Social Support in Al Ain Launches “My Secure and Stable Marital Life”

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, May 26th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Al Ain Social Support Center recently launched an awareness program entitled “My Secure and Stable Marital Life” in a bid to strengthen the essential foundation for community safety. The program strengthens the efforts of Abu Dhabi Police in maintaining family stability and in enhancing the leading role of the Social Support Center. 

According to Colonel Ali Salem Al Badi, Director of the Social Support Center in Al Ain, “The program aims to spread the positive culture in society through introducing the fundamental aspects of building a successful marital life and a happy family. The program embodies the keenness of the police to enhance understanding between family members and to further strengthen social stability.”

He said that marital life is a social and economic institution that plays an important role in building and maintaining a stable society. By fostering and establishing positive marital relationships, future generations will be strengthened and more capable of bearing any difficulties that they may face. “A happy marriage is based off of stability, tranquility, communication, and compassion. A secure and stable family life is the cornerstone of a cohesive community,” he said.

Colonel Al Badi added that the program also aims to identify the duties and responsibilities of each partner in the marriage. The program familiarizes the husband and wife with the necessary skills and the means to handle marital problems in a manner that prevents the negative impact it has on the family and society.

The program, delivered through a series of lectures from specialists of the Abu Dhabi Police, is designed for women. As wives and mothers play key roles in securing and protecting their families from social fluctuations, discussions will include topics such as: the culture of marital construction, the keys to a proper married life, things that destroy a marriage, and ways to renew marital life in a manner that contributes to a stable family and the development of society.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14714/en

ADP Discusses Ways to Raise Awareness about Tire Safety with Partners

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, May 26th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate of the Abu Dhabi Police recently held a coordination meeting with strategic partners in order to discuss the dangers of using counterfeit or expired tires. The strategic partners involved in the meeting included representatives from tire companies, the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), and the Department of Economic Development.

Throughout the meeting, the Directorate warned motorists against using expired or counterfeit tires, citing that as the temperatures rise, faulty tires are like ticking time bombs.

Colonel Hamad Nasser Al Bloushi Head of Peripheral Regions Traffic Department at Abu Dhabi Police stressed the dangers of using counterfeit or expired tires that do not meet the certified standards in vehicles. He reiterated the importance of providing the maximum safety requirements to all motorists and road users in Abu Dhabi. He suggested that this can be achieved through “coordinative efforts to raise the level of awareness amongst drivers regarding the importance of using the appropriate tires. One way would be to educate motorists about the available information imprinted on the tires alongside the ways to distinguish between good and bad qualities of tires.”

Col. Al Bloushi highlighted the importance of finding an effective method that includes every relevant authority in monitoring and calibrating the tires according to their technical specifications; this includes excluding tires that do not meet the certified standards from sellers, and to present cohesive recommendations and regulations to ensure tire safety.  He also urged motorists to check the air pressure and integrity of all their vehicle’s tires, including the spare tire.

“The Abu Dhabi Police are exerting tremendous efforts and intensifying traffic control and community outreach in order to reduce the use of unfit tires that do not meet the standards. As per the Federal Law No. (21) of 1995, violators will be punished with a fine of Dhs 200 and vehicle impoundment for a week,” he said.

During the meeting, Col. Al Bloushi reviewed the necessary information that drivers should be aware of with partners. Before purchasing tires, drivers should be aware of how to inspect tires prior to buying, and to ensure that they have not been affected by heat or humidity – as this increases the dangers of a tire burst and subsequently leads to accidents. After purchasing tires, he said that drivers should be aware of the following: the manufacturing date and date of expiry after installation (6 months for trucks and 2 years for light vehicles); the importance of changing an expired tire; and the proper ways to store tires.

Col. Al Bloushi revealed that the Directorate is launching an awareness campaign in the coming period in cooperation with the strategic partners; and will target truck drivers, road users, and drivers in public and private sectors. The campaign serves to educate the community on the dangers of using unfit or expired tires, which could explode due to the high temperatures during summer, and the increased traffic and travel between cities and neighboring countries.

“Drivers should always ensure the integrity of their tires by inspecting them. Should they notice any cracks, or that the tires have expired, they should exchange the tires for new ones. When purchasing or exchanging tires, always use tires of good quality - ones that meet the certified standards. These simple procedures are for the driver’s safety, and help to avoid accidents that are caused by exploding tires,” he said. He continued to urge drivers to follow the proper instructions in ensuring the safety of the tires and by checking their manufacturing date. He also said to verify that the correct size of tires is used and to be aware of the size of the load the vehicle is transporting, and what temperatures the tires endure.

He urged the motorists who drive for long distances - especially during this time of year with the high temperature- to ensure that the tires on their vehicles are suitable for such long trips. He requested that they do not leave the damaged tires on the main road after they have burst or have been changed, because they are an obstruction on the road that may cause traffic accidents due to drivers trying to avoid them - especially on highways.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14715/en

ADP Discusses Ways to Raise Awareness about Tire Safety with Partners

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, May 26th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate of the Abu Dhabi Police recently held a coordination meeting with strategic partners in order to discuss the dangers of using counterfeit or expired tires. The strategic partners involved in the meeting included representatives from tire companies, the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), and the Department of Economic Development.

Throughout the meeting, the Directorate warned motorists against using expired or counterfeit tires, citing that as the temperatures rise, faulty tires are like ticking time bombs.

Colonel Hamad Nasser Al Bloushi Head of Peripheral Regions Traffic Department at Abu Dhabi Police stressed the dangers of using counterfeit or expired tires that do not meet the certified standards in vehicles. He reiterated the importance of providing the maximum safety requirements to all motorists and road users in Abu Dhabi. He suggested that this can be achieved through “coordinative efforts to raise the level of awareness amongst drivers regarding the importance of using the appropriate tires. One way would be to educate motorists about the available information imprinted on the tires alongside the ways to distinguish between good and bad qualities of tires.”

Col. Al Bloushi highlighted the importance of finding an effective method that includes every relevant authority in monitoring and calibrating the tires according to their technical specifications; this includes excluding tires that do not meet the certified standards from sellers, and to present cohesive recommendations and regulations to ensure tire safety.  He also urged motorists to check the air pressure and integrity of all their vehicle’s tires, including the spare tire.

“The Abu Dhabi Police are exerting tremendous efforts and intensifying traffic control and community outreach in order to reduce the use of unfit tires that do not meet the standards. As per the Federal Law No. (21) of 1995, violators will be punished with a fine of Dhs 200 and vehicle impoundment for a week,” he said.

During the meeting, Col. Al Bloushi reviewed the necessary information that drivers should be aware of with partners. Before purchasing tires, drivers should be aware of how to inspect tires prior to buying, and to ensure that they have not been affected by heat or humidity – as this increases the dangers of a tire burst and subsequently leads to accidents. After purchasing tires, he said that drivers should be aware of the following: the manufacturing date and date of expiry after installation (6 months for trucks and 2 years for light vehicles); the importance of changing an expired tire; and the proper ways to store tires.

Col. Al Bloushi revealed that the Directorate is launching an awareness campaign in the coming period in cooperation with the strategic partners; and will target truck drivers, road users, and drivers in public and private sectors. The campaign serves to educate the community on the dangers of using unfit or expired tires, which could explode due to the high temperatures during summer, and the increased traffic and travel between cities and neighboring countries.

“Drivers should always ensure the integrity of their tires by inspecting them. Should they notice any cracks, or that the tires have expired, they should exchange the tires for new ones. When purchasing or exchanging tires, always use tires of good quality - ones that meet the certified standards. These simple procedures are for the driver’s safety, and help to avoid accidents that are caused by exploding tires,” he said. He continued to urge drivers to follow the proper instructions in ensuring the safety of the tires and by checking their manufacturing date. He also said to verify that the correct size of tires is used and to be aware of the size of the load the vehicle is transporting, and what temperatures the tires endure.

