the industries where Scania’s customers’ customers operate, for example in construction, city public transport and forestry. Scania uses real time data to optimise a flow and predict for the specific route and for the specific customer how to get the most out of each vehicle. Irrespective of whether it is maintaining a long haul truck as many days as possible on the road, or if it is knowing the logistics of a large scale construction site or if it is optimising public transport systems in large cities, connectivity and data analysis helps deliver the best possible transport service for each customer. Autonomous technology where Scania also collaborates with communications technology giant Ericsson on enhancing wireless communication between heavy vehicles, is another area making fast progress. The possibilities offered in the autonomous space will grow further as the 5G networks that Ericsson is developing will be deployed. Scania has recently been awarded a project to design the world’s first full-scale autonomous truck platooning operations in Singapore. With reliable inter-communications between trucks and buses, distances between vehicles can be safely reduced, reducing drag and lowering fuel consumption. Connectivity also enables real-time updates on weather conditions, obstacles on the road, and other hazards that might pose a safety risks. Scania is now further developing its efficiency-enhancing services through the open, non-proprietary Scania One, with a platform for existing and coming Scania services and external content. It provides a comprehensive gateway to all presently available and coming services in the device of choice, mobile or stationary. .