First-of-Its-Kind Fund Dedicated to Women in the Arab World Launched at UN General Assembly

US$ 2.7 million donated to mobilise global resources for women’s empowerment

NEW YORK - Tuesday, September 27th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a historic step towards accelerating global efforts to enhance the status of girls and women worldwide, the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA) – an organisation dedicated to developing opportunities for women – has launched the ‘NAMA International Women Fund’ (NAMA Fund) on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

A pioneering initiative from NAMA, an organisation based in Sharjah - the third largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the NAMA Fund seeks to mobilise essential financial and human resources to elevate the status of women worldwide by supporting programmes aimed at women's economic and professional empowerment and by investing in initiatives designed to hone their community development skills.

To kick-start the fund, an initial seed amount of US$ 2.7 million was released by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, Chairperson of NAMA and the wife of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, UAE. Part of the money will be donated to the ‘Girls Ambassadors for Peace’ programme; a Global Network of Women Peacebuilders initiative, which works with young women in countries afflicted by war and conflict to help them function as positive role models in peace-building.

"Societies that support and advance women are societies that ensure for themselves a bright present and future. Unfortunately there are far too many women around the world who suffer from gender discrimination in every sphere. At the NAMA Fund we are seeking to enhance the status of women and develop communities by supporting and financing women's advancement,” said Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi.

As part of its ongoing efforts, the NAMA Fund will support local, regional as well as international activities enabling women to play their chosen roles in society, paving the way for them to become permanent stakeholders in sustainable development. The Fund’s selection process will be aided by associate regional and international organisations and local and regional awareness campaigns will be included in its financial purview.

Contacts

National Network Communications

Maha Abou Rich , +971 50 222 0503

m.abourich@nncpr.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/18739/en

Murex Announces Bankdata Implementation of MX.3 as a Utility for 11 Danish Banks

PARIS - Tuesday, September 27th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Murex, the leading provider of integrated trading, risk management and processing solutions, is pleased to announce that Danish IT services provider Bankdata is implementing MX.3 as a central service utility for its 11 bank owners. The solution will consolidate existing front office systems on a single platform and replace a legacy in-house back office system. This will provide full integrated cross-asset functionality for all the banks' capital markets activities.

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Fredericia, Bankdata traditionally built most of the systems it required to service its bank members. However, by 2015 Bankdata's capital markets back-office system was in need of a major overhaul. At the same time, its two biggest members, Jyske Bank and Sydbank, wanted to consolidate their different third-party capital markets front-office systems on a single platform. Sydbank established a strong partnership with Murex having used its solution for 17 years. After due diligence consideration, Jyske Bank and Sydbank decided to consolidate on Murex' MX.3 for front office. Faced with the challenge of evolving its back-office system for modern requirements, Bankdata opted to implement MX.3 as a full integrated front-to-back solution and make it available to all its member banks for capital markets activities.

Bankdata is implementing MX.3 in several phases, with the first due to go live by the end of the first quarter 2017. The solution will provide integrated cross-asset support for all capital markets trading, enterprise risk management, back office and accounting, with comprehensive support for regulatory compliance, including Basel III, EMIR and MiFID.

“Although implementing a third-party solution on this scale is a new challenge for Bankdata, it would have been too costly and time consuming if the company had attempted to build all the functionality itself,” says Jesper Glogauer, Vice President, Capital Markets, at Bankdata. “This is the beginning of a long-run strategic partnership between Bankdata and Murex. The first of its kind in terms of size and scope, we expect this third-party project will yield significant results for many years to come.”

Franck Gauthier, Senior Account Manager at Murex adds, “The implementation of MX.3 at Bankdata in order to serve 11 banks is a new industry model for delivering a capital markets platform as a utility. The approach lowers the total cost of ownership for the participating banks through consolidation of IT resources, while providing access to Murex’s best-of-breed functionality for all.”