He urged the motorists who drive for long distances - especially during this time of year with the high temperature- to ensure that the tires on their vehicles are suitable for such long trips. He requested that they do not leave the damaged tires on the main road after they have burst or have been changed, because they are an obstruction on the road that may cause traffic accidents due to drivers trying to avoid them - especially on highways.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14715/en

Saif Bin Zayed Chairs Federal Demographic Council Meeting

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, May 26th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Chaired by Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Federal Demographic Structure Council (FDSC) held its 11th periodic meeting in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was attended by Saqr bin Ghobash, Minister of Labor; Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy; and Mariam Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs.

During the meeting, the council approved the outcomes attained by the Technical Committee for Efficient Building Design, in response to the decision of the Council of Ministers to develop a general Construction Index in the UAE, within the set of proposals that the FDSC submitted to the Council of Ministers. The index aims to establish uniform building design codes in a bid reduce the need for low-skilled laborers at construction sites; and encourage the use of modern methods of construction using prefabricated components manufactured in modern factories and then assembling these components at the construction site using a minimum number of laborers and with a high level of quality.

Attendees also reviewed the joint efforts exerted by the federal and local government entities, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Federal Demographic Structure Council to develop the ‘Building Design Efficiency Index’. The index was designed by specialized engineers from the Ministry of Public Works, the municipality of Abu Dhabi and the Municipality of Dubai, in close consultation and cooperation with the private sector. 

The index analyzes the building designs and plans based on the end goal, which is reducing the number of laborers at the construction site. The field studies carried out by the council indicated that implementing the minimum standards of the efficiency building design index will yield a significant and positive impact on reducing low-skilled laborers, reducing a project’s cost, duration and human errors, as well as decreasing construction debris and pollutants during construction.

H.E the Minister of Economy had formed two committees to develop a general Construction Index in the UAE. The first is a supervisory committee chaired by Minister of Economy and includes the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works; the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Municipality; the Director General of the Dubai Municipality; the Assistant Secretary for Policies and Research at FDSC; the Director of the National Productivity Improvement Program; and a representative from the Association of Contractors as members. The key task of this committee is to oversee the index’s development process. The second committee is technical, chaired by Hessa Al Malek from the Ministry of Public Works, and includes in its membership a number of engineers from the municipalities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the FDSC. The key mission of this committee is to develop a ‘Building Design Efficiency Index’ that is well suited for the UAE.

The technical committee reviewed the viewpoints of the contractors and consultants. The concerned parties stressed the importance of establishing uniform standards and measurements, especially in the structures and wall systems. This is of high importance because in any project, traditional concrete work to build structures and walls requires a large number of workers, and also represents the biggest part of the total cost and duration of the project. Construction companies unanimously approved the implementation of the index, which would reduce the need for low-skilled laborers, and accelerate the project delivery process, ultimately yielding a positive impact on their business. Furthermore, the municipalities’ experts who took part in developing the index praised the standards that encourage the use of modern methods, hence reducing errors during the construction process, as well as reducing differences that may arise between developers and construction companies.

On the same note, the work team evaluated a large number of existing projects to identify the most appropriate minimum standards for the index in the first stage. The team also examined the production capacity of national factories specialized in the supply of prefabricated building components and the modern systems adopted commensurate with the state of the construction industry; in addition to the gradual transition towards the modern systems. The proposed index was also submitted for review to the various municipalities across the UAE, which expressed willingness to adopt and implement the index.

According to architects affiliated with municipalities and contractors from the private sector and construction companies, the proposed building standards are expected to increase the average lifespan of these buildings, as the prefabricated building components are manufactured in a perfect environment and using advanced methods and modern devices with easily controlled high quality specifications. Studies also revealed that adopting the standards proposed in the ‘Building Design Efficiency Index’ contribute to reducing cost by 10% and increasing the speed of delivery. It is also expected to save almost 30% construction time compared with the traditional methods, in addition to reducing the number of workers at construction sites.

The Design Efficiency Index do not impede creativity in the designs because the uniform building code requirements only include the structure and wall systems, in addition to some supporting standards related to the size of key components such as doors and windows, which encourage prefabrication of these components and reduce the need for workers.

This project is a part of the initiatives of the National Productivity Improvement Program, implemented by the Federal Demographic Structure Council. It is designed to increase productivity levels in the UAE, reduce dependence on expatriate workers with a low skill level or a limited economic value for the work performed, and forge ahead towards creating a knowledge economy that is based on highly skilled workers and driven by technology, under the leadership of competent national cadres.

The council adopted a proposal to form an evaluation and follow-up committee from the Ministry of Public Works and Municipalities, in a bid to implement the index across all municipalities and to follow-up on the observance of its relevant standards. The committee would also identify the index’s uniform minimum standards at the countrywide level, develop these standards, and periodically upgrade the minimum standards, with the aim of encouraging the construction industry to boost the efficiency of design.

The meeting was attended by Hamid Al Dir’e, Assistant Secretary General for Strategy and Communications; Dr. Saeed Abdullah, Assistant Secretary General for Policies and Research ; and Eng. Issa Al Hammadi from the Secretariat General of the Federal Demographic Structure Council; along with Eng. Hissa Al Malek from the Ministry of Public Works.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/14713/en

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Releases Regular Weekly Net Asset Value as of May 26 2015

AMSTERDAM - Friday, May 29th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (ticker: PSH:NA) today released its regular weekly Net Asset Value (NAV) on its website, www.pershingsquareholdings.com. The NAV was computed as of the close of business on Tuesday, 26 May 2015.

PSH NAV per share as of close of business on 26 May 2015 was USD28.10.

Weekly net asset value is calculated at the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following Thursday. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, PSH will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. In the event that Thursday is not a business day, any such NAV will be posted the next business day following that Thursday.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (PSH:NA) is an investment holding company structured as a closed end fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150528006651/en/

Contacts

StockWell Communications

Tim Burt, +44 (0)20 7240 2486

Tim.Burt@stockwellgroup.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/14744/en

MoI Receives Project Management Office Award during the First UAE Conference on Excellence

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Monday, May 25th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The First UAE Conference on Excellence in Project and Risk Management in Megaprojects awarded the General Directorate for Engineering Projects at the Ministry of Interior with the Project Management Office award at the institutional level. The conference, organized by the UAE Society of Engineers, kicked off today in Dubai. 

This year’s award was received by Brigadier Dr. Engineer Saif Hamdan Rashid Al Ka'bi, the director of the General Directorate of Engineering Projects at the Ministry of Interior.  “This award embodies the keenness of the Ministry to promote leadership and excellence along the path of achieving the strategic objectives,” he said.

“The Directorate obtained this award after a fierce competition with several distinct organizations,” said Al Ka’bi, hailing the great support provided by the police leadership. “Winning this award was made possible by the police leadership who have contributed to strengthening performances in the areas of police work.”

Adding further, Al Ka’bi highlighted the importance of participating in the First UAE Conference on Excellence in Project and Risk Management in Megaprojects and recognized its support for all aspects of creativity that both institutions and individuals in the UAE strive for. “The conference provides optimal investments to encourage the UAE’s human resources; the creation of a work environment that spurs creativity and innovation; and the knowledge transfer of useful experiences. The conference is a key step in assisting us to reach the sustainable creativity that we seek, through providing the opportunity to further improve ideas, proposals, and possibilities.”

It is noteworthy that the MoI is a strategic sponsor for the First UAE Conference on Excellence in Project and Risk Management in Megaprojects. The Ministry will be participating in the exhibition held along the sidelines of the conference through a pavilion displaying its major engineering projects.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14707/en

Lenovo and Microsoft Make Devices Even More Personal with Cortana and REACHit

Partnership transforms search experience across Windows 10 PCs and tablets

BEIJING - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) and Microsoft today at Lenovo Tech World announced a collaboration to transform the way people find their content in a new, more personal way with Cortana and REACHit. Lenovo announced and demonstrated these technologies to thousands of fans, media, partners and suppliers during the keynote address at Tech World. Lenovo REACHit extends the search capabilities of Cortana for Windows 10 devices with REACHit’s ability to search for content across any connected Lenovo PC or tablet device running Windows 10 and many major cloud services. This deep, exclusive platform integration gives Cortana a much larger inventory of information to search, opening up an entirely new level of contextual search and giving users the most comprehensive, seamless and natural way to find their personal digital content.

