April 5, 2022

Visa and PopID Form Partnership to Launch Facial Verification Payments in the Middle East

P lans for roll-out in the MENA and CEE regions underway through joint venture with global investment conglomerate Dubai Holding

PASADENA, Calif. and DUBAI, UAE, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — PopID, a consumer authentication service, and Visa (NYSE: V), the world’s leader in digital payments, announced a partnership to collaborate on launching facial verification payment acceptance in the Middle East region. The goal of the partnership is to provide cardholders with new safe, secure, and innovative ways to pay.

The first operators to welcome PopPay (PopID’s facial biometric payment solution) in the market will be Costa Coffee, MMI, and grocery chain Géant, in addition to Cove Beach at Caesars Palace Dubai and Coca-Cola Arena Dubai, both of which belong to the portfolio of Dubai Holding, the diversified global investment company headquartered in Dubai, UAE.

In addition to select brick-and-mortar businesses of Dubai Holding adopting PopPay as a new way to accept payments, PopID has recently signed an agreement with Dubai Holding to soon establish a joint venture that will support the roll-out of PopPay in the CEE and MENA regions.

During the initial phase of the partnership, Dubai Holding will deploy PopPay at some of its assets across its leading destinations and attractions, which will be followed by the adoption of the payment technology across Dubai Holding’s wider ecosystem and through partners across CEE and MENA region.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 85% of executives believe biometrics will be used to authenticate the vast majority of payments in the next ten years. “Facial biometric payments are at the forefront of payments innovation, providing cardholders a fast, seamless and most importantly, secure way to authenticate and make a payment,” said Akshay Chopra, Head of Visa CEMEA Innovation & Design. “From across our partner network, we’ve seen heightened interest in co-creating new facial and biometric payments moments. Through this partnership with PopPay, we are keen to help clients roll out biometric payment capabilities faster and with more success.”

Under the alliance with Visa, issuing banks will be invited to join the platform and give their customers the ability to link their facial biometrics to their debit or credit cards to make payments; and acquiring banks will be offered the opportunity to distribute PopID’s proprietary face pay terminals to brick and mortar businesses. “We expect face pay to become the global standard for payments, and we are determined to make PopPay the consumer brand that is used and trusted by people all over the world,” said John Miller, CEO of PopID.

Throughout 2022, the platform will look to further scale across the Middle East region by partnering with key merchants to provide this leading payments technology to consumers. This second international deployment follows the launch of PopPay Japan through a joint venture with a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp.

About PopID

PopID provides a trusted and secure platform that enables businesses to give their customers and employees the option of authenticating their identity using advanced facial verification.

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa and @VisaNews.

About Dubai Holding

Dubai Holding is a diversified global investment company with operations in over 13 countries and employing over 20,000 people. Established in 2004, Dubai Holding touches the lives of millions of Dubai residents and visitors through its extensive portfolio of over AED 130 billion worth of assets that support the diversification and sustainable growth of Dubai’s economy across 10 key sectors: Real Estate, Hospitality, Leisure & Entertainment, Media, ICT, Design, Education, Retail, Manufacturing & Logistics and Science.

www.dubaiholding.com
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www.youtube.com/user/dubaiholding
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dubai-holding

Press Contact
Diane Zuniga
Golin
dzuniga@golin.com / 909-510-0433

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780422/PopID_Visa.jpg

April 5, 2022

Nikkiso’s Heavy Duty SLS Pump Provides Mission Operations for the Space Industry

TEMECULA, Calif., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (Group), a part of Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japan), is proud to supply one of the largest-known launch support system in the world. For over four decades, they have been providing uninterrupted operating systems (24/7) for the space and launch industry.

These units must supply a continuous operation to fulfill mission tasks. Reliability is critical for a heavy-duty rocket launch, and the pumps need to operate non-stop during the launch. The Group is consistently chosen for its launch support systems due to their 70 years’ experience, level of service and ability to provide local support.

Designed, engineered and manufactured by the Group’s Cryogenic Pumps Unit (Nikkiso ACD) the HD SLS is a robust, highly reliable addition to their reciprocating high pressure/ high flow line of pumps. These pumps and their corresponding systems are specifically designed for the rigorous requirements of this application, including wide turn-down ratios, minimum cool-down time and maximized mean time between overhaul (MTBO).

“We are very proud to play a part in the growing space industry, and to be able to provide the performance and reliability required in such important missions,” according to Daryl Lamy, President & CEO of Nikkiso ACD / Nikkiso Cryo.

Nikkiso ACD has over 70 years of experience with high pressure pumping applications, and thousands in operation during that time.

ABOUT CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (now a member of Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) member companies manufacture engineered cryogenic gas processing equipment and small-scale process plants for the liquefied natural gas (LNG), well services and industrial gas industries. Founded over 50 years ago, Cryogenic Industries is the parent company of ACD, Cosmodyne and Cryoquip and a commonly controlled group of approximately 20 operating entities.

