RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) is participating in the 74^th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) under the leadership of SDRPY Supervisor-General Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jabir. The program’s participation includes an exhibition at UN Headquarters in New York, designed to introduce SDRPY projects and initiatives in Yemen to visitors from around the world.

The SDRPY delegation is giving presentations on development and reconstruction projects in Yemen to a number of diplomats, political figures and representatives of the UNGA, as well as to several media and news outlets. In addition to giving verbal explanations to exhibition visitors in different languages as necessary, the delegation is distributing print publications, including a newsletter covering the previous six months of SDRPY operations.

The SDRPY exhibition, which began welcoming guests on the first day of the week-long UNGA session, is using virtual reality (VR) technology to display project operations across the Yemeni governorates in seven vital sectors: health; education; electricity; agriculture and fisheries; water; transportation; and residential and government building construction. The exhibition also features video and still image presentations, visually conveying the human and social impact of SDRPY education sector operations. Photo galleries also depict Yemenis of all ages, affected directly and indirectly by increased employment opportunities and income sources generated by the program in all sectors of its activity.

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Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1000361/6.jpg

– The Antarctic Sabbatical – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to journey to the frozen frontier and help us better understand humans’ environmental impact

– No formal qualifications required, other than an adventurous spirit, passion for the environment and willingness to apply

– Part of larger Airbnb Sabbatical program designed to inspire people to take time out of their careers to give back

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Airbnb and Ocean Conservancy announced the Antarctic Sabbatical, an unprecedented opportunity for five passionate individuals to travel to Earth’s most remote continent and join Antarctic Scientist Kirstie Jones-Williams on a first-of-its-kind scientific research mission in December.

The five volunteer citizen scientists will collect snow samples and study the extent to which microplastics have made their way to the interior of Antarctica. The goal of the Antarctic Sabbatical is to bring greater awareness to humans’ impact on the climate in one of the world’s least understood and most isolated ecosystems. By understanding the impact of plastic pollution generated elsewhere in the world, the citizen scientists will deliver insights on how the global community can help protect both Antarctica and the planet.

“Most people think of Antarctica as a pristine and isolated continent, but recent evidence shows that even the most remote locations are affected by plastic pollution. This expedition will help us understand the pathways of microplastics to remote regions such as Antarctica and comes at a critical time to highlight our responsibility to protect our natural world,” said Jones-Williams. “This expedition will be hard work, with scientific rigour required during unforgiving wintery conditions. We are looking for passionate individuals, with a sense of global citizenship, who are excited to be a part of the team and to return home and share our findings with the world.”

On the month-long expedition, the citizen scientists will:

• Attend an immersion training in Punta Arenas, Chile, where they will prepare themselves with courses on glaciology and field sampling as well as lab work and equipment practice.
• Fly to Antarctica to begin their scientific mission, landing on a naturally formed blue-ice runway deep within the continent where the research will be conducted.
• Collect snow samples from the interior of Antarctica and study them for foreign microfibers to determine how far waste and pollution has traveled across the world.
• Visit the South Pole, where they can walk around the globe in just a few steps.
• Get the chance to explore the beauty of Antarctic sites like the Drake Icefall, Charles Peak Windscoop, and Elephant’s Head to learn about the continent’s geography.
• Return to Chile where they will continue to study their findings and work with Ocean Conservancy to become ambassadors for protecting the oceans. In this advocacy role, they will deliver insights on how the Airbnb community and others can help minimize their collective plastic footprint to support Ocean Conservancy’s mission.

Airbnb is committed to providing the option for sustainable travel to its community at every point of the trip. To further this commitment, Airbnb is working with Ocean Conservancy to use the research findings from the Antarctic Sabbatical to inform educational and advocacy efforts. Airbnb is also conducting an environmental impact assessment to measure and understand our impact and to identify what we can do to reduce our footprint over time. These are foundational steps that will inform future commitments and our vision to be a leader in sustainable travel.

“Partnering with Airbnb on the Antarctic Sabbatical is an incredible opportunity to continue our fight against ocean plastic and raise awareness of this issue,” said Janis Searles Jones, CEO of Ocean Conservancy. “Through our annual International Coastal Cleanup, where volunteers not only collect trash from beaches and waterways around the world but also log every item in our global database, Ocean Conservancy has a long history of working with citizen scientists, and we look forward to applying the results of this expedition to global solutions.”

The Airbnb community values healthy travel, including the 64 percent of guests who chose Airbnb in 2018 because they value that it is an environmentally sustainable travel option* that makes the most of spare space in people’s homes.

