NORTHERN TRUST EXPANDS ITS PHILANTHROPY IN MALAYSIA

Financial Support Announced for Teach For Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Leading financial services company Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is expanding its philanthropy efforts in Malaysia aligned with its vision to create more equitable opportunities to achieve long-term financial success for those who too often face hurdles because of their race, ethnicity, gender, geography or socio-economic conditions.

Northern Trust will donate funds to Teach For Malaysia, a not-for-profit organization that works towards ensuring educational excellence in schools especially in rural and underprivileged communities.

“Our philanthropic focus at Northern Trust covers four key pillars: education, food, healthcare and housing,” said Shana Hayes, global head of corporate philanthropy at Northern Trust. “It is our belief that supporting educational equity and persistence inspires the fullest realization of professional achievement. We have been inspired to support the work of Teach For Malaysia as they seek to create education equity in Malaysia, supporting the development of young people to fulfil their highest potential.”

In the last decade alone, Northern Trust has contributed more than $160 million to support non-profit and non-governmental organizations around the world. Examples of global corporate philanthropy initiatives include supporting a program that provides shelter for neglected children in India and ensuring mental and physical health services reach vulnerable populations in London. 

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NIPPON EXPRESS' NX AGRIGROW RECEIVES VIETNAMESE AMBASSADOR VISIT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- NX AgriGrow Co Ltd, a group company of Nippon Express Holdings Inc, received a visit from Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam on August 4.

In a statement today, it said Vu recently made a tour of companies in Hokuto City, Japan during which NX AgriGrow was recommended to him by Hokuto Mayor Eiji Kamimura as a firm engaged in cutting-edge agriculture.

NX AgriGrow, formerly Nittsu Farm Co Ltd, was established by the Nippon Express in Hokuto City, west of Tokyo, in 2016.

The company has since been working with the local community on projects aimed at eliminating abandoned farmland, contributing to local employment and resolving other issues facing the city.

In February this year, NX AgriGrow concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with Hokuto City to promote the sustained development of agriculture and revitalise the local economy.

It is also striving through Hokuto’s key industry of agriculture to create a new model for sustainable regional development.

-- BERNAMA

OKX, LinkedIn co-report imbalance on global blockchain industry talent supply and demand

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- OKX, a leading cryptocurrency platform and LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, have co-authored a report that highlights the imbalance between the supply and demand of qualified talent in the global blockchain industry.

The in-depth research, based on LinkedIn’s exclusive big data analysis, took data from 180 countries in the period between January 2019 and June 2022.

According to a statement, it covers the blockchain sector as well as sub-industries that include the cryptography, quantum computing and distributed ledger sectors as well as more than 15 other related sub-industries.

The report reveals that as of June 2022, the supply and demand of talent in the global blockchain field are out of balance, with qualified candidates in short supply.

The total number of LinkedIn members working in the blockchain field has increased by 76 per cent year-on-year, but the major countries that blockchain sector candidates have traditionally come from are experiencing negative talent growth.

The research also shows that the demand for core talent has shifted from financial-oriented to candidates with technical skills. In terms of number of job postings, research and development specialists top the global demand, followed by information technology.

From the perspective of recruitment demand, financial candidates are now ranked in the sixth position.

Another challenge highlighted by the report involves the short tenure of candidates where the average tenure of global blockchain talents is 1.2 years and the high turnover rate.

The report also shows that in addition to the influx of talent from traditional financial and technology companies, talent movement in the global blockchain industry is mainly based on intra-industry flow.

-- BERNAMA

Street Cred Capital to distribute Synchronoss Personal Cloud offering

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Synchronoss Technologies Inc (Synchronoss or the company), a global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging, digital products and platforms, has announced that Street Cred Capital has signed a letter of intent to become a distributor of the company’s value-added personal cloud solution.

Synchronoss’ personal cloud product provides a turn-key solution for companies seeking to integrate or bundle personal cloud as a value-added service.

President and chief executive officer of Synchronoss Jeff Miller said: “We have successfully expanded our Synchronoss Cloud solutions to serve the needs of global service providers, insurance companies, and retailers, and Street Cred would represent an exciting new market opportunity for our personal cloud platform.”

According to a statement, the financial company represents a unique market opportunity to resell Synchronoss’ personal cloud solution and expand the value of device financing.

Serving leading North American carriers, mobile virtual network operators and retailers, Street Cred Capital offers six lending product options for financing new devices and value-added solutions.

The Synchronoss solution enables Street Cred Capital to offer a personal cloud bundle at a discounted rate as part of every financed purchase.

This unique offer allows subscribers to back up, sync, and organise a broad range of digital files between devices and the cloud.

Through its mobile sales channel ecosystem, Street Cred Capital offers funding solutions to address nearly 32 million customers.

More details at www.synchronoss.com.

-- BERNAMA

TO BUILD WEB 3.0 NATIVE PAYMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, AIRSWIFT RAISES $2 MM IN PRE-SEED FUNDING LED BY CE INNOVATION CAPITAL

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 9 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Airswift, a fintech startup pioneering Web 3.0 native payment solutions, announced that it raised $2 million USD in a pre-seed funding led by CE Innovation Capital (CEiC).