View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160927005058/en/

Contacts

Murex

Nicole Fisher, +33144053200

marketingcommunication@murex.com

www.murex.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/18723/en

Abdulla Matar Al Mannaei Wins the Award for Best CEO in Middle East in CSR Category

In recognition of his outstanding social initiatives

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, September 21st 2016 [ME NewsWire]

The award was presented during the CEO Middle East award ceremony

HE Abdulla Matar Al Mannaei, Managing Director of Emirates Auction, was announced winner of the annual Best CEO Award 2016 in Corporate Social Responsibility category.

Presented by CEO Middle East Magazine, a publication of the ITP, the leading publishing group in Dubai, the annual award honors the best CEOs and executive directors in the region, in different categories.

The coveted award has been conferred upon Mr. Al Mannaei in recognition of his outstanding efforts in social responsibility, and his commitment to launch innovative initiatives in the service of the UAE community. Al Mannaei’s efforts included support to poverty alleviation programs and empowerment of the less fortunate and vulnerable people in the fields of education and healthcare; these goals are accomplished in collaboration with leading humanitarian and charity organizations.

Mr. Al Mannaei received the award from Mr. Ali Akawi, Managing Director at ITP Publishing Group, during the award ceremony that took place on (Monday , 19th of September) at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach.           

Commenting on the award, Mr. Al Mannaei said. “Since its inception, the Emirates Auction has been committed to the culture of giving in the UAE. This achievement is a testimony to the dedication of the team and their eagerness to give back to community, improve the lives of people in need, and put a smile on the faces of the less fortunate people”.

He added: “We are constantly striving to support the contribution of businesses in social development. These efforts are part of our corporate vision, mission and strategic plans in Emirates Auction. We are committed to the vision of our prudent leadership in the UAE, which guides businesses to take their social responsibility further and enhance the social security, stability and prosperity in the UAE”.

Since its inception in 2004, the Emirates Auction has contributed to numerous charitable, social and humanitarian initiatives. The company raised AED150,000 during an auction held at the end of Beyond Borders to provide emergency relief to victims of Philippine typhoon. Emirates Auction raised a total of AED89.9 million for Al Jalila Foundation, a UAE based philanthropic organization.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Emirates Auction held a charity auction for the Reading Nation campaign, last June, to raise funds in support of the educational programs for the underprivileged students in schools across the world. The auction’s sales have amounted to over AED41 million in total.

The ITP’s CEO Awards recognize excellence, innovation and outstanding accomplishments of business leaders in the Middle East.

Contacts

MISBAR Communications

Majdi Ashour, +97155-101-4522

majdi@misbar-me.com  









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/18690/en

Herbalife Nutrition and Special Olympics Announce $1 Million Fitness Collaboration

LOS ANGELES - Monday, September 26th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Herbalife (NYSE: HLF), a global nutrition company, today announced a $1 million collaboration with Special Olympics to support the organization’s fitness programming around the world, focusing on increasing physical activity and improving nutrition and hydration.

Leveraging Herbalife Nutrition’s global team of more than 300 staff scientists and 36 Ph.Ds. specializing in nutrition and sports performance, the Company will lend nutrition expertise and educational content including videos and other materials for coaches, athletes, care givers and the broader Special Olympics community.

“Special Olympics is about more than athletic competition,” said Kyle Washburn, director of fitness at Special Olympics.” We surround our athletes with a community that supports them through sport, health and the expansion of fitness.”

As part of the sponsorship, Dana Ryan, Ph.D., senior manager of Sports Performance and Education for Herbalife, will join the Special Olympics Global Fitness Task Force to bring additional perspective and expertise to support Special Olympics athletes, coaches, families and supporters. Helping to further raise awareness for the importance of nutrition and living a healthy, active lifestyle, a variety of Herbalife Nutrition protein products will feature the Special Olympics logo in select global markets. The Global Fitness Task Force is an international committee of fitness experts and athletes collaborating to improve Special Olympics athlete sport performance and health through the vehicle of fitness.