• Since August 2018, Airbnb has seen more than 5 million guests check in at eco-friendly listings on the platform**.
• 88 percent of Airbnb hosts around the world incorporate green practices into hosting, such as using green cleaning products, providing recycling, encouraging guests to use public transportation, and installing solar panels*.
• Guests on Airbnb are also exploring the variety of Experiences that both benefit the planet and introduce them to local experts and advocates in environmental sustainability, as the company has seen bookings for eco-friendly and sustainable Experiences increase by 196 percent over the past year**.

“Together with Ocean Conservancy, we are highlighting the problem of microplastics to encourage a global audience to give great thought to the consequences of how we live and take collective action,” said Chris Lehane, Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications of Airbnb. “While Airbnb is inherently more eco-friendly than other forms of travel given that people are using spaces already built, we need to continue to find ways for the platform to contribute to reducing the impact of humans on the environment. There is far more we need to do and will be looking to do as we go forward.”

The Antarctic Sabbatical follows the Italian Sabbatical, which was an urban regeneration project by Airbnb and Wonder Grottole that offered the opportunity for five volunteers to spend three months living in the historic town of Grottole in southern Italy to help revitalize a community that was facing extinction. The Sabbatical program is designed to inspire people to take advantage of earned time off to give back to the people and places around them for a life-changing experience.

To apply for the Antarctic Sabbatical, visit airbnb.com/sabbatical and complete the application form, terms apply.***

*Guest sentiment is based on nearly 12,000 responses to a voluntary survey sent to a sample of Airbnb guest accounts that had taken a trip to select countries in 2018. No payment or other incentive was provided in exchange for completing the survey.

**Based on Airbnb internal data of year-over-year growth globally in guest arrivals to eco-friendly active listings (Eco-friendly listings are defined as the following spacetypes: ‘Earthhouse’, ‘Yurt’, ‘Treehouse’, ‘Tent’, ‘Nature Lodge’, ‘Cabin’) and Experiences bookings, comparing August 1, 2018 to August 1, 2019.

***Before applying, carefully read the selection terms available on the website. Candidates must be over 18, available to travel to Chile and Antarctica for a month from November to December 2019 to conduct volunteer work as citizen scientists and be able to speak conversational English. The final selection of five citizen scientists will be announced on October 30. The sabbatical is open to residents in the following countries and regions: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Dubai, France, Germany, Ireland, India, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, and US.

About Airbnb
Founded in 2008, Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong through healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents and become hospitality entrepreneurs. Airbnb’s accommodation marketplace provides access to 7 million unique places to stay in more than 100,000 cities and 191 countries and regions. With Experiences, Airbnb offers unprecedented access to local communities and interests through 40,000 unique, handcrafted activities run by hosts across 1,000+ cities around the world. Airbnb’s people-to-people platform benefits all our stakeholders, including hosts, guests, employees and the communities in which we operate.

About Ocean Conservancy
Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with their partners, they create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.

About Antarctic Scientist Kirstie Jones-Williams
Antarctic Scientist Kirstie Jones-Williams specializes in investigating the impact of microplastics on polar marine zooplankton. She is earning her PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter in the UK, funded by the NERC GW4+ DTP training program.

Video – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1000160/Airbnb_Antarctic_Launch.mp4
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OTTAWA, Ontario, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — BitHarp Group Limtied (www.BitHarp.com), an experienced manufacturer of crypto mining hardware, is rapidly emerging as a trusted name amongst individuals looking to make a profit by mining cryptocurrencies at home. The company’s recently launched products Lyre Miner and Harp Miner are characterized by low heat and noise generation and can be placed anywhere, making them perfectly suited for home use. Also, users can start using these pre-configured mining rigs just by plugging in, choosing the preferred coin, and entering the pool data.

One of the key attributes of Lyre Miner and Harp Miner is the ability of these products to generate quick return on investment. This objective has been achieved by the products by delivering extremely high hash rate power for mining. Hash rate is a general measure of the processing power of crypto mining rigs. A higher hash rate means increased opportunity for cryptocurrency mining and receiving block reward. Moreover, Lyre Miner and Harp Miner support profitability with their low energy consumption.

The hash rate powers delivered by Lyre Miner and Harp Miner are mentioned below.

• Bitcoin: 335 TH/s (Lyre Miner) & 2000 TH/s (Harp Miner)
• Litecoin: 55 GH/s (Lyre Miner) & 300 GH/s (Harp Miner)
• Ethereum: 14 GH/s (Lyre Miner) & 75 GH/s (Harp Miner)
• Dash: 9 TH/s (Lyre Miner) & 50 TH/s (Harp Miner)

“BitHarp is one of the earliest companies in this market to create products that are suitable for casual crypto enthusiasts mining from their home without much knowledge or experience,” said Daniel Cox, Engineering Director from BitHarp. “Lyre Miner and Harp Miner were designed to make crypto mining easy and affordable for them. It is a great pleasure for us to see many beginners earning profits using BitHarp mining rigs from home.”

To find out more about Lyre Miner and Harp Miner, please visit https://www.bitharp.com/

About BitHarp

BitHarp is a New Zealand based cryptocurrency manufacturer of the most high-performance and flexible Mining rigs built with the goal of making mining easier and more profitable for investors.

Dubai becomes among the first cities in the world to regulate private security activities using SaaS technology to streamline processes and ensure compliance to help meet service and safety goals

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Accela, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for government, today announced that the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) has gone live with a new security regulation and licensing system powered by Accela technology. The system will manage all licensing, inspection, and auditing for security service providers to help create a safer city. In doing so, Dubai becomes among the first cities in the world to regulate private security activities using modern technology.

“SIRA’s new security regulation and licensing solution shows its commitment to modern tools that provide citizens with smart services, accelerate operations, and help Dubai meet its 2021 development goals,” says H.E. Khalifa Ibrahim Al Sulais, the Executive Director of SIRA. “We selected Accela’s platform because of its robust, scalable, and flexible features that were essential to raising the quality of services provided by SIRA and ensuring best safety and protection practices across Dubai.”

“The City of Dubai has consistently shown leadership in leveraging cutting-edge technology to improve citizen service delivery and solve civic problems, especially in emerging regulatory markets,” says Khaled Jaouni, Managing Director International and leader of Middle East Operations at Accela. “SIRA’s new groundbreaking effort to strengthen critical local infrastructure in partnership with Accela will help build a secure, thriving community with its eye towards the future.”

SIRA’s new security solution helps address these emerging threats by streamlining licensing, inspection, and auditing processes for all Security Service Providers in Dubai, including security companies, equipment vendors, private security guards, and businesses that require security services. The new system will automate and fast-track previously manual processes, improve accuracy, and reduce counter visits. SIRA’s system is fully integrated with all internal and external approval entities across the UAE, including Smart Dubai, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Department of Economic Development, and Dubai Municipality. By leveraging Accela’s technology, SIRA will help the Dubai government meet the safety components of its 2021 vision and Smart Cities and Governments paperless initiative.

By using the Accela software, SIRA customers can achieve a wide variety of tasks including the following:

• Plan and schedule inspections with full inspection system based on checklists
• Facilitate on-site inspection and auditing with a mobile application
• Reach inspection sites quickly with using the most efficient routes to reach inspection sites
• Interact with customers through SMS and email gateways
• Apply for security training and permitting courses, take certification exams, and track results
• Compile statistical reports to enable decision-makers to make informed decisions regarding operations and best practices

“Our partnership with SIRA builds on Accela’s long standing relationship with Dubai and our commitment to innovation in the region,” says Gary Kovacs, CEO of Accela. “We are thrilled to support SIRA’s effort to re-imagine how cities approach the responsibility to keep citizens safe in today’s evolving security paradigm and look forward to seeing how other cities across the world follow in Dubai’s footsteps.”

Today’s announcement demonstrates Dubai’s continued leadership in using modern technology to better deliver government services, particularly in emerging regulatory spaces. Dubai launched the first short-term rental (STR) solution built by Accela alongside Denver, Colorado to become the first two cities in the world to offer streamlined and customer-friendly online STR registration.

To learn more about Accela’s solutions in emerging regulatory spaces, please visit: https://www.accela.com/.

About Accela

Accela provides market-leading SaaS solutions that empower state and local governments to build thriving communities, grow businesses and protect citizens. Powered by Microsoft Azure, Accela’s open and flexible technology helps agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are prepared for any emerging or complex challenges in the future. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with additional offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

About SIRA

Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) seeks to provide Dubai with the highest quality of security through the implementation of international best practices in security systems, services and guards. It protects lives and properties by suggesting new laws and regulations, applying smart systems, training security cadres and thoroughly inspecting secured facilities. In essence, SIRA is responsible for inspecting and licensing all entities providing security equipment, services, and personnel in the Emirate of Dubai to ensure proper security compliance to uphold safety and protection within Dubai.

Contact: Kate Helete, (805) 458-5093, kate@riffcitystrategies.com

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