The latest funding comes amid a bear market sentiment and uncertainty around crypto. It indicates that investors are confident about Airswift’s unique model, and optimistic about the future of payment solutions that power the use of digital assets.

With blockchain technology at its core, Airswift is building a comprehensive payment infrastructure native to Web 3.0. This includes an easy-to-use on-chain payment gateway that allows merchants to accept both crypto and fiat currency, enabling frictionless purchases with digital assets. Airswift plans to launch its initial product by September 2022, making it one of the first full-stack payment gateway solutions that facilitate digital asset acceptance around the globe.

“The raise from CEiC shows that investors are confident in our unique strengths in blockchain R&D, payment gateway operations, regulatory compliance, among other factors,” said Dr. Yan Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Airswift. “The current challenge associated with enabling crypto payments lies with both technical areas and fund aggregation. Airswift is committed to solving these issues with a decentralized payment gateway that protects user privacy and supports a liquidity pool model powered by block-chain technology.” 

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INTERNATIONAL LEADING SCIENTISTS ISSUE CRITICAL GUIDE FOR USING MICROBIOMES TO COMBAT THE GLOBAL ISSUE OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS

THUWAL, Saudi Arabia, Aug 4 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A group of leading experts have issued a critical framework for using microbiomes to protect wildlife in an ethical and efficient way.
 

Beneficial Microbes for Marine Organisms (BMMO), an international network of collaborators with expertise in crosscutting areas of probiotic research, have published a paper in Nature Microbiology, Harnessing the microbiome to prevent global biodiversity loss, that provides a science-based framework to accelerate the responsible research and development of microbiome solutions.

Dr. Raquel Peixoto, founder and co-chair of BMMO, and associate professor of marine science at KAUST, said, “Key ecosystems, which host many forms of life, are at the brink of ecological collapse, driving enormous biodiversity losses and mass extinctions, and disrupting ecosystems central to supporting livelihoods.”

Contributing authors include professors Gabriele Berg of The Graz University of Technology; Christian Voolstra of the University of Konstanz; Ute Hentschel of GEOMAR; Rodrigo Costa of the University of Lisbon; Carlos Duarte of KAUST; and ethicist Jeantine Lunsh of Harvard, among other distinguished academics.

A guide to accelerate the use of macrobiotics to restore coral

The scientists examine the use of probiotics to “reboot” healthy microbiomes and protect key, and sensitive, symbiotic relationships between hosts and their associated microbes. Probiotics are now conventionally applied in agroecosystems, showing that successful applications in open environments are possible with controlled risks.

The team propose a science-based framework, outlining a path from laboratory bench to pilot and large-scale applications of microbiomes, to save threatened ecosystems.

“We as a network of leading scientists are concerned that the technological development of an urgently-needed tool may be delayed by unclear and undefined risk assessment steps,” said KAUST Distinguished Professor of Marine Science Carlos Duarte, who serves as executive director of the Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP).

“In addition, no ethical discussions are available to provide guidelines and rules to accelerate the transition from devising to applying environmental probiotics in a practical and safe way. Therefore, we are highlighting the path from concept to real-world solutions, addressing ethical considerations, as well as risks against benefits.”

The paper serves to address this gap. The framework also considers the risk of inaction, and can be adapted to other urgent scientific developments.

“Our framework provides a pragmatic regulatory wildlife-adapted tool to guide scientists and stakeholders through the fight against biodiversity loss,” Peixoto said.   “It takes into consideration potential side effects of its application, while also considering the high toll of inaction.” 

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TDK hosts 4th Rising Stars Clinic at WCH Oregon22

 

Sinclaire Johnson, Valerie Adams, Trey Cunningham, and Ashton Eaton (from left) with their students on the TDK Rising Stars Clinic at WCH Oregon22. (Photo: Business Wire) 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- Japan’s TDK Corporation, the world leader in electronic solutions for the smart society, has presented the fourth installment of its Rising Stars Clinic (RSC). 

This is part of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (WCH Oregon22), which was held on July 15–24 at the University of Oregon Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

RSC is “a unique initiative that gives aspiring young athletes the opportunity to train with and learn from, leading track and field competitors past and present,” it said in a statement.

According to the statement, the session was led by two current US athletes, namely WCH Oregon22 men’s 110m hurdles silver medalist Trey Cunningham and Sinclaire Johnson, the women’s 1,500m gold medalist at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Two retired legends-turned RSC ambassadors also joined the session, namely Ashton Eaton (USA) - two-time men’s decathlon gold medalist at the Summer Olympics, and Valerie Adams (New Zealand), the four-time world and two-time Olympic champion in women’s shot put.

These elite sportspeople put 16 young participants from local athletics clubs through their paces, offering first-hand instruction on everything from warm-up exercises and stretches to running techniques.

The day’s activities culminated in a 4x100m relay on the main track at the renowned Hayward Field, preceded by a behind-the-scenes tour that gave an authentic taste of the different stages that athletes go through on race day, including a spike check in the call room and team entrances accompanied by introductions from the stadium announcer.

And just like top athletes, the experience was completed with post-race interviews in the stadium’s mixed zone.

-- BERNAMA