After three days of in-depth presentations, lively panel discussions and groundbreaking demonstrations in the exhibition area, The Brain Forum 2015 closed today with the announcement of The Brain Forum Innovations Award dedicated to promote Swiss Startups.

Professor Patrick Aebischer, co-chair of The Brain Forum and President of Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is pleased with the outcome: “The enigma of the brain has been puzzling scientists for centuries. We need scientific, academic, industrial and philanthropic communities to unite and develop mechanisms for partnerships and collaborations.”

Co-chair Walid Juffali, the Chairman of W Science Initiative, also expressed his satisfaction: “The Brain Forum 2015 managed to use its convening power to bring stakeholders from 27 different countries to meet, discuss, debate current challenges and explore the possibilities to develop new tools and technologies that have great potential to tr ... Read more »

Doha, Qatar - Wednesday, April 8th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

QNB Group, one of the World’s Strongest Banks and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its results for the three months ended 31 March 2015.

For the three months of 2015, Net Profit was QAR2.7 billion (USD735 million), up by 10.1% compared to last year.

The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 21.7%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.

Total assets increased by 9.4% from March 2014 to reach QAR502 billion (USD137.8 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 8.9% in loans and advances to reach QAR345 billion (USD94.9 billion).

The Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.5%, a level considered one of the ... Read more »

DENVER - Tuesday, April 7th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) (“Newmont” or “the Company”) today published its 2014 sustainability report, Beyond the Mine, detailing the Company’s safety, economic, environmental and social performance, as well as its commitment to ethical business practices.

The report reflects Newmont’s reporting obligations as a founding member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), as well as its commitments under the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) and the United Nations Global Compact. Newmont reports its sustainability performance against the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability reporting framework – a comprehensive set of indicators covering sustainable development – and is independently assured.

“Our annual sustainability report transparently details Newmont’s performan ... Read more »

Under the patronage of Saif bin Zayed

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, April 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Under the patronage of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Decision-Making Support Center at Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, will be organizing a Forum titled ‘Shaping the Future of Policing’ next Tuesday. The forum, which gathers an elite group of international experts in this field, will be held at the Police Departments Complex in Abu Dhabi.

Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, highlighted the importance of the forum, which is the  first of its kind in the UAE to discuss the future strategic trends of policing. He added that the forum will constitute a platform for interaction with international experts on a wide variety of topics in order to explore potential future ... Read more »

WASHINGTON. - Wednesday, April 8th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) CNFA and GSI Group have launched a strategic partnership aimed at promoting food storage and protein production systems as a critical way to improve farm productivity and food security. This partnership will notably strive to significantly reduce the multi-billion dollar food losses that occur yearly due to insufficient and inadequate post-harvest infrastructures in Sub-Sahara Africa. It will also leverage CNFA’s close proximity to thousands of smallholder farmers in Africa with GSI’s cutting-edge, scalable technologies for grain and perishable storage.

GSI, a global brand of AGCO, is a world class manufacturer of grain storage, material handling, conditioning and drying equipment, as well as a full line supplier of swine and poultry production equipment. GSI Group, LLC President Tom Welke and CNFA President and CEO Sylvain Roy released the following statement:

“This partn ... Read more »

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Friday, April 3rd 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The women’s ward in the Al Wathba section, at the Punitive and Correctional Establishments Department at Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters (GHQ), organized an awareness week under the slogan “Honoring Parents”. The event was held in collaboration with the Community Police Department, the Family Development Foundation, and the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

As a part of the week’s programs, which took place at the department’s headquarters in Al Whathba, the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments held a number of religious awareness lectures under the slogan “The Mother”. During the  event, attendees watched a video documentary showcasing the remarkable achievements of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Dev ... Read more »

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, April 7th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Centre has launched a campaign under the slogan “Together to Prevent Child Abuse”. It is noteworthy that this campaign falls within the annual initiative adopted by the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior which designated April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. It also comes as a response to the initiative of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), in solidarity with the global policies of many countries that mark April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection, noted that the campaign comes in response to the directives of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy P ... Read more »

Government of South Africa Adopts Harmonised Channel Plans for Digital Dividend Spectrum

LONDON. - Tuesday, April 7th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) Following the publication of the South African Government’s Final Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plans1, Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA, commented:

“The GSMA congratulates the Government of South Africa on its decision to adopt the harmonised spectrum channel plans for the use of the 700MHz and 800MHz bands, also known as the ‘Digital Dividend’2, for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT).

“Complementing its earlier decision to harmonise the 800MHz band, the alignment of the 700MHz band with the lower portion of the globally harmonised Asia Pacific channel plan3 will allow South Africa to maximise the benefits of this spectrum for all of its citizens. Harmonisation of the Digital Dividend will offer significant economies of scale for handset manu ... Read more »

The winners of the 72 hour competition will be incubated at in5 and present their solution at the Italy EXPO 2015 in Milan

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Monday, April 6th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Dubai Internet City (DIC), the MENA region’s largest ICT hub, was the headline partner for HackaMENA, the first social impact hackathon in the region, held from 2-4 April at in5, the innovation centre launched by DIC. The event was organised by The D. GmbH, a youth-driven digital development company that provides smart and innovative tech solutions.  

HackaMENA gathered over 70 attendees who flew in from Algeria, Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The participants formed teams for the 72 hour competition, during which they created innovative solutions that will have a positive impact on society and bring about real social change. Over the course of the weekend competitors also heard first-hand from industry experts and mentors, in ... Read more »

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Friday, April 3rd 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Al Ain Traffic Institute, in coordination with the Public Relations Department at the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, organized three traffic awareness-raising lectures in Al Ain city. The lectures were held at the Al Ain Municipality, the Police Colleges in Abu Dhabi Police, and the Al Ain University of Science and Technology, to acquaint attendees with the traffic safety and safe driving concepts.

The lectures were delivered by Captain Salem Ali Al Ketbi, Head of Training at the Institute. Captain Al Ketbi noted that the lectures aim to disseminate and promote traffic safety culture in the community. “The Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate is keen to implement the traffic safety strategy through social communication, by which it provides guidance to drivers and road users, in a bid to enhance community members’ role, promote traffic awareness and re ... Read more »

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, April 5th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

3i Infotech, a global technology solutions and services provider celebrates one of their biggest wins in Zimbabwe with Edgars Stores Limited joining their long list of  soon to be satisfied customers. Edgars Stores Limited is the largest fashion retailer in Zimbabwe with 53stores.

Being a large retail group with multiple outlets spread across different locations, Edgars faced operational challenges of data visibility and group data consolidation. Their dependency on legacy systems was one of the biggest challenges they faced. Operations were complex and cumbersome, hence limiting business service capacity and potential for growth. This resulted in the need for a state of the art ERP solution.

Commenting on their prestigious win, Mr. Ashish Dass, President,  Middle East & Africa for 3i Infotech said, “Edgars is a growth oriented and technology savvy company that acknowledges ... Read more »