For more information, please visit www.nikkisoCEIG.com and www.nikkiso.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com

April 5, 2022

IEAD and Envision ink LOI to build the largest wind farm in ASEAN

SHANGHAI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Envision Group (Envision) announces that it has signed a Letter of intent (LOI) with Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) for the supply of wind turbines to the iconic 600MW Monsoon Wind Project in Lao PDR. The wind farm will commence construction this year and is expected to achieve commercial operation in 2025. Once completed, it will be the largest wind farm in ASEAN as well as region’s first cross-border wind energy project.

The wind farm will be located in the Sekong and Attapeu provinces in Southern Lao PDR. Envision plans to supply 133 units of EN-171 wind turbines with a power rating of 4.51 MW. The Monsoon Wind Project will generate over 1,700 GWh of green energy each year. The project’s electricity generation will be delivered from Lao PDR to Central Vietnam through the project’s dedicated 500 kV transmission line.

Mr. Nat Hutanuwatr, Managing Director of IEAD, commented “As we are making excellent progress in developing the first and largest cross-border wind farm in South East Asia with a very competitive tariff, we are delighted to welcome Envision to join our exciting journey to deliver zero carbon electricity. Envision’s state-of-the-art technology for the proposed wind turbine solution and its successful execution track record will be key enablers for the project to achieve its objectives reliably and economically.”

The Monsoon Project has attracted global attention since its initial stages. IEAD’s affiliate, Impact Electrons Siam Company Limited (IES), started developing the wind farm in 2011 and IEAD signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity (EVN) in July 2021.

Envision is also collaborating with IES on IES’ development of the Xekong Wind Project, a further 1,000 MW wind farm on a site adjacent to the Monsoon Project. IES recently announced that it had obtained exclusive rights from the Government of Lao PDR to conduct a feasibility study and preliminary Environment Impact Assessment for the Xekong Wind Project.

About Impact Energy Asia Development Limited
Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) is developing the Monsoon Wind Project and is 55% owned by Impact Wind Investment Limited and 45% by BCPG Public Company Limited, a leading renewable energy company in Thailand and Asia-Pacific.

About Impact Electrons Siam Limited
Impact Electrons Siam Limited (IES), is a pioneering renewable energy development firm headquartered in Thailand with over 1,900 MW of wind and solar energy projects in development and operation in Thailand, Japan, Lao PDR and Vietnam. IES is a privately owned company established in 2011. IES develops clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy solutions and is a pioneer of visionary innovation in the renewable energy sector with a vision to build a better future for communities across the region.

IES is leading the development of the Monsoon and Xekong wind farms in Southern Lao PDR, which will have an aggregate capacity of 1,600 MW. IES recently announced that the Monsoon Wind Power Project had signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity, with the project on schedule to achieve financial close during 2022.

For more information, please visit http://www.impactelectrons.com/

About Envision Group
Envision Group is a world-leading green technology company and net zero technology partner. With the mission of “solving the challenges for the sustainable future of humankind”. Envision designs, sells, and operates smart wind turbines and smart storage system through Envision Energy; AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC; and the world’s largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. It also owns Envision Racing Formula E team. Envision continues to promote wind and solar power as the “new coal”, batteries and hydrogen fuel as the “new oil”, the AIoT network as the “new grid”, the net-zero industrial parks to the “new infrastructure”, and to promote the construction and cultivation of green “new industry”.

Envision Group was ranked among the Top 10 of the 2019 ‘World’s 50 Smartest Companies’ by the MIT Technology Review. In October 2021, Envision was ranked second in the world on the Fortune “Change the World” list. Envision Group joined the global ‘RE100’ initiative and became the first company in mainland China committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2025.On April 22, 2021, Envision Group announced it will achieve carbon neutral in operations by 2022 and achieve carbon neutral throughout its value chain by 2028.

For more information, please visit www.envision-group.com

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/747745/Envision_Logo.jpg

April 5, 2022

Initiating a Globally-Recognized Vaccine Passport, Indonesia’s G20 HWG Meeting Series Welcome More International Visitors

JAKARTA, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Assuming the presidency in the upcoming G20 summit, Indonesia has begun the Health Working Group (HWG) meeting series that took place on 28-30 March 2022 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Indonesia's Ministry of Health Discussed Global Standard Health Protocols in the HWG Meetings

Indonesia’s G20 presidency seeks to harmonize safe and healthy travel procedures worldwide, especially the recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates in the wake of the pandemic that ravaged countries globally. The HWG meeting was aimed to foster a dialogue in the health sector between participating countries and synchronize global health protocols.

The meeting was attended by 70 foreign delegates and 50 local delegates. Delegates who participated in person were Australia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, India, etc., and the World Health Organization (WHO). Meanwhile, those who attended virtually included Canada, France, etc., and international organizations such as the World Bank.

