St Kitts and Nevis citizens can now travel easier and faster to Canada

Basseterre, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Government of St Kitts and Nevis is proud to announce that after sustained and meaningful dialogue between itself and the government of Canada, Kittians and Nevisians can now travel visa-free to Canada.

The policy applies to St Kitts and Nevis nationals who have had a Canadian visa over the past ten (10) years, as well as those who have a current non-immigrant US visa.

St Kitts and Nevis nationals who fit the above categories are required to apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), for which a response is usually received the same day.

First time applicants who do not have a US or Canadian visa are still required to apply for a visa to enter Canada.

Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the addition of 13 countries to the eTA program, of which St Kitts and Nevis is one. Eligible citizens will be able to travel faster, easily, and more affordably to Canada for up to six months for either business or leisure.

“This is indeed positive news for our citizens, and we are happy about the strength of our relationship with Canada and look forward to announcing more positive aspects resulting from this partnership,” said Prime Minister Terrance Drew.

As a CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and fellow Commonwealth, St Kitts and Nevis is an important partner for Canada. Both countries share strong cultural and people-to-people ties.

Chantal Mabanga
PR St. Kitts and Nevis
+44 (0) 207 318 4343
Chantal.Mabanga@csglobalpartners.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8854173

International Dialogue Centre’s Secretary General Calls for Continued Commitment to Universal Peace through Interreligious Dialogue in Audience with Pope Francis

Rome, Italy, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, His Holiness Pope Francis received His Excellency, Dr. Zuhair Alharthi, Secretary General, International Dialogue Centre, KAICIID.

The Secretary General expressed gratitude for the Vatican’s historical role in helping to establish and support the International Dialogue Centre’s interreligious and intercultural dialogue programmatic work, globally.

The late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, in his role as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the late Pope Benedict XVI, met in 2007 to discuss the founding of a new interfaith initiative. That initial gesture of reaching out across centuries of misunderstanding, of setting aside their own certainties in favour of dialogue with the other, has informed KAICIID and its work ever since. The Holy See remains a Founding Observer of the International Dialogue Centre, ensuring our mandate is delivered.

“The Vatican has played a significant role in raising the importance of interreligious dialogue as a necessary means towards creating universal peace,” said the Secretary General. “I am honoured to meet with Pope Francis to reaffirm our efforts in dialogue and the importance of an enhanced commitment to these efforts ahead of his visit to our Host Country, Portugal, for World Youth Day,” he added.

About The International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID
The International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID is an intergovernmental organization that promotes peace and understanding through interreligious and intercultural dialogue by strengthening capacity at the local, national, and regional level through education on dialogue practices; increasing understanding of religious and cultural diversity through leadership for dialogue training, and promoting dialogue and social cohesion through conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and development policies. Learn more at www.kaiciid.org

 

Attachments

Hermínio Santos
LPM
+351 925 606 430
hs@lpmcom.pt

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8853960

Most Profitable Crypto Miners Now Delivered Worldwide

BM Pro
BMPRO

Most Powerful Crypto Miners in the World

NEW YORK, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Crypto mining enthusiasts around the world can now have the world’s most profitable crypto miners delivered to their doorsteps. Bitmanu has just started worldwide delivery of its BM 1, BM 2, and BM Pro miners. Within a relatively short lifespan, these ASIC miners have already hit the headlines because of their excellent profitability.

Bitmanu launched in early 2021 and immediately caught the attention of the industry experts with the high hash rates of its mining rigs. The hash rates of BM 1, BM 2, and BM Pro are higher compared to any other hardware available in the market. These mining rigs have been enhanced further with the recent introduction of Bitmanu’s private and unique Bitstream, which now allows them to efficiently mine multiple coins.