“Our mission is to bring nutrition to people around the world and to provide support for those seeking to embrace a healthy, active lifestyle,” said Michael O. Johnson, chairman and CEO, Herbalife. “Our global Herbalife community is inspired by Special Olympics and its amazing athletes, and we are proud to provide them with nutrition and fitness resources.”

At the Special Olympics 2015 Summer World Games in Los Angeles, Herbalife Nutrition’s members and employees generously sponsored approximately 10 percent of the Special Olympic athletes competing at World Games. Additionally, Herbalife Nutrition donated 280,000 nutrition bars and the use of its facilities to register and credential thousands of athletes, coaches and volunteers.

To learn more about the Special Olympics, World Games, and volunteer opportunities visit www.specialolympics.org/Sponsors/Herbalife.aspx.

About Herbalife

Herbalife is a global nutrition company that has been changing people's lives with great products since 1980. Our nutrition, weight-management, energy and fitness and personal care products are available exclusively to and through dedicated Herbalife independent members in more than 90 countries. We are committed to fighting the worldwide problems of poor nutrition and obesity by offering high-quality products, one-on-one coaching with an Herbalife member and a community that inspires customers to live a healthy, active life.

We support the Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF) and its Casa Herbalife programs to help bring good nutrition to children in need. We also sponsor more than 190 world-class athletes, teams and events around the globe, including Cristiano Ronaldo, the LA Galaxy and champions in many other sports.

The company has over 8,000 employees worldwide, and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HLF) with net sales of $4.5 billion in 2015. The Herbalife website contains a significant amount of financial and other information about the company at ir.Herbalife.com. The company encourages investors to visit its website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. To learn more, visit Herbalife.com or IAmHerbalife.com.

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.5 million athletes in nearly 170 countries. With the support of more than 1.4 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and more than 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Visit Special Olympics at specialolympics.org/. Engage with us on: Twitter@specialolympics, fb.com/specialolympics, youtube.com/specialolympicshq,instagram.com/specialolympics and specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com.    

Contacts

Herbalife

Jennifer Butler, 213-745 0420

jenb@herbalife.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/18721/en

Smartmatic Launches TIVI - a Secure and Verifiable Online Voting Solution

LONDON - Tuesday, September 27th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Smartmatic announced the launch of TIVI, a secure, verifiable online voting solution for governmental elections.

This next-generation voting solution provides the strongest assurance of election integrity of any online voting solution available today. It is the only online voting solution in the world that allows universal digital verifiability to prove the integrity of the vote, from the point of casting to counting. Utilising advanced cryptographic technique, it guarantees voter privacy and vote security.

TIVI has been engineered to meet the needs of Election Management Bodies seeking to enfranchise overseas and ex-pat voters, modernize traditional forms of remote voting and to reduce the challenges typically associated with election participation from remote environments.

TIVI is the result of a strategic partnership between Smartmatic and Cybernetica, the cybersecurity corporation responsible for developing the Estonian Internet voting solution used in eight nationwide elections since 2005.

“We engineered TIVI to mitigate the challenges of remote voting and give election authorities a tool to respond to growing trends such as declining participation and the mobile lifestyles of the electorate. With our technology, and regardless of where voters are, voting remains secret, secure, private and verifiable,” said Antonio Mugica, CEO for Smartmatic.

Commenting on the launching of TIVI, Oliver Väärtnõu, CEO of Cybernetica stated, “By utilising state-of-the-art security mechanisms and advanced cryptography, mixed with years of experience, we have developed a world-class solution which guarantees that votes are cast as intended, stored as cast and counted as cast.”

TIVI offers a consistent voting experience on any Internet enabled device and features accessibility tools to provide independent and private voting to voters with disabilities. It also offers auditability tools which allow deep technical and procedural audits to enhance electoral transparency above and beyond traditional remote voting methods and other online voting solutions.