The Power to Search

Cortana is the personal digital assistant available across Windows 10 PCs, tablets and phones that allows users to talk or type naturally to get things done. Cortana and REACHit extends the sources from which content can be found. Using a unique user-assigned Lenovo ID, Cortana and REACHit together access data about the content to retrieve a wide variety of a user’s personal content – whether its photos, video, files or emails. Lenovo REACHit reaches across the user’s personal cloud services and their connected Lenovo Windows 10 PCs and tablets to find the content.

For example, a user wants to find a photo hat she edited on her Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop last week. Now she can access it while she’s away from her laptop at the coffee shop by using her Lenovo ThinkPad 10 tablet. She no longer needs to go home and work on the laptop. And by using Cortana and REACHit, she doesn’t even have to remember the name of the photo file – just the location where she edited it, or the date or another piece of relevant information. For example, she could search by saying: “Cortana, find the picture I edited last week on my ThinkPad X1 Carbon.” Or “Cortana, find the picture I worked on at Starbucks last week.”

Cortana and REACHit search her personal cloud accounts including services beyond Microsoft and Windows like Google Drive, DropBox and Box. Without REACHit, users can only look for files on their device they are currently using and OneDrive. REACHit makes Cortana even smarter.

Quotes

“We are living in a world where technology has made it easy to amass unprecedented amounts of personal digital content,” said Mark Cohen, Vice President, Ecosystem and Cloud Services, Lenovo. “So much information that it can be extremely difficult to remember where it is stored. What you need is an assistant – a friend – who is always at the ready to help. That is where Cortana and REACHit comes in, enabling people to find their personal content in an incredibly natural way – by asking a friend for help.”

“It’s great to see Lenovo building on the Windows and Cortana platform to create a unique and valuable solution that will help our joint customers be more productive across their devices and services,” said Peter Han, vice president, Worldwide OEM Marketing, Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft and Lenovo teams held creative design sessions, advanced hardware discussions, even late night coding marathons to deliver Cortana and REACHit.”

Availability1

Cortana and REACHit will be available as a beta when Windows 10 launches later this summer. More information can be found at: www.cortanareachit.com. It will be generally available for download in the fall.

1All offers subject to availability. Products may only be available in selected markets. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $46 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode YOGA brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Motorola brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at www.lenovo.com.

Contacts

Lenovo

Kristy Fair,

919-257-6329,

krisfair@lenovo.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14741/en

Murex Enables Unicredit to Extend Its Global IT Landscape

PARIS - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Murex, the leading provider of integrated trading, risk management and processing solutions, has announced today that UniCredit, that has the largest presence of banks in Central and Eastern Europe, has gone live on Murex' MX.3 for UniCredit Bank Austria and eight other Central Eastern Europe banks.

With the aim of extending the program of standardizing front-to-back office technology and industrializing markets and treasury services to Bank Austria and CEE banks, UniCredit chose Murex MX.3 as the best-of-breed platform to replace the fragmented landscape of legacy systems in the region. The implementation was scheduled over two years starting in 2013 and was carried out by a partnership of Murex and UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, the Group’s global services company dedicated to providing services in the sectors of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Back Office and Middle Office, Real Estate, Security and Procurement.

The platform, that went live successfully, includes Murex’s MX.3 for Limit Control (MLC) solution linked to UniCredit internal Basel III-validated counterparty credit risk model. Coverage of the platform includes pricing, market data, position keeping, risk evaluation, payments, confirmations, accounting, collaterals, user reporting, regulatory reporting and data warehouses. Comprehensive legal, compliance and security standards are built into the system, including the protection of sensitive client information to meet strict local data secrecy laws. UniCredit Bank Austria and the Central Eastern Europe banks now have a state of the art solution that consolidates global markets and treasury activities onto a single centralized platform shared across the Group, bringing significant benefits in terms of cost and operational efficiency.

The platform supports best practice management and regulatory compliance for a wide range of global products within standardized and streamlined processes. The harmonized front-to-back-to risk solution drastically reduces the time to market for new products within a Group-wide governance framework.

“We are very proud of this important result”, stated Fabio Cesaretti, Head of Business Line Markets and Financing & Advisory at UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions. “In terms of innovation, the global platform provides best of breed functionalities for the end users, therefore extending the baseline from where to exploit digital opportunities.”

“The strategic overhaul of UniCredit global IT infrastructure is for us a great achievement rooted both on the quality of the collaboration and the completeness of offering of our MX.3 front-to-back-to risk platform. “said Maroun Edde, Murex Group CEO. “We aim to further cement our partnership with the UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions in years to come and pursue our role as an enabler of their vision.”

Contacts

Murex

Mireille Adebiyi, +33144053200

Group Marketing & Communications Manager

Mireille.adebiyi@murex.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14743/en

Superior Knowledge for Decision-Makers: EPIA Presents Current Figures for the Photovoltaic Market at Intersolar Europe

MUNICH, Germany - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Photovoltaics are booming worldwide. The latest figures for the photovoltaic market and the prospects for the industry are presented by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) at the start of this year's Intersolar Europe Conference. The report "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2015-2019" will be published with the support of Intersolar Europe on 9 June 2015. In addition, visitors to the Intersolar Europe 2015 stand at the Messe München, Germany from June 10 to 12 can obtain information on current and future developments in the solar industry.

According to the EPIA, more than 40 gigawatts (GW) of PV power systems were installed worldwide in 2014, with which the global total capacity reached approximately 177 GW last year. The leader in the solar boom is China, followed by Japan and the United States. In five short years, according to the forecast by the association, the total capacity could triple to 550 GW. How the markets will develop in detail is shown in the "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2015-2019". The report will be presented on June 9 during the opening session of the Intersolar Europe Conference.

On the European market the installation was at around 7 GW last year according to the EPIA. Europe remains an extremely important player in the field of photovoltaics, as great expertise has been developed over the past decades, an expertise which is now employed in its global expansion. Many exhibitors at the trade fair will demonstrate this, and share their fundamental know-how at the Intersolar Europe Conference.

A look into the future of PV markets

With the 'Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics', the EPIA presents an important foundation for future decisions at Intersolar Europe. The report evaluates the global solar markets and provides an outlook on the developments within the next five years. As part of the Intersolar Europe Conference, the results of the reports for Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas will be presented in five "Global PV Markets" sessions.

www.intersolar.de

About Intersolar

Intersolar Europe is the world's leading trade fair for the solar industry and its partners. It takes place annually at the Munich Trade Fair.

The organizers of Intersolar Europe are Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

FischerAppelt

Robert Schwarzenböck

+49-89-747466-23

Fax +49-89-747466-66

rs@fischerAppelt.de









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14737/en

ADP Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Department Acquaints the Public with its Latest E-services

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Monday, May 25th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Department at Abu Dhabi Police acquainted the public with its latest e-services during the 24/7 Exhibition, which was organized by the department on Sunday. The exhibition is a part of the one-week extensive educational activities held at Marina Mall in the Capital city Abu Dhabi, with a vast participation of the police’s strategic partners, notably the supporting  national institutions that provide vehicles licensing services and means of prevention and public safety. 

Brigadier Eng. Hussein Ahmed Al Harithi, Director General of Central Operations at Abu Dhabi Police said that the exhibition aims at promoting smart applications via mobile phones, which are provided by the Ministry of Interior to the public that are easily accessible via simple and streamlined steps.

Moreover, Brigadier Eng. Al Harithi noted that Abu Dhabi Police will be adding additional services in the coming period; after linking the applications with other institutions and entities. “This approach falls in the framework of the department’s efforts to provide better services to the public, according to the best advanced standards and practices,” he said.

Brigadier Eng. Al Harithi also urged the public to avail of the proposed smart applications, pointing out that the system is adopted across the UAE wherever the application terms are met. The driving license issuance is done via completing the simple steps on the app, and the license will be delivered to the beneficiary via mail.

For his part, Brigadier Mohamed Mayouf Al Ketbi, Head of Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Department, indicated that raising awareness of customers and acquainting them with the services offered by the department has been carried out through various events and activities. This also includes providing the public with advice and guidelines on the proper ways to acquire the different services through modern methods and techniques.

“Through the exhibition, the public will get acquainted with the wide array of services that are available 24/7 ; notably renewing vehicle registrations, paying fines, and issuing a replacement for lost or damaged registration cards via the Sahel self-service machine. “Explanations will be also provided on how to use these services by inserting the Emirates ID card into the designated slot in the machine to identify the customer, retrieve the traffic file, etc,” Brigadier Al Ketbi added.

Adding further, Brigadier Al Ketbi noted that the event includes a set of activities aimed at introducing the services provided by the Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Department via the smart phones application (UAE MoI), how to access and acquire the services, and the most important services provided through these apps, in addition to providing the public with a list of vehicles technical inspection centers that operate 24 hours a day. As part of the activities, educational and awareness publications showcasing the department’s e-services will also be distributed.

These activities are a part of the department's efforts to spread awareness; acquaint the public with the most important modern applications and devices used in transactions; and introduce the latest developments related to vehicles maintenance services, methods of legal registration, and the most important features of the services provided by the department to the public at their preferred locations. This highlights the Abu Dhabi Police’s keenness to ensure that services are provided smoothly and safely to the public.

A number of strategic partners will also provide educational presentations to introduce the most important support services to the Vehicles and Drivers Licensing Department.

Colonel Khalifa Mohammed Al Khaili, Acting Director of the Traffic and Patrols Department and a number of heads of departments at Abu Dhabi Police attended the inauguration ceremony.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14708/en

Saif bin Zayed Stresses the Importance of Keeping Pace with Latest Global Developments in Education and Training

His Highness Met With Participants at 4th INTERPA Conference

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Monday, May 25th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

More than 100 researchers and 31 countries are taking part in the conference

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, met with heads of delegations that are taking part in the fourth annual INTERPA Conference (International Association of Police Academies), which commenced today at Intercontinental Abu Dhabi Hotel.

During the meeting, His Highness discussed a number of topics of mutual interest. Sheikh Saif also reiterated the importance of the conference in exchanging expertise and knowledge, and keeping pace with the latest developments in the fields of scientific and academic research, police education and training across security and police academies.

Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed hailed the efforts of INTERPA President and of the heads of delegations for participating in the conference with the aim of exchanging valuable information, experiences, and expertise to further improve police colleges and institutes, which represent the backbone of police and security work worldwide. His Highness also praised the role of women police and their valuable participation in the conference.

Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Chairman of the Board of the Police College, inaugurated the conference this morning. It is worth mentioning, that the conference is organized by the Ministry of Interior, represented by Police College, under the theme “Policing Training.”

The meeting and the official inauguration ceremony were attended by Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Chairman of the Board of the Police College; Major General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, Acting Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Naturalization, Residency and Ports Affairs; Major General Mohammed bin Al Awadhi Al Menhali, Assistant Undersecretary of Resources and Support Services; Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior; Major General Abdul Aziz Maktoum Al Shareefi, Director General of Protective Security in the Ministry of Interior; Major General Omair Muhammad Ateeq Al Muhairi, Director General of Police Operations; general directors; heads of department; along with heads and members of the participating delegations and a large number of the MoI’s officers.

Delegations from 31 countries are attending the conference, in addition to more than 100 academic experts, researchers and specialists, as well as members of INTERPA. The conference is hosted for the first time in the UAE, with the aim of exchanging expertise, and reviewing the best international practices in the fields of scientific and academic research, police education and training across security and police academies.

In his opening speech, Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi welcomed the academic experts, researchers and specialists, and members of the International Association of Police Academies (INTERPA) taking part in the Conference. Moreover, Major General Al Nuaimi underlined the importance of the conference in exchanging expertise, and examining the best international standards in the field of scientific and academic research, police education and training across security and police academies.

He said: “Organizing this conference in the UAE reflects the vision, the ambition and the aspirations of the higher leadership to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world in terms of safety and security. It also reflects the world’s confidence in the prominent level attained by our country in organizing international scientific conferences. This conference demonstrates our keenness to be efficient partners and to cooperate and communicate with other friendly and sister countries, in order to discuss the latest and most important contemporary issues related to education, training and security. The main focus of such conferences is to develop educational curricula; improve the skills of faculty members; highlight the use of technology in the education and training process across police and security institutions; exchange experience in training and qualify staff members to properly use the state-of-the-art methods and technical equipment; ensure joint cooperation to exchange  experiences and lessons to enhance police and security personnel’s performance in combating the various types and methods of crime.” Major General Al Nuaimi also highlighted the different challenges faced by police colleges and institutes; which require them to keep abreast of new developments to combat crime, by developing an adequate training system for the service of the police sector; to keep abreast of developments in the field of policing; and to standardize curricula across police colleges and institutes in world countries, in a bid to counter crime.

Major General Dr. Al Nuaimi stressed that the conference is the perfect opportunity to interact and reinforce relations with members of the International Association of Police Academies (INTERPA); examine the training and crime control mechanisms; avail of experts’ experience and expertise in the field of police training; and examine the most important future training methodologies for officers.

In conclusion, he expressed his hope that the conference will come up with the proper results and recommendations that serve security work and goals and meet the coveted aspirations. He also expressed his sincere thanks to all participating institutions, organizers and participants.

For his part, Yılmaz Çolak, President of INTERPA, gave a speech by which he expressed his sincere thanks and heartfelt appreciation to the UAE for hosting this conference. He also thanked His Highness Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, for lending full support to this conference, and for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to all members of INTERPA and participants in the conference.

Adding further, INTERPA President said that advances in technology and communication systems have created new forms of crime such as cyber crimes, international terrorism, and organized crime among others. “The emerging and growing forms of crime require competent, efficient and specialized training of police officers. This objective was the key driving force behind the fourth annual INTERPA Conference (International Association of Police Academies),” he continued.

In conclusion, he noted that the role of Police Academies should go beyond providing security training, to offer information on contemporary issues and appropriate solutions on the international level, which in turn, requires improvement through education.

Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi and the audience watched a documentary film showcasing the different training and educational programs provided to recruits and university students enrolled in the Police College.

After that, the conference sessions started. Yilmaz Colak, President of INTERPA (International Association of Police Academies) moderated the first session, which included and tackled three work papers. The first paper was presented by Osman Hussein Mohammed from the National Ribat University, Sudan and titled “Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime: A Case Study on Dinder Group.” The second paper tackled the “Role of Training in Combating Modern Crimes” and was presented by Colonel Hamdan Hassan Al Shehhi from the Police College in the UAE. Elvir Velic from the Agency for Education and Professional Training in Bosnia and Herzegovina presented the third paper, which tackled “Training of Police Officers in Fighting Organized Crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

Colonel Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Shamesi from the Police College moderated the second session, which included four papers. The first paper was presented by Colonel Dr. Jassem Mohamed Rashid Al Antali from the Police College and entitled “Tackling Cyber Crimes through Strategic Training Approach”. The second paper was presented by Adam Bushra Haroun from the National Ribat University, Sudan; and tackled the “Police Management for Stadium Gatherings Sample”. Vladimir Bachyla, Chief of the Police Academy in Belarus’ Ministry of Interior, presented the third paper titled “Preserving Public Order during Sports Events of International Level”; and the fourth paper was presented by Saad Abdullah Al Khelawe, General Director of King Fahad Security College in Saudi Arabia, and tackled the topic of “Towards a Crowd Management Training For Police Forces during the Hajj Season”.

The fourth annual INTERPA Conference (International Association of Police Academies) will resume on Tuesday and will include two sessions that will tackle and discuss a number of work papers presented by participating experts and researchers.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14710/en

Type 2 diabetes: Synjardy® (empagliflozin/metformin hydrochloride) approved in the European Union

INGELHEIM, Germany & INDIANAPOLIS, US - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

    Marketing authorisation granted for new single-pill combination shown to lower blood glucose
    Synjardy® combines two products with different mechanisms of action to improve glycaemic control in patients with T2D
    Side effects identified with Synjardy® are consistent with known safety profiles of the individual compounds

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Synjardy® has been granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the European Union (EU). Synjardy® is a new single-pill combination therapy from the Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company diabetes alliance.

Synjardy® combines empagliflozin, a sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, and metformin hydrochloride (HCl), commonly prescribed for the treatment of T2D. Empagliflozin was approved in the EU in May 2014 and is available in many countries as an oral, once-daily tablet, marketed as Jardiance®.

Synjardy® is indicated for use alongside diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control in adults with T2D when they are:

    Inadequately controlled on their maximally tolerated dose of metformin alone
    Inadequately controlled with metformin in combination with other glucose-lowering medicinal products, including insulin
    Already being treated with the combination of empagliflozin and metformin as separate tablets

“A single medicine is often not sufficient for patients to maintain blood glucose control in the long term, resulting in the need for combinations of blood glucose-lowering drugs,” said Professor Klaus Dugi, Chief Medical Officer, Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are delighted to offer this single-pill combination of two agents with different mechanisms. Synjardy® may help adults with T2D achieve their blood glucose targets with the added benefit of a convenient treatment regimen.”

The marketing authorisation follows the positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency in March 2015.

About the Phase III Clinical Trials

The marketing authorisation is based on the submission of robust clinical data from seven Phase III clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of empagliflozin as add-on to metformin either alone or in combination with other blood glucose-lowering drugs (pioglitazone, sulphonylurea, DPP-4 inhibitors and insulin). More than 7,000 patients with T2D participated, of which over 4,700 were treated with empagliflozin as add-on to metformin.

The results showed that treatment with empagliflozin (10mg and 25mg) when added to metformin, with or without other blood glucose-lowering drugs, led to clinically relevant reductions in blood glucose, body weight and blood pressure compared to placebo as add-on to metformin.

The most common side effect reported by patients in the clinical trials was hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) when empagliflozin and metformin were used in combination with insulin and/or sulphonylurea. In general, the adverse event profile of empagliflozin as add on to metformin was consistent with the known safety profile of the individual compounds empagliflozin and metformin.

The common side effects experienced with empagliflozin are urinary tract and genital infections, increased urination and itching. The common side effects experienced with metformin are gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and loss of appetite as well as taste disturbance.

About empagliflozin/metformin hydrochloride (HCl)

Empagliflozin/metformin HCl should not be used in patients with type 1 diabetes or for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis. For further information on contraindications, warnings and precautions for use please refer to the summary of product characteristics.

Empagliflozin/metformin HCl will be made available in the following twice-daily doses in the EU:

    5mg empagliflozin plus 850mg or 1000mg metformin HCl
    12.5mg empagliflozin plus 850mg or 1000mg metformin HCl

Intended audiences

This press release is issued from Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved products may vary from country to country, and a country-specific press release on this topic may have been issued in the countries where Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company do business.

###

Please click on the link below for ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘References’:

http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/news/news_releases/press_releases/2015/28_may_2015_diabetes.html

Contacts

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

Marco Winkler

Product Communication Manager

Email: press@boehringer-ingelheim.com

Phone: +49 (151) 689 46812

or



Lilly Diabetes

Molly McCully

Communications Manager

Email: mccully_molly@lilly.com

Phone: +1 (317) 478 5423







Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/14742/en

Client Accounts at Barclays Available at AvaTrade

DUBLIN - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AvaTrade is pleased to announce that new client bank accounts have been opened at Barclays Bank UK. Barclays is a top-rated international bank that offers an unparalleled level of service and security. AvaTrade is known globally for its commitment to providing the highest level of security for client accounts.

AvaTrade works with an international clientele, and considers it of paramount importance to provide its traders with the most secure accounts possible. To that end, client asset accounts at Barclays will be available in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, and ZAR.

As a global brand with an established reputation of excellence, AvaTrade is regulated in multiple countries and proudly adheres to the highest standards of various international regulatory bodies. AvaTrade’s CEO, Daire Ferguson says, “Our recent partnership with Barclays is another step in our continuing efforts to provide our clients with the safest trading experience possible.”

By offering multi-media educational resources, the best trading platforms such as MetaTrader 4, and a secure and regulated interface, AvaTrade stands out in the industry for its dedication to ensuring that clients have a successful trading experience.

Learn more about AvaTrade at http://www.avatrade.com

About AvaTrade

AvaTrade was founded in 2006 and is an internationally regulated broker. Offering more than 200 financial instruments, top trading platforms, and a new and improved mobile app, AvaTrade caters to traders of all levels who are seeking a secure and intuitive trading experience. Clients enjoy 24 hour live customer support and the assistance of a personal account manager. To further ensure trader fund security, client accounts are fully segregated. AvaTrade is fully regulated in the EU, Japan, Australia and BVI.

http://www.avatrade.com?tag=40150&tag2=PR-EN-Barclays

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150528005583/en/

Contacts

AvaTrade

Press:

Etoile Vizman

+1 646 335 0738 (Ext. 2106)

Etoile@avatrade.com





 

Quintiles Officially Opens Greater China Regional Headquarters in Shanghai

 New HQ Reflects Importance & Interconnectivity of Greater China’s Biopharma Industry

SHANGHAI - Friday, May 29th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- More than 30 leaders from China’s government and healthcare communities joined Quintiles executives here today in officially opening the Quintiles Greater China Regional Headquarters, further expanding its ability to help Chinese companies expand globally and multinational companies succeed in the world’s second largest biopharmaceutical market. The event comes 17 years after Quintiles first opened an office in Shanghai.

“Today we celebrate not only Quintiles’ growth, but also Greater China’s emergence as a global player in biopharma R&D,” said Quintiles founder and Executive Chairman Dennis Gillings, CBE, Ph.D., at the opening ceremony at Shanghai’s Feng Lin Science Park. “Two decades ago we opened in Shanghai with 20 employees across Greater China – now we have more than 1,000. Today I’m more confident than ever that the vision shared by the leaders gathered here – of Shanghai and Greater China being centers of global innovation in biopharma R&D and healthcare – will be realized.”

Vice District Mayor Wang Hongzhou of Xihui District, Shanghai, joined Dr. Gillings in speaking at the opening.

“Quintiles is a long and valued friend and advisor to China in matters across the healthcare spectrum,” Mayor Wang said. “The Feng Lin Science Park is the centerpiece of our efforts to bring together academic and industry leaders in a central location where innovation and collaboration can thrive. We look forward to our continued partnership with Quintiles as we strive to integrate science, technology and healthcare to save lives and alleviate suffering.”

Quintiles’ 4,000-square-meter (43,000 square feet) headquarters in Shanghai’s Feng Lin Science Park now has almost 300 employees and is designed to host 450.

Ling Zhen, Quintiles general manager of Greater China, said: “Many of Greater China’s home-grown biopharma companies are looking to expand globally. Our investment is designed to help them develop their innovative pipelines with global market access in mind, opening the large markets of Japan, U.S. and Europe to their products. At the same time we’re increasing our capabilities to help multinational companies expand in Greater China.”

Quintiles Greater China has employees in almost 30 cities and offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Hong Kong and Taipei, allowing it to serve all major population centers and study sites.

About Quintiles

Quintiles (NYSE: Q) is the world’s largest provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services conducting business in approximately 100 countries. We have helped develop or commercialize all of the top-75 best-selling drugs on the market. Quintiles applies the breadth and depth of our service offerings along with extensive therapeutic, scientific and analytics expertise to help our customers navigate an increasingly complex healthcare environment as they seek to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of better healthcare outcomes. To learn more about Quintiles, please visit www.quintiles.com.

Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for Quintiles.    

Contacts

Quintiles

Jay Johnson, +65.9655.6635

Media Relations, (jay.johnson@quintiles.com)



or

Todd Kasper, +1.919.998.2590

Investor Relations, (InvestorRelations@quintiles.com)    







Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14745/en

Lenovo Sets Vision for Future Ecosystem of Connected Devices at Global Tech World Conference

Unveils new products, demonstrates future tech concepts and reveals insight from top industry CEOs

BEIJING - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) --  Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) today at Lenovo Tech World, the company’s first global technology event, announced many new products, demonstrated several breakthrough product concepts that will change the way people interact with technology, and shared insight on the future of the industry from the CEOs of Intel, Microsoft and Baidu.

“Lenovo Tech World was a celebration of innovation with some of the world’s great tech leaders, our partners and suppliers, and most important of all, our fans and customers,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, Lenovo. “Lenovo has a unique position in our industry because we can deliver the devices, smart connectivity and infrastructure required to create a great user experience and satisfy real user needs. Even more, we talk to our fans everyday about how we can innovate together. They are our partners in defining the future of technology. We will deliver innovation like we showed here today to solve problems and address customer pain points. We will bring together hardware software and services to transform the user experience. This is our vision, and we showed some glimpses of the next wave of Lenovo innovation here today.”

Keynote Highlights: Internet Transformation Drives 3-1 Device Strategy Strategy

In his keynote address, Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing addressed five developing themes that will continue to change the way people use technology by:

    Creating more natural ways to connect people with devices
    Building device and network connections that are reliable, seamless and ubiquitous
    Making devices interconnected for rich interactions
    Giving customers the power of big data and their own personal cloud
    Leveraging smart connectivity to let customers pick the services they want and create their own unique experiences

Yang referenced Lenovo’s creation of the convertible category in 2012 with the four-mode YOGA convertible as an example of how hardware innovation solves specific customer pain-points and gives them new, more personal ways to interact with their devices.

Concept Devices Indicate Powerful Future

In addition to products available this year, Lenovo also gave an inside look at three of its upcoming research and technology projects. These concepts demonstrate the innovative thinking today that holds the promise of changing the face of technology tomorrow.

Smartwatches are appealing for their incredible convenience, however, their small, wristwatch-sized form factor makes it challenging to display more beyond getting instant updates. Lenovo is approaching this challenge with the Magic View smartwatch concept - the first step in the journey to making smartwatches more usable. Magic View is the first smartwatch with two screens. The second screen removes the limitations from the physical dimensions of the main screen. It uses optical reflection to create a virtual image and allows users to see a virtual display more than 20 times larger than the watch face display. For example, they can follow a map, view photos or even watch a video. It gives users large enough visuals and immersive experiences, unlike smartwatches of today. Lenovo worked with key technical partners as well as designing its own silicon chip to miniaturize the components without sacrificing performance.

Beyond wearables, Lenovo explained its solution to making smartphones more usable, more PC-like, by unveiling the Smart Cast concept product. Whereas today smartphones are limited to consuming content, Smart Cast changes the paradigm by giving users a smart phone with built-in laser projector, infrared motion detector and high-performance algorithms. This first ever technology combination opens a new world of interaction: Users can project a large virtual touch screen onto a table to type with a virtual keyboard and work with specific productivity apps (calculator, drawing, note-taking and even edit in Microsoft PowerPoint). Using just the projector alone, users can transform their wall into a movie theatre to watch videos, give a presentation or even play games like Fruit Ninja using hang gestures on the table or cast onto the wall. For a transformative video chat, they can project content onto the wall while viewing different content simultaneously on their smartphone screen.

At Tech World, noted pianist Lang Lang helped demonstrate the possibilities of Smart Cast with a rendition of The Entertainer played on the virtual keyboard with the full size sheet music displayed from the smartphone’s projector.

Lenovo also demonstrated its Smart Shoes concept - one of its Internet of Things (IoT) products that leverages the cloud to tie together hardware, software and applications in a new way. The smart shoes display a person’s mood on its screen as well as track and analyze fitness data including heart beats and caloric consumption and even provide maps and directions to places. The smart shoes concept fits into Lenovo’s IoT cloud strategy to build an ecosystem including open SDK platform, innovation incubator with professionals from different areas, smart devices, supply chains and powerful backend cloud infrastructure.

New Products Drive More Personal Experiences Today

Mobile Devices and Buying Experiences Tailored to Individual Appetites

With the backdrop of devices becoming more personal, Motorola Mobility announced that Moto Maker, Motorola’s exclusive online design studio for creating custom smartphones, is now available in China. Starting today, Chinese consumers can log-onto Motomaker.com and create their one-of-a-kind Moto X. This announcement illustrates how new models are changing the way customers interact with brands to build devices that are uniquely theirs.

In 2014, Lenovo announced the formation of ShenQi, a separate company that began operating under an Internet-based business model in China in April. ShenQi is focused on integrating software and hardware for unique user experiences and developing IoT products supporting the smart home ecosystem. Specifically for IoT devices, ShenQi will develop wearables and products for smart transportation and the smart office.

At Tech World, ShenQi highlighted several leading devices including new super-slim power banks, 3D printers that can print food, out of chocolate for example, and high-precision objects, the smallest dual-track outdoor sound box and a smart home control center based on WiFi. The company is also exploring emerging fields such as robots and unmanned aerial vehicles.

With the emergence of more specialized devices, Lenovo is also creating tools especially for the unique needs of business users. Lenovo announced the new ThinkPad 10, a tablet that elevates computing for mobile professionals. The tablet includes the new ThinkPad Pen Pro, giving users greater accuracy and business-class security for better data protection.

Simultaneously to driving hardware advancements, Lenovo and its partners are advancing user-centric software solutions, particularly in the areas of alternate input including voice, touchscreen technology and pen.

WRITEit Tackles One of World’s Most Challenging Languages

Lenovo announced the next step in its hardware, software and ecosystem journey with a new software feature that ties together speech and writing technology for a better user experience on the YOGA Tablet 2 8-in Android with AnyPen for Manadarin. Until now, voice input of Chinese names has been a challenging task given there are nearly 7,000 commonly used characters and only 50 without a homonym. A Chinese given name usually consists of one or two characters, which is picked freely from these 7,000 or even more characters. Consider one name: Ying (said with a flat tone). Depending on which character the person picks for her name, it can have several meanings including cherry, hero, eagle, or a singing bird. This poses a particular challenge for voice recognition, and that’s why WRITEit for Mandarin proves especially helpful. With Lenovo’s WRITEit and Fusion Input technology, users can easily use gestures and context to define and correct the voice recognition results on screen.

Debuts Cortana and REACHit

Lenovo announced and demonstrated Cortana and REACHit, a new experience resulting from a close collaboration with Microsoft. Cortana is the personal digital assistant available across Windows 10 PCs, tablets and phones that allows users to talk or type naturally to get things done. REACHit extends the search capabilities of Cortana to non-Microsoft services. By creating a REACHit account, users can search Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and remote PCs and tablets all in one place. This deep, exclusive platform integration gives Cortana a much larger inventory of information to search, opening up an entirely new level of contextual search and giving users the most comprehensive, seamless and natural way to find their personal digital content.

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, joined Yuanqing to talk further about new capabilities coming in Windows 10 and how customers will benefit from Windows as a Service, universal applications across all devices and the opportunity for developers.

Lenovo’s product announcements and demonstrations show how deeply integrated hardware and software make a better user experience, but the cloud and big data must be unleashed to realize the true potential of these powerful technologies. To illustrate this concept, former NBA player Shane Battier explained how he used big data and his own personal cloud powered by servers to out-analyze and out-maneuver his opponents, on the hardwood. Big data allowed Battier to know his opponent’s weaknesses and play smarter. This translated into a focused and measurable defensive strategy that added up to real points in games where every point counts.

To further Lenovo’s offerings for storage for business customers, Lenovo also announced the new Lenovo Storage S2200 and S3200 storage arrays. Designed for simplicity, speed, scalability and availability, these feature-rich arrays easily integrate into network environments and are loaded with proven storage innovations at a low entry price point.

Redefining Reality with Intel® RealSense Technology

Lenovo has built strong and long-standing partnerships with industry leaders such as Intel to identify and develop new technology solutions. Natural human expressions like gestures, speech, and facial expressions are increasingly becoming viable input methods, and Intel has been leading significant work in this area with the Intel RealSense cameras and software.

Intel RealSense Cameras come as an optional feature in several Lenovo devices, including laptops and AIO desktops, and help enable new ways to interact, including password free login with Windows* Hello using Windows* 10, gaming, entertainment, video conferencing and content creation usages. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich joined Yang to demonstrate the next generation Intel RealSense Camera specifically designed for tablets and mobile form factors that brings 3D scanning capabilities at consumer price points as well as other usages like depth-enhanced photo and video, augmented reality and gaming. Krzanich also discussed Intel’s intent to bring Intel RealSense technology to emerging devices like robots, drones, wearables and the Internet of Things.

Harnessing Power of Artificial Intelligence with Baidu

As Human-Machine interaction continues to develop, Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, is putting his company at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence (AI) research. At Lenovo Tech World, he demonstrated how advancements in Deep Learning and Big Data technology could improve the user experience. Baidu’s newest achievement in AI focuses on computers making decisions and giving verbal answers based on their recognition of pictures and understanding of questions.

Robin also demonstrated new features of Baidu Translator. After a user takes a picture of a menu with his/her mobile phone, the app can translate the entire menu into Chinese and display it in full-screen. Another “conversation” feature can help people of different languages to freely communicate.

Li also addressed how AI-based picture and voice recognition technology can be widely applied to people’s lives today. He shared two examples: finding clothes to purchase based on a photo of an outfit someone is wearing to digitally mashing-up user images of tourist destinations in Nepal before the earthquake to digitally reconstruct those hot-spots.

New Logo for the New Lenovo

While Tech World set the vision for Lenovo’s future products, business and relationship with customers, it also marked the culmination of Lenovo’s decade long multi-faceted transformation. The company has changed dramatically from its roots solely as a PC company, recently celebrating the 10 year anniversary of its acquisition of the IBM PCD business. That initial acquisition launched Lenovo to become a $46 billion technology leader and one of the world’s leading consumer electronics companies. This momentum also spurred growth into new businesses and devices including smartphones and servers boosted by acquisitions of Motorola Mobility and IBM’s X86 server business in 2014.

To mark this strategic shift, Lenovo debuted its new logo at Tech World. The new logo offers a more personal, engaging and consumer-centric experience that reflects Lenovo’s personality and incorporates its rich heritage of acquisitions and original innovation DNA.

Quotes

Intel

“Through our long-standing collaboration with Lenovo and the broader technology ecosystem, we are collectively bringing the future of technology to consumers, developers and businesses,” said Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel Corporation. “New product innovations like Intel RealSense technology with its depth sensing, 3D scanning, motion tracking and augmented reality capabilities are just the beginning to enabling experiences that were once thought impossible.”

Microsoft

“Microsoft and Lenovo share a long history of collaborating on technology innovations that blend the magic of software and hardware to delight and empower our mutual customers,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Together we will continue to bring innovative new devices and rich experiences enabled by Windows 10 together to connect customers with the people and information they care about in ways that are more personal, mobile, natural and trusted.”

Baidu

Robin Li, the founder and CEO of Baidu, says“Nowadays, China has reached the leading level of the world in artificial intelligence. Moreover, we are on the threshold of a blowout growth in various AI areas such as voice recognition technology, image recongnition technology and big data. In the future, Baidu will carry out in-depth cooperation with Lenovo on devices and infrastructure. Based on our technical innovation ability, we aim to provide users with a smarter and freer life.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $46 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode YOGA brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Motorola brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at www.lenovo.com.

Contacts

Lenovo

Kristy Fair, 919-257-6329

krisfair@lenovo.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14732/en

Tommy Hilfiger Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Exclusive Fashion Show and After Party in Beijing, China

 - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

To celebrate the opening of the largest ‘Tommy Hilfiger’ store in China and the brand’s 30th anniversary, Tommy Hilfiger presented his Fall 2015 fashion show in Beijing, attended by style icons Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, Chinese celebrities Deng Chao, Ziyi Zhang and Liu Wen, and models Shu Pei Qin, Xiao Wen Ju, Julia Hafstrom, Malaika Firth and RJ King.

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH):
                                               

WHAT:
                                             

Tommy Hilfiger, which is owned by PVH Corp. [NYSE: PVH], announces that American designer Tommy Hilfiger presented his Fall 2015 fashion show in Beijing, China, on May 26, 2015. The exclusive recreation of the runway show, including looks from the men’s and women’s collections, marks the first time the company has transported the entire event experience to an international setting.
                                               
                                               

“I am thrilled to be in China for this next stop on our 30th anniversary tour, following our events in New York and Paris earlier this year,” said Tommy Hilfiger. “Recreating the show in China for the first time has been a terrific way to celebrate the opening of our largest store in the country and the 30th anniversary of our global brand. Our fashion shows create an immersive guest experience that really brings the collections to life, and it has been an honor to be able to share this experience with a wider audience in China.”
                                               
                                               

The show, which was attended by over 800 guests, was presented at the 751 Gasometer against the celebrated backdrop of the Hilfiger Stadium set, including artificial turf, yard lines, goal posts and a giant jumbotron screen above it all. The show was followed by a VIP after party that took place on the hyper-realistic stadium set and was inspired by a quintessential American football half-time show and tailgating party. Following the halftime performance by Chinese female drum artists Feng Le Group and performance group Xiao Du Paoku, DJ Wordy, China’s first international DJ star, kicked off the after party event.
                                               
                                               

Top Chinese supermodel and friend of the designer, Shu Pei Qin, who recently joined Hilfiger’s table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2015 Costume Institute Gala, opened and closed the Tommy Hilfiger show. She led a cast that brought together China’s top runway talent, including Xiao Wen Ju, Dylan Xue, Emma Pei, Bonnie Chen, Danni Li, Zhao Lei, and Jin Da Chuan. Also walking in the show were models from The Hilfigers, the eclectic family at the heart of the brand’s advertising campaign, including RJ King, Julia Hafstrom and Miles McMillian, in addition to Avery Blanchard and Malaika Firth, who both appeared in the Fall 2015 runway show in New York.
                                               
                                               

In addition to her appearance on the runway, Shu Pei took over the brand’s Weibo account. The supermodel shared her unique perspective before, during and after the show – from her street style to a glimpse backstage to front-row coverage of the season’s best looks –and opening #TommyChina# to an even wider global audience.
                                               
                                               

Seated in the front row was fashion power couple Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl; Olivia wore a dramatic long star-print dress from the Spring 2015 Hilfiger Collection, and Johannes wore a slim-fit suit from the Tommy Hilfiger Tailored collection. Also in the front row were award winning actor and director, Deng Chao, and Ziyi Zhang, known globally for her starring role in the Oscar winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, both in looks from Tommy Hilfiger, and Chinese supermodel Liu Wen in Spring 2015 Hilfiger Collection.
                                               
                                               

Debuted at New York Fashion Week in February, the Fall 2015 collection fuses American football, stadium spirit and varsity motifs with Hilfiger’s classic designs. Reflecting on the 30-year heritage of the brand, the collection plays with the established codes of American fashion, luxuriously reimagined with a modern athletic twist.
                                               
                                               

While in Beijing, Hilfiger will also celebrate the opening of the largest Tommy Hilfiger store in China at the In88 shopping center. For the first time in the country, the new two-story location will showcase Hilfiger Collection, the pinnacle of the Tommy Hilfiger brand’s design offerings.
                                               
                                               

Friends of Tommy Hilfiger are invited to join the conversation on social media using #TommyChina#.
                                               

WHEN:
                                             

May 26, 2015
                                               

WHERE:
                                             

D*Park
                                               

Gasometer
                                               

No. 2 Jiuxianqiao Road
                                               

Beijing, China
                                               

About Tommy Hilfiger

With a brand portfolio that includes Tommy Hilfiger and Hilfiger Denim, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world’s most recognized premium designer lifestyle groups. Its focus is designing and marketing high-quality men’s tailored clothing and sportswear, women’s collection apparel and sportswear, kidswear, denim collections, underwear (including robes, sleepwear and loungewear), footwear and accessories. Through select licensees, Tommy Hilfiger offers complementary lifestyle products such as eyewear, watches, fragrance, athletic apparel (golf and swim), socks, small leather goods, home goods and luggage. The Hilfiger Denim product line consists of jeanswear and footwear for men and women, accessories, and fragrance. Merchandise under the Tommy Hilfiger and Hilfiger Denim brands is available to consumers worldwide through an extensive network of Tommy Hilfiger and Hilfiger Denim retail stores, leading specialty and department stores, select online retailers, and at tommy.com.

About PVH

PVH Corp., one of the world’s largest apparel companies, owns and markets the iconic Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands worldwide. It is the world’s largest shirt and neckwear company and markets a variety of goods under its own brands, Van Heusen, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, IZOD, ARROW, Warner’s and Olga, and its licensed brands, including Speedo, Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Sean John, Chaps, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, Ike Behar and John Varvatos.

Contacts

Tommy Hilfiger

Asia Pacific:

Eric Reed

Vice President, Marketing & Communications

T +852 3916 1336

eric.reed@tommy.com



or

Europe:

Mark Fleming

Director of Communications, EMEA

T +31 (0) 20 709 8074

Mark.Fleming@tommy.com



or

North America:

Zach Eichman

Vice President, Global Corporate Communications

T +1 212 548 1938

ZachEichman@tommy.com



or

Latin America:

Lisa Bressler

Director of Marketing & Communications

T +1 212 548 1365

lbressler@tommy.com



Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/14729/en

56.6 Billion Illegal Cigarettes Consumed in the EU in 2014, Worth More Than €11bn in Lost Tax Revenue

LONDON - Thursday, May 28th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

New KPMG report for British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International confirms sustained rates of illegal tobacco trade across the EU

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- The scale of the illegal trade in cigarettes remains sizeable in the European Union (EU), with a total of 56.6 billion illegal cigarettes consumed in 2014, representing 10.4% of total consumption, according to the latest annual report by KPMG. This illegal market costs taxpayers and communities more than €11 billion a year in lost tax revenue. If combined, the thousands of transactions made by criminals involved in the illegal tobacco trade would equate to them being the fifth largest cigarette supplier to EU consumers.

The source and type of products available on the illegal tobacco market have continued to evolve, while the upward trend of illegal trade levels in the EU has moderated in recent years. For example, in 2014, more than 8 out of 10 illegal cigarettes originated from outside the EU, which is a 10% increase compared to 2013. In contrast, flows within the EU continue to decline, driven by improved industry supply chain controls and narrowing price gaps between EU Member States.

“Overall levels of illicit cigarette consumption in the EU remained essentially flat during 2014, however the illegal tobacco market remains sizeable and continues to evolve. Our research shows that while this is a problem that touches every Member State, caution is needed particularly in countries that share borders with non-EU countries where cigarettes are cheaper and where we continue to see high illicit cigarette consumption levels,” commented Robin Cartwright, a Partner at KPMG.

“Illicit whites” - cigarettes that are generally produced legally in a country but are smuggled into other countries where they have limited or no legal distribution - are also proliferating across the EU. According to KPMG, while smuggling of well-known brands has become less common, the number of illicit whites has grown exponentially from virtually zero in 2006 to 37% of all illegal cigarettes in 2014.

The illegal cigarette market continues to deprive Member States of much needed revenues, hurts legitimate businesses, and fosters crime in local communities. Eliminating the illegal tobacco industry requires governments, law enforcement agencies, manufacturers, and retailers to work together to stop the criminals responsible for this illegal trade. British American Tobacco (BAT), Imperial Tobacco Group (Imperial), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Philip Morris International (PMI) remain committed to these efforts and together with law enforcement continue to invest in combating this problem.

Additional findings in the report include:

    Illicit whites brand flows grew by 8% to 21.1 billion cigarettes in 2014, with consumption of such products being most prevalent in Poland, Italy, Spain and Greece;
    In 2014, 10.4% of all cigarettes consumed in the EU were illegal, compared to 10.5% in 2013 and 11.1% in 2012;
    Total illicit cigarette volumes declined by 3.3% in 2014 to 56.6 billion cigarettes.

The 2014 KPMG study on the illicit cigarette market in the EU, Switzerland and Norway is available on KPMG’s website: http://kpmg.com/UK/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Pages/the-illicit-cigarette-market.aspx

NOTES TO EDITORS

KPMG Study on the illicit cigarette consumption in the EU:

KPMG has conducted this study every year since 2006, as part of the Cooperation Agreement between Philip Morris International, the European Commission and the EU Member States. Since 2013, the study has been commissioned by all four major tobacco manufacturers –BAT, Imperial, JTI and PMI.

The study is the only comprehensive annual measurement of the black market for cigarettes in the EU. Access to a wider set of data sources, as well as methodology improvements in line with feedback received from external stakeholders, have allowed KPMG to further refine the completeness of the analysis over the years. The study’s methodology is presented in detail in the report.

About KPMG LLP:

KPMG LLP undertakes economic analysis, commissioned by the tobacco industry, in a variety of jurisdictions. The OECD considers the methodology of KPMG LLP the “most authoritative assessment of the level of counterfeit and contraband cigarettes” in the EU. KPMG LLP recognises the wider public policy context within which governments decide regulatory and fiscal changes for the tobacco industry, and that the analysis in this report only considers one aspect. KPMG LLP expresses herein no view, nor makes any recommendation, in relation to future policy for the industry in this regard.

About British American Tobacco plc:

British American Tobacco is a global tobacco Group with brands sold in more than 200 markets.

It employs more than 57,000 people worldwide and has over 200 brands in its portfolio, with its cigarettes chosen by one in eight of the world’s one billion smokers. Alongside offering tobacco products, British American Tobacco is committed to offering safer nicotine alternatives to adult smokers. As such, it was the first tobacco company to launch an e-cigarette in the UK. www.bat.com

About Imperial Tobacco Group PLC:

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is a multi-national tobacco company headquartered in the UK, with international strength in cigarettes and world leadership in fine cut tobacco, premium cigars, rolling papers and tubes. The Group has 44 manufacturing sites and around 33,000 employees and operates in over 160 markets.

About JTI:

JTI, a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies, is a leading international tobacco manufacturer. It markets world-renowned brands such as Camel, Winston and Mevius. Other global brands include Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, Sobranie, Glamour and LD. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and about 26,000 employees worldwide, JTI has operations in more than 120 countries. Its core revenue in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, was USD 11.9 billion. For more information, visit www.jti.com.

About Philip Morris International Inc:

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is the leading international tobacco company, with six of the world's top 15 international brands, including Marlboro, the number one cigarette brand worldwide. PMI's products are sold in more than 180 markets. In 2014, the company held an estimated 15.6% share of the total international cigarette market outside of the U.S., or 28.6% excluding the People's Republic of China and the U.S. For more information, see www.pmi.com.

Contacts

KPMG

(for enquiries on the research and methodology)

Jessica Liebmann

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7311 3245

Email: Jessica.Liebmann@kpmg.co.uk



or

BAT Press Office

Will Hill / Anna Vickerstaff

+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours)

email: press_office@bat.com



or

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC

Iain Watkins

+ 44 117 933 7481



or

JTI Press Office

email: pressoffice@jti.com

T: +41 22 703 0291

or

Philip Morris International Press Office

email: media@pmi.com

T: +41 58 242 4500



Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/14733/en