Hash Rates of Bitmanu Miners

BM Pro BM 2 BM 1
Bitcoin 3900 TH/s 1220 TH/s 760 TH/s
Litecoin 400 GH/s 128 GH/s 80 GH/s
Dash 75 TH/s 25 TH/s 15 TH/s
Monero 32 MH/s 10 MH/s 6 MH/s

Many users of Bitmanu miners have informed that they were able to fully recover their investments in approximately a month. This has been made possible not only by the high hash rates of these rigs, but also their low power consumptions. In spite their extraordinary computational power, BM 1, BM 2, and BM Pro consume only 650W, 850W, and 2200W respectively.

Mining Profits per Month

  BM Pro BM 2 BM 1
Bitcoin $7000 $2400 $2000
Litecoin $9500 $3200 $3000
Dash $26,000 $9000 $5000
Monero $21,000 $6400 $3800

*Calculation is done based on the current market price and mining difficulty

Interestingly, a high percentage of Bitmanu’s delighted customers include casual crypto miners with no or very little exposure to crypto mining. Bitmanu is probably the first company ever to design uncomplicated mining rigs with the goal of democratizing a field that has traditionally been dominated by technology experts.

To find out more about Bitmanu, please visit https://bitmanu.com/

About Bitmanu: Bitmanu is a manufacturing company created, owned, and managed by a team of investors and noted crypto industry experts dedicated to bringing the benefits of latest technological innovations to the public. The company offers a stunning range of crypto miners that offer superfast return on investment, and can be set up and used by all regardless of their experience and knowledge.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bf754322-fcec-47b6-9c8b-d38a18d37ebd

Media Contact

Alex Torum

media@bitmanu.com

+1 347 973 5948

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1000823978

Mattermost Announces “Customer-Controlled AI Architecture” for Enhancing Operational Workflows in Defense, Government and Technology Organizations

Self-hosted, open source solution enables AI-augmentation of mission-critical operations while maintaining full data control and avoiding vendor lock-in

Palo Alto, CA, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mattermost, Inc., the leading secure collaboration platform for technical teams, today announced a new “Customer-Controlled AI Architecture” enabling defense, government and technology enterprises to apply generative AI technologies to enhancing or replacing operational workflows while meeting stringent data control requirements and avoiding lock-in to vendor-specific platforms.

“If you’re part of an organization that has clear competitors or adversaries, then you’re in a race right now to unlock the power of AI for gaining speed and decision advantage,” said Ian Tien, Mattermost CEO. “Our release today serves organizations competing in that race who also need to meet strict security and sovereignty requirements.”

The open source, self-managed solution provides feature-rich, chat-based collaboration across web, desktop and mobile experiences to engage with colleagues as well as AI bots powered by an interchangeable set of open source AI platforms, known as large language models, or “LLMs”. The system can be fully controlled by a customer within their private network or data center, and can even be deployed to air-gapped networks disconnected from the internet.

Benefits of Mattermost’s customer-controlled AI platform include:

  • Fully-featured chat-based collaboration including 1-1 and group messaging across, web, desktop and mobile, with file and media sharing, search, integrations, custom emojis and emoji reactions, syntax highlighting and custom rendering.
  • Conversational AI bots that can be added to channels and engaged like human users to respond to questions and requests based on different LLMs that can be downloaded and run as part of the framework, including models from the HuggingFace AI community.
  • Scalable AI model framework that can scale up to deploy on a private cloud or data center using large and powerful open source LLM models for group work, or scale down to run on a commodity laptop, without the need for specialized hardware required by typical AI models, for individual developers to prototype and explore LLM capabilities.
  • Conforming security and compliance platform that can accommodate a broad range of custom security and compliance requirements, including automated scanning of the platform’s open source code base, monitoring and securing of all incoming and outgoing network traffic and deployment to restricted networks.

This new framework is an initial release in a series of reference architectures that Mattermost, Inc. intends to offer.

“While open source LLMs are in their infancy, we see them on course to materially accelerate operational collaboration,” adds Tien. “They’ll increase the attention and focus on our most impactful discussions, while reducing the drudgery of sifting through daily information flows. While we are starting with an open source, private cloud framework, over time we intend to add integration with proprietary, public cloud based AI models, because we believe enterprises are best served with a range of solutions to meet different needs.”

The Mattermost AI Framework is available for download on GitHub’s open source platform at https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost-ai-framework.

About Mattermost 

Mattermost provides secure collaboration for technical and operational teams that need to meet nation-state-level security and trust requirements. We serve technology, public sector, and national defense industries with customers ranging from tech giants, to the U.S. Department of Defense, to governmental agencies around the world.

Our self-hosted and cloud offerings provide an extensible hub for technical communication across web, desktop and mobile for incident collaboration, operational workflows, integration with Dev/Sec/Ops and in-house toolchains, and leading unified communications platforms.

We are built on an open source platform vetted and deployed by the world’s most secure and mission critical organizations, that is co-built with over 4,000 open source project contributors who’ve provided over 30,000 code improvements towards our shared product vision, which is translated into 20 languages.

To learn more, visit www.mattermost.com.

Mattermost and the Mattermost logo are registered trademarks of Mattermost, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Attachment

Amy Nicol
Mattermost
+1 (650) 667-8512
media@mattermost.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8853788

Dave & Buster’s to open 20 stores in India and Australia

The entertainment destination announces international franchise partnership with the Malpani Group and NightOwl Entertainment

DALLAS, June 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dave & Buster’s, the ultimate destination for food, drinks, and entertainment, announces two more significant deals for its global expansion plans. The first deal includes a 15-store partnership in India with the Malpani Group, and the second deal comprises a 5-store partnership with the NightOwl Entertainment Group in Australia. These strategic alliances mark Dave & Buster’s second and third multi-store franchise agreements, firmly cementing the brand in the APAC and MEA regions with a total of 31 stores committed to development since global expansion plans were announced in 2022.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the Malpani Group to bring the Dave & Buster’s experience to the Indian consumer, as India’s vibrant economy has ranked the country in the top 5 globally. The Malpani Group, known for its passion for innovation and diversified growth, is poised to dominate the indoor and outdoor entertainment industry,” said Antonio Bautista Chief International Development Officer for Dave & Buster’s. He added, “Likewise, we’re delighted to join forces with the NightOwl Entertainment Group, a forward-thinking hospitality and entertainment company revolutionizing the industry in Australia. Australia’s dynamic market presents a significant opportunity for growth, and the NightOwl Entertainment Group, renowned for its innovative approach, is the ideal partner for our brand. We can’t wait to bring our unparalleled entertainment experience to this vibrant market.”

Jai Malpani, Director of Malpani Group, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. “We are delighted to partner with Dave & Buster’s, an established brand with a proven track record in the entertainment industry,” said Malpani. “We believe their expertise in family entertainment and dining experiences will complement our portfolio, and we look forward to a successful collaboration.”

David Heaton, the Founder and CEO of NightOwl Entertainment, also shared his excitement for the partnership. “We’re incredibly excited to partner with the brand that pioneered location-based entertainment and continues to be the point of reference globally in this space,” said Heaton. “We’re confident that together, we’ll bring unparalleled experiences to our customers.”

Dave & Buster’s has implemented several strategic initiatives to ensure a successful global expansion, including a customizable footprint tailored to meet specific market requirements and the localization of menu offerings with high regional resonance to cater to local preferences and tastes. They have also introduced a proprietary dynamic pricing model to offer flexible pricing options, launched global marketing programs that are demographically agnostic yet locally executable, and implemented a unique amusement strategy and packages to differentiate themselves in the market.

Dave & Buster’s is also excited to offer localized entertainment and late-night programming for customers and introduce immersive experiences to enhance customer engagement in the competitive socializing space. With these initiatives, Dave & Buster’s is confident they will provide an exceptional experience to their global customers.

About Dave & Buster’s
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Coppell, Texas, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc., is the owner and operator of 200 venues in North America that offer premier entertainment and dining experiences to guests through two distinct brands: Dave & Buster’s and Main Event. Dave & Buster’s has 152 stores in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada and offers guests the opportunity to “Eat, Drink, Play and Watch,” all in one location. Each store offers a full menu of entrées and appetizers, a complete selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and an extensive assortment of entertainment attractions centered around playing games and watching live sports and other televised events. Main Event operates 52 centers in 17 states across the country and offers state-of-the-art bowling, laser tag, hundreds of arcade games, and virtual reality, making it the perfect place for families to connect and make memories. For more information about each brand, visit www.daveandbusters.com and www.mainevent.com

About Malpani Group:
The Malpani Group from Sangamner is a well-diversified business house with interests in renewable energy, FMCG products, real estate, hotels, and more. However, the group’s success story goes beyond its diverse portfolio of businesses. The Malpani Group has always been committed to customer satisfaction and social responsibility, which has been the key to its phenomenal growth.

Currently, the Malpani Group is one of the leading owners and operators of amusement and water parks in India. They operate India’s largest theme and water park, Imagicaa, along with five other parks in India. Their amusement and water parks have become a popular destination for families, thrill-seekers, and tourists, offering a unique and immersive experience for all ages. With their unwavering commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction, the Malpani Group has set a new standard for business success and social responsibility, reflecting their strong belief in giving back to society.

About NightOwl Entertainment
Established in 2008, NightOwl Entertainment is one of Perth’s largest hospitality groups. Operating several venues across Perth and building many more nationally! Each with a distinct identity and target demographic. In the business of pubs and clubs and now location Based Entertainment practicing a strong corporate ethos and boasting one of the most sophisticated management systems in the industry, with centralized processes and procedures, best practice data analytics, and bespoke in-house training for staff.

Media Contact:
Antonio Bautista
Antonio.Bautista@daveandbusters.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8852831

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Oversees Progress of Makkah Route Initiative

The Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh, Issa Al-Dahilan, inspected Makkah Route Initiative’s hall at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, accompanied by the Minister of State for Religious Affairs in Bangladesh Mohammad Faridul Haq Khan and the President of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh Shahadat Hossain.

Al-Dahilan oversaw the progress of work at the airport and the procedures implemented by the Bangladeshi and Saudi sides to facilitate the pilgrims’ journey by serving them in record time, praising Makkah Route Initiative’s team and the services they provide to visitors to the Holy Grand Mosque.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Al-Dahilan said that Makkah Route Initiative embodies the interest of the wise leadership to serve pilgrims, adding that Makkah Route is one of the Ministry of Interior’s initiatives within the Pilgrim Experience Program, which is also one of the Saudi Vision 2030 projects. It entails taking care of all the travel procedures needed by the pilgrims in their homeland, including issuing visas electronically, ensuring pilgrims have a clean bill of health and completing passport procedures at the airport in the country of departure.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Border Guard Foils Attempt to Smuggle 62.5 tons of Khat, 1.842 tons of Hashish

Official Spokesman of the Border Guard, Col. Misfer Al-Quraini, said that the land patrols in Najran, Jazan and Asir regions had foiled an attempt to smuggle 62.5 tons of khat, 1.842 of hashish and 692,106 narcotic tablets.

He also added that the detainees were arrested, faced legal measures, and were referred to the Public Prosecution

Source: Saudi Press Agency

5.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits off New Caledonia’s Coast

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck on Wednesday off the coast of New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake’s epicenter occurred southeast of the Loyalty Islands on the eastern coast of Caledonia, at a depth of 33.1 km.

No casualties or material losses were reported as a result of the earthquake.

New Caledonia is located in the Pacific Ocean on the “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates meet.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Cabinet Holds Weekly Meeting

HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah chaired the Cabinet’s regular meeting held on Wednesday morning at its seat at the Amiri Diwan.

Following the meeting, HE the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs issued the following statement: The Cabinet expressed its deep satisfaction with the State of Qatar maintaining its lead in the Middle East and North Africa region in the Global Peace Index for the fifth year in a row, and its ranking 21st globally out of 163 countries included in the index which is issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in Australia; as well as Qatar’s ranking first in the Societal Safety and Security indicator in the Arab world and ninth globally, making it among the list of the ten safest countries in the world.

The Cabinet underlined that this distinguished global achievement, which is added to a series of accomplishments in international indicators, was made thanks to Allah Almighty, the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the success of the comprehensive security strategy of the Ministry of Interior and its integrated work system with the rest of the state institutions, the efforts of the Ministry’s employees in their various positions and the use of the latest information technology devices in the field of combating crime and extending security.

The Cabinet also reiterated the State of Qatar’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp, and the brutal crimes committed by the occupation forces against defenseless Palestinian citizens, in a new episode of the Israeli terrorist practices that are contrary to the most basic rules of humanity and principles of international law.

The Cabinet renewed calls for international protection for the Palestinian people, and an urgent, serious and firm international action to compel Israel to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy and recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which their right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Cabinet then considered the topics listed on its agenda as follows: The Cabinet was informed of the Shura Council’s approval of the following draft laws: 1- Draft law issuing a law regulating postal services.

2- Draft law regulating fishing ports.

3- Draft law amending some provisions of Law No. (29) of 2006 regarding building control.

The Cabinet approved a draft law on re-regulating the purchase and sale of government-regulated products.

The Cabinet approved a draft decree inviting the Central Municipal Council to convene.

The Cabinet approved: 1- Draft Cabinet decision establishing the National Advisory Committee for Health Insurance System and defining its terms of reference.

2- Draft cabinet decision forming a committee to combat concealment, and determining its rewards and the procedures to be followed before it.

The Cabinet approved a draft decision of the Minister of Interior regarding the controls and procedures for issuing a certificate of good conduct.

The Cabinet approved the increase of non-Qatari investors ownership percentage in the capital of Ezdan Holding Group – a Qatari public shareholding company listed on Qatar Stock Exchange.

The decision stipulates that a non-Qatari investor may own up to 100% of the capital of this company.

The Cabinet approved the renewal of the term of membership of the coordination committee between the entities operating at Hamad International Airport, based on a proposal by HE the Minister of Transport.

Established at the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the committee is responsible, among other things, for coordinating work between all entities operating at Hamad International Airport to facilitate air transport operations and activities and the movement of aircraft, passengers, goods and mail to and from the country, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.

The Cabinet approved: 1- Draft agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of Hungary for cooperation in the fields of youth and sports.

2- Draft air services agreement between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Cabinet considered the following topics and took appropriate decisions thereon: 1- Report of the Permanent Population Committee on “Qatar Population Status 2022”.

2- Results of participation in the United Nations Water Conference.

3- Results of participation in the coordination meeting on the launch of the Arab action plan to prevent and reduce drug-related risks in Arab societies.

4- Periodic report on preparing to host the Doha Horticultural Expo 2023.

Source: Qatar News Agency

GCC Secretary General Underlines Cooperation Council’s Support for all Efforts Aimed at Mitigating Impacts of Ukrainian-Russian Crisis

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi underlined the Cooperation Council’s backing for all efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts caused by the Ukrainian-Russian crisis .

The GCC Secretary General’s remarks came during his meeting with Assistant Secretary General and the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative Abdullah Dashti on Wednesday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh .

During the meeting, several topics were discussed, the foremost of which exchanging views on the latest developments, updates and progress of Ukrainian exports of wheat, foodstuffs and fertilisers, including ammonia through safe maritime humanitarian corridors .

The officials also discussed the mechanism of action of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and its importance in maintaining the stability of global food security, in addition to sharing opinions on the latest relevant developments regionally and internationally.

Source: Qatar News Agency