More information at tivi.io.

About Smartmatic

Founded in the US in 2000, Smartmatic is the leading provider of voting technologies and solutions worldwide. Today, out of the eight countries pioneering election automation Smartmatic provides technology and services to six of them: Belgium, Brazil, Estonia, the Philippines, US and Venezuela.

The company has managed elections across five continents, processing over 3.7 billion votes. Smartmatic is headquartered in London, UK.

For more information, visit www.smartmatic.com.

Contacts

Smartmatic

Mrs. Samira Saba, +1-561-862-0747

Marketing and Communications Director

Communications@smartmatic.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/18741/en

Azizi Developments unveils AED 250 million project in Dubai: Azizi Shaista Residence

12-storey residential property to offer 284-units

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, September 21st 2016 [ME NewsWire]

Azizi Developments, a leading UAE-based real estate developer with a reach into multiple international markets, has announced its plans for its newest project, Azizi Shaista Residence—a modern, urban-luxury development located in the bustling and highly-accessible Al Furjan neighbourhood in Dubai. The property adds to Azizi Developments’ already impressive portfolio, with the developer currently involved in 20 different UAE-based projects valued at around AED 7.3 billion.

Azizi Shaista is due for completion in 2018, and is valued at AED 250 million. When complete, the 12-storey residence (including B + G + 2P) will house a total of 284 residential units – 137 studios, 124 one-bedroom apartments and 23 two-bedroom apartments. The project has a total construction area of 360,966sqft.

Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments, said: “Our continuing investment in the Dubai property market clearly shows our faith in the economy and the favourable regulations set out by the government. In the spirt of creating a new, family-oriented development, our latest project, Azizi Shaista Residence is prudently located near the Expo 2020 site—the meeting point for ideas and trade that is set to produce $23 billion in revenue and provide a staggering 277,000 job opportunities.”

The development in Al Furjan—a contemporary community that also encapsulates the principles of traditional neighbourhood living—caters to mid-luxury buyers, and is in close proximity to Discovery Gardens, The Gardens, and Ibn Battuta Mall: the world’s largest themed shopping centre that features Novo Cinemas’ biggest theatre in Dubai, over 30 restaurants and a Geant supermarket.

Azizi Shaista also includes a wide array of amenities including an outdoor pool, spa, state-of-the-art gymnasium, health club, round-the-clock reception and concierge, 24-hour valet parking service, a café and restaurant, retail outlets, and ample parking space.



Contacts

SAHARA Communications

Amira Gamal, Tel: +971 4 3298996

Mobile: +971 50 5430701

amira@saharagcc.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/18701/en

Andersen Global Initiates Expansion in Ireland

SAN FRANCISCO - Monday, September 26th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Andersen Global is pleased to announce its collaboration with mgpartners, a leading tax firm in Ireland. The establishment of a Collaboration Agreement with mgpartners furthers Andersen’s ability to provide best-in-class client service in Europe, and is a precursor to a more formal relationship.

Mark Vorsatz, CEO of Andersen Tax, commented, “This collaboration with mgpartners extends our global footprint and—more importantly—enhances our ability to provide seamless service in Europe.”

“Working with professionals that share our core principles is important,” said Mark Gorman, founder of mgpartners. “We know through our work with Andersen in the past that they are prime examples of transparency, stewardship and client service—our touchstones from day one.”

mgpartners advises Irish and international clients on tax planning, tax risk management and tax dispute resolution. The firm specializes in advising and structuring complex cross border transactions to minimize tax cost and risk for high value corporations and high net worth individuals.

Although mgpartners is not yet a full-fledged member firm, they will be collaborating with Andersen Tax and other Andersen Global member firms to provide best-in-class service to clients. With the addition of mgpartners, Andersen Global now has a presence in 49 locations worldwide.    

Contacts

Andersen Tax

Megan Tsuei, 415-764-2700    









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/18722/en