“We need to have synchronized health protocols globally to enable safer international travels and accelerate the social and economic recovery for good,” said Budi Gunadi Sadikin, the Minister of Health of Indonesia.

The HWG meeting has unveiled the initiation to standardize the digital COVID-19 vaccine certificates through a universal verifier made according to the WHO standards. The system is web-based that can be used on all devices. Each country does not need to change the system or the QR codes that are currently used.

Health protocol restrictions differ for every country. For instance, European countries like Denmark, Hungary, etc., have lifted all measures, but some still require a vaccination certificate upon arrival. While Middle East and African countries still require a vaccination certificate or a PCR test.

Each country is given the flexibility to apply necessary health protocols for their countries. However, the procedures are clear and universal thus strengthening the global health architecture and easing traveling across countries.

The synchronization of health protocols is needed to support the interconnectivity of health information. This process is expected to start from the G20 countries and expand to other countries globally.

The second HWG meeting in Lombok in June, will discuss about the global health fund in case of a future pandemic. The last of the HWG series in Bali in November, will discuss about the global medical research.

More information can be accessed at the Indonesia’s Ministry of Health website https://www.kemkes.go.id/.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1779676/51966371023_bb8af715ed_6k.jpg

April 5, 2022

ICRC: One Quarter of Africans Face ‘Food Security Crisis’

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says one quarter of Africa’s 346 million people faces a “food security crisis.”

The problem, the ICRC says, spans the entire continent with “millions of families skipping meals every day” and “an alarming hunger situation that risks intensifying in the coming months.”

The causes, according to the ICRC, are conflict, drought, rising food prices, increases in the cost of fuel and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a disaster going largely unnoticed. Millions of families are going hungry and children are dying because of malnutrition,” says Dominik Stillhart, the head of the ICRC’s global operations.

“We are scaling up our operations in countries like Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso and many others to try and help as many people as we can, but the number of people going without food and water is staggering.”

Last month, the ICRC said Somalia was the most severely affected of the Horn of Africa countries facing the ongoing drought. The ICRC noted that crops had failed, water levels were depleted, and livestock lost.

Source: Voice of America

April 5, 2022

Nearly entire global population breathing polluted air: WHO

GENEVA— A full 99 percent of people on Earth breathe air containing too many pollutants, the World Health Organization said, blaming poor air quality for millions of deaths each year.

Fresh data from the UN health agency showed that every corner of the globe is dealing with air pollution, although the problem is much worse in poorer countries.

“Almost 100 percent of the global population is still breathing air that exceeds the standards recommended by the World Health Organization,” the agency’s environment, climate change and health director Maria Neira told reporters.

“This is a major public health issue.”

In its previous report four years ago, WHO had already found that over 90 percent of the global population was affected, but it has since tightened its limits, it said.

“The evidence base for the harm caused by air pollution has been growing rapidly and points to significant harm caused by even low levels of many air pollutants,” WHO said.

While UN data last year indicated that pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions caused short-lived improvements in air quality, WHO said air pollution remains a towering problem.

“After surviving a pandemic, it is unacceptable to still have seven million preventable deaths and countless preventable lost years of good health due to air pollution,” Neira said.

WHO’s study provides air quality data from more than 6,000 cities and other settlements across 117 countries — representing around 80 percent of urban settings.

In addition, Neira said WHO used satellite data and mathematical models to determine that air quality is falling short basically everywhere.

The poorest air quality was found in the eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions, and Africa, she said.

The findings were alarming, the organisation said, and highlighted the importance of rapidly curbing fossil fuel use.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that worries over soaring energy prices, due in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, should help propel change.

“Current energy concerns highlight the importance of speeding up the transition to cleaner, healthier energy systems,” he said in a statement.

“High fossil fuel prices, energy security, and the urgency of addressing the twin health challenges of air pollution and climate change, underscore the pressing need to move faster towards a world that is much less dependent on fossil fuels.”

The report provides data on concentrations of dangerous particulate matter with a diameter of between 2.5 and 10 micrometres (PM10), and particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5).

PM2.5 includes toxins like sulfate and black carbon, which pose the greatest health risks since they can penetrate deep into the lungs or cardiovascular system.

And for the first time, the report also provides ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common urban pollutant, which is associated with respiratory diseases, particularly asthma.

The report found problems related to particulate pollution were far worse in poorer countries, but that most cities had trouble with nitrogen dioxide.

While the air in 17 percent of cities in high-income countries fell below WHO’s air quality guidelines for PM2.5 or PM10, less than one percent of cities in low and middle-income countries complied with the recommended thresholds, the report said.

Out of the around 4,000 cities across 74 countries that collected NO2 data, measurements meanwhile showed only 23 percent of people breathed annual average concentrations of the gas that met levels in WHO’s recently updated guidelines.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK