Greece could be one of the first countries that welcomes tourists after coronavirus shutdown – Greek City Times

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Greece could be one of the first countries in Europe to welcome tourists back, once theCovid-19pandemic has been combatted, according toWorld Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)President & CEOGloria Guevara.

In its new 2020 Economic Impact Report (EIR) report, the WTTC shows that Greece continued to be one of the strongest European countries in terms of Travel & Tourism growth last year, and that the sector will be key to the countrys economic recovery.

In an announcement, Guevara underlined how fundamental the Travel & Tourism sector was last year to the Greek economy and said the countrys government must also be applauded for its incredibly swift response to COVID-19, which saw restrictions in place even before the virus reached the country.

Since then, the government has worked closely with the public and private sector, ensuring protocols and standards are in place that will not only see the country through to a fast recovery, it could be one of the first countries in Europe to welcome tourists back to its shores, she said.

WTTCs 2020 Economic Impact Report (EIR) underlines that the Travel & Tourism sector last year support almost 850,000 jobs in Greece, equating to more than one in five of all those in employment.

Strong growth in the country followed the Governments successful policy which focused on extending the season beyond summer, which led to a rise in visitor numbers outside of the traditional summer season, she said.

WTTCs EIR reveals that, between 2016 and 2018, Germany accounted for 14% of all visitors to Greece, with the UK reaching 11%. Visitors from Bulgaria accounted for 10% of all travellers, with Italy and North Macedonia level pegging at 5%.

The report shows that tourism also generated 39.1BN to GDP, or 20.8% to the Greek economy, growing by an incredible 12.1% from the previous year, outpacing the growth of the overall economy for the third consecutive year.

The comprehensive report shows this growth significantly outpaced the overall GDP growth in 2019 of 2.2% in the same year.

Analysis in the WTTC EIR report also showed international visitor spend totalled a staggering 21.3 billion, representing almost one third (30.1%) of the countrys total exports.

The report also demonstrates the nations need for a swift recovery due to its strong reliance on leisure spending, accounting for 94% of all spend, compared to 6% for business spend. Furthermore, international spend accounted for 68% compared to 32% domestic.

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Greece could be one of the first countries that welcomes tourists after coronavirus shutdown - Greek City Times

World tourism faces worst crisis since records began, says UNWTO – The Guardian

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International tourism faces its worst crisis since records began, with up to 1.1bn fewer people taking trips globally in 2020. The scale of the coronavirus pandemics impact is outlined in a report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which predicts a decline in international arrivals of between 58% and 80% this year.

This is due to widespread travel restrictions and the closure of airports and borders worldwide. The prediction of a 58% decline is based on the gradual reopening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July; the 80% figure is based on early December.

Globally, the crisis threatens the livelihood of up to 120 million people who directly rely on tourism for work - and millions more indirectly while representing a financial loss in export revenues from tourism of between 736bn and 971bn. The predictions are based on UNWTO figures for the first three months of this year, which show a worldwide decline in international arrivals of 22%. Following the start of the lockdown in many countries, arrivals dropped by 57% for March alone.

The whole cycle of tourism is being wiped out by the pandemic

The world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis, Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO secretary general said. Tourism has been hit hard, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy.

The figures are in line with the World Travel and Tourism Councils (WTTC) predictions of more than 100m job losses in the travel and tourism sector, with three quarters of these in G20 countries.

This is a staggering and deeply worrying change in such a short time, said Gloria Guevara, CEO of WTTC. In just April alone, our research shows an increase of 25m in the number of job losses in travel and tourism. The whole cycle of tourism is being wiped out by the pandemic. Travel and tourism is the backbone of the global economy. Without it, global economies will struggle to recover in any meaningful way and hundreds of millions of people will suffer enormous financial and mental damage for years to come.

The impact will vary in different regions at different times, with Asia and the Pacific expected to rebound first. According to the UNWTO Panel of Experts survey, some recovery is expected in the final quarter of 2020 and into early 2021, while domestic tourism is expected to recover faster than the demand for international travel.

In the UK, Visit Britain has forecast a decline in inbound tourist numbers of 54% for 2020, which equates to 21.9m fewer arrivals and a loss of 15.1bn in tourist revenue. This scenario assumes a recovery of international arrivals from August, and is subject to revision as the situation develops. In terms of domestic tourism in the UK, if the sector starts to open up in June, the annual loss will be an estimated 22.1bn (14.1bn from day trips and 7.9bn from overnights).

Global airline revenues are forecast to drop by more than half $314bn (249bn) in 2020, according to the latest estimates by the International Air Transport Associations (Iata). This is almost three times worse than its worst-case scenario in March.

Last month, the WTTC outlined what the new normal could look like as lockdown rules and travel restrictions are eased, pre-vaccine. New protocols and standards are being mapped out in collaboration with various associations among them the UNWTO, the World Health Organization, European Travel Commission, and Iata including global hygiene standards and intensive cleaning regimes in hotels, aircraft and cruise ships.

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World Travel & Tourism Council believes international holidaymakers could return to Spain this summer given huge interest from Brits & Germans…

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) believes that international tourism could return to Spain this summer, given the huge interest particularly from British and German holidaymakers.

ACCORDING to Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of WTTC, tourism can potentially return to Spain this summer, so long as adequate safety protocols are deployed, and that plans are coordinated with the rest of the EU and the private sector to avoid the risk of Covid-19.

It obviously wont be at the same volume as last year, but it could be an interesting percentage to save the summer, along with national tourism, given the huge interest particularly from German and British holidaymakers keen to spend their holidays in Spain, pointed out Guevara.

Tour operators are already piloting tourism programmes to open some markets in the south of Europe to holidaymakers, which could include Spain, confirmed Guevara. However, she admits, that Portugal and Greece have an advantage over Spain, given their faster response to Covid-19. So Spain has its work cut out to demonstrate that it is a safe destination for international tourists, along with other Covid-19 epicentre countries, such as Italy, the US, the UK and China.

However, she added that the WTTC is against the introduction of health/immunity passports to allow people to travel, similar to the ones introduced decades ago. Not only are they complicated, but they also pave the opportunity for potential corruption, she added.

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WTTC launches urgent appeal to support the African travel and tourism sector – ITIJ

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According to the WTTC, Africas travel and tourism sector employs roughly 24.6 million people on the African continent and contributes US$169 billion to Africas economy combined (representing 7.1 per cent of the continents GDP).

But with the Covid-19 travel restrictions, Africas travel and tourism sector is at the risk of collapsing, taking with it millions of jobs. Airlines, hotels, guesthouses, lodges, restaurants, meeting venues and related businesses face mounting losses WTTC notes that, typically, travel and tourism in the continent comprises 80 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Many have already begun laying off staff or placing them on unpaid leave.

The impact of the Covid-19 outbreak is being felt across the whole travel and tourism value chain. The sector is particularly exposed with millions of livelihoods across the world, especially within vulnerable communities, supported by the sector. International financial support is key to ensuring that travel and tourism can lead to wider economic and social recovery in these communities, said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General for theUN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) one of the four other international transport and tourism bodies working alongside the WTTC to launch the appeal.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) are the other three organisations making the request for urgent funding.

These organisations are jointly calling on international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors to provide Africas travel and tourism sector with: $10 billion in relief to support the travel and tourism industry and help protect the livelihoods of those it supports directly and indirectly; access to as much grant-type financing and cash flow assistance as possible to inject liquidity and provide targeted support to severely impacted countries; and financial measures that can help minimise disruptions to much-needed credit and liquidity for businesses this includes the deferral of existing financial obligations or loan repayments.

They are also asking that supporters ensure that all funds flow down immediately to save the businesses that need them urgently, with minimal application processes and without impediment from normal lending considerations such as creditworthiness.

Airlines are at the core of the travel and tourism value chain that has created quality jobs for 24.6 million people in Africa. Their livelihoods are at risk. Containing the pandemic is the top priority. But without a lifeline of funding to keep the travel and tourism sector alive, the economic devastation of Covid-19 could take Africas development back a decade or more. Financial relief today is a critical investment in Africas post-pandemic future for millions of Africans, commented IATAs Director-General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

The speed and strength with which the international community comes together and responds through international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors will be paramount to provide support to the many millions of people whose livelihoods are heavily dependent on our sector, added Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO.

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WTTC launches urgent appeal to support the African travel and tourism sector - ITIJ

Dreaming of the deeps: World’s most epic scuba diving destinations – CNN

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(CNN) If only salt water -- sweat, tears and the sea -- really was the cure for everything, as Danish author Isak Dinesen once said. Then scuba diving would be just the antidote the world needed right now.

Until it's finally safe to get out exploring the world again, however, you can dream of where to dive beneath the surface of the ocean for the most wonder-inducing views on the planet.

"There are so many aspects of scuba diving that may be beneficial in directing our minds away from worries, stresses and daily demands," says clinical psychologist and PADI scuba diving instructor Laura Walton, who has dived everywhere from the South Pacific to Scotland.

"In modern life, we are constantly pulled into the past, present and future through our ability to think," she says. "But when we dive beneath the water, our attention is captivated by absorbing experiences of entering another world."

Depending where you descend, that might mean finning through a "Christmas tree forest" of baby corals off the Florida Keys, coming face to face with a wall of sharks on a French Polynesia atoll or having a stare-down with a giant Pacific octopus in the cold waters of British Columbia.

The world's most intriguing dive destinations take intrepid to the next level.

Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Raja Ampat is home to some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world.

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Bali brings the traveling masses to Indonesia. But intrepid scuba divers know to hop another flight east in the archipelago to West Papua, where some of the very best diving on the planet awaits in Raja Ampat.

The clear warm waters of the marine protected areas here are home to over 1,300 species of reef fish and veritable fields of corals that are among the most pristine in the world.

"You can come back and say you saw nine species of anthias, five species of pygmy seahorses," says Cole, "Indonesia overall has continued to over-impress fish and coral geeks. But Raja Ampat deserves its position at the top."

Tuamotu Atolls, French Polynesia

A blacktip reef shark swims alongside a school of one-spot snappers in French Polynesia.

Photo Brandon Cole

After admiring one of the most impressive and reliable shark aggregations in the world, let the current push you into the atoll's calm, turquoise lagoon, where you might spot a manta ray winging its way across the pristine coral beds.

Palau, Micronesia

Palau's aerial view is a showstopper. Its underwater world is equally engaging.

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But until you've submerged underwater in this marine wonderland located some 500 miles east of the Philippines in Micronesia, you haven't seen Palau at all.

The most famous Palau dive site, Blue Corner, is a reef that juts out into the open ocean, with big upwellings that attract passing pelagic fish, reef sharks and schooling clouds of pyramid butterfly fish, among many other species.

Local Palau wildlife guide, marine biologist and diver Ron Leidich has called Blue Corner an "underwater Serengeti," so riveting is the experience of diving in such an abundant confluence of marine life.

Divers use a "reef hook" at sites like Blue Corner to tether themselves to rocks to watch the spectacle of passing reef sharks and clouds of tropical fish in what are often strong currents.

"Palau is hands down the best place we've ever been diving," says diver Frances Gulick, of Dallas, Texas, who usually takes several dive trips a year with her husband. "Nothing compares to watching sharks hunting in front of you while a resident Napoleon wrasse photobombs like a puppy dog of the sea."

Fiji

"There's something about that Fiji blue water and the yellow, red, purple, green and pink background of the coral reefs and walls that makes the whole scene look like it was painted by an impressionist master," says Cole, "With anthias and fairy basslets schooling on many of the reefs, it's as close to diving in a kaleidoscope as you can get. A truly fractal experience."

Famed dive sites like Beqa Lagoon on Viti Levu, Fiji's main island, draw shark divers to mingle with shark wranglers and eights specie of sharks, with regular tiger and bull shark sightings.

Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia

Machinery is seen inside the bridge of the Nippo Maru shipwreck, one of the famous dive sites in this Graveyard of the Pacific.

Photo Brandon Cole

One of the world's top destinations for keen wreck divers is Chuuk Lagoon (previously called Truk Lagoon) in Micronesia, where over 60 Japanese warships were sunk during World War II by the US Navy in Operation Hailstone of 1944.

The violence that rained down on this beautiful corner of the world is palpable even under water, where the bones of Japanese victims can still be seen fused to the steel wrecks. But the profusion of coral life carpeting cargo holds and crawling up the sunken masts and the clouds of tropical fish swirling all around you drive home the message that life, indeed, goes on.

If you dive just one wreck, make it the 500-foot-long Shinkoku Maru, a former Japanese fuel supply ship covered with a rainbow profusion of sponges, soft corals and anemones.

Key Largo, Florida Keys

The Coral Restoration Foundation in Key Largo has offshore coral nurseries for reef restoration.

Courtesy of Coral Restoration Foundation

The organization's largest coral tree nursery covers 1.5 acres of sea floor and has more than 500 coral trees holding 60 to 100 corals each.

"Corals are critical for creating habitat for all the marine life we like to see," says Alice Grainger, communications director for the CRF. "All our genotypes were originally collected in the wild, so they're very hardy. The corals we're returning to the reef are thriving."

And diving through a coral nursery, says Grainger, is a singular experience. "It's like swimming through a forest of coral Christmas trees."

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

At about 110 pounds, the giant Pacific octopus is the world's largest.

Photo Brandon Cole

"If it wasn't for that 45 to 50 degree Fahrenheit water, you could easily trick yourself into thinking you're seeing the colors of the tropics here," he says, "The invertebrates -- soft corals, anemones and sea sponges -- are particularly colorful."

Two bucket list cold water critters divers come here to see are wolf eels and the giant Pacific octopus -- the largest octopus in the world that averages about 110 pounds and 16 feet across.

"So much of the area is swept by strong currents that act as a conveyor belt for the nutrients and oxygen that supercharge marine life," says Cole, "Learning how to dive the tides is key to enjoying what Vancouver Island has to offer."

Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico

The Sea of Cortez is home to giant manta rays.

Shuttrerstock

It's impossible to talk about diving in the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) without name-dropping a legend. After all, it was Jacques Cousteau himself who referred to the rich waters between the Baja California Peninsula and Mexico's mainland as "the world's aquarium."

Encounters with friendly California sea lions (the juveniles have a tendency to playfully nip at divers' fins) are the most common lure when it comes to in-water interactions. But the more than 800 species of fish and animals that call these waters home also include manta rays, whale sharks, schooling hammerheads and megapods of dolphins.

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Diving by liveaboard dive boats is the only way to access Cocos Island, a remote Pacific Ocean island that belongs to Costa Rica and lies some 330 miles off the mainland.

"Enchanting is a word that gets kicked around a lot in travel, but if a jungle island ringed with waterfalls right out of Jurassic Park where every dive is a shark dive doesn't do it for you, I don't know what will," says Mary Frances Emmons, editor-in-chief of Scuba Diving magazine.

Cocos Island is an eastern Pacific way station for every kind of creature, she says, from Galapagos and hammerhead sharks to parrot fish, squirrel fish, rays and jacks by the thousands.

"We got lucky near the end of our dive when we stumbled on a pack of white tip sharks in a hunting frenzy not far from the surface," she recalls, "An unusual daytime glimpse at a top nighttime attraction in Cocos."

Bahamas

Divers kneel on the sandy bottom at the dive site called Tiger Beach, where tiger sharks come in close off the western end of Grand Bahama during one of the Bahamas' most legendary dives. And Cole says there's no better place than here to see the striped apex predators.

But many other apex sharks can be regularly seen and dived with in the mouthwash-clear waters of the Bahamas, too, he says, including great hammerheads, lemon sharks, bull sharks and oceanic whitetips.

Add to that adrenalin rush the Bahamas' many shipwrecks, plunging walls and the chance to regularly snorkel with wild dolphins off islands like Bimini and you've got the all makings for an epic adventure a short jaunt from the US.

Solomon Islands

Sunken ships lure divers to the Solomon Islands.

Shutterstock

The world's most fascinating dive destinations blow you away below the water and then again when you surface, too.

A cultural mix of Melanesian, Polynesian and Papuan influences swirl on land. And for divers, there are endless shipwrecks, downed airplanes and even sunken submarines to explore during expeditions via liveaboard dive boats or from land-based eco resorts.

Add to that abundant fish life, pristine pastures of hard coral and authentic village visits, and you'll find culture, history and marine biology intertwined at every turn.

National Park Revillagigedo, Mexico

Most divers, however, are drawn to the area for intimate encounters with giant oceanic manta rays, which typically have wingspans of 23 feet. "But interactions with wild bottlenose dolphins in the water here have become just as good," says Higuera.

Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand

Sunrays shine on fish and kelp near New Zealand's Poor Knights Islands.

Shutterstock

New Zealand's topside views (most from the South Island) get the lion's share of the Hollywood love.

Home to thick kelp forests, the waters here don't exactly beckon like Bali (during the southern hemisphere summer, water temperatures average about 72 degrees). But it's precisely the mix of New Zealand's cooler ocean waters mixing with warm currents swept south from the Coral Sea that make for the unusual denizens that cruise the Poor Knights.

"Biologically it's neat because it's a mixing of cold and warm water critters," says Cole, which means you might see parrot fish, moorish idols and sea turtles alongside cool water critters like scorpion fish and the ubiquitous blue and pink maomaos (colorful fish that tend to congregate in arches and shadowy grottoes).

"Folks go to New Zealand for green travel and to be outside, but very few go below the water line," says Cole, "And the water in the Poor Knights is truly tropical blue."

Red Sea, Egypt

Here, off the tip of the Sinai Peninsula between Africa and the Middle East at Egypt's Ras Mohammed National Park, you'll find some of the clearest seas on the planet for scuba diving (there is almost no natural runoff from the Sinai to cloud the surrounding waters).

Extraordinary walls of healthy hard corals abound. And around Dahab and Sharm al Sheikh you can access many dive sites right from the shore, with no boat required.

"Orange anthias are everywhere and not shy with divers, who may also find themselves surrounded by angelfish, butterflyfish and colorful broadtail and Napoleon wrasse," says Emmons.

Wreck divers delight in descending on the famous British Navy ship SS Thistlegorm, the Red Sea's most popular wreck. Emmons says to add the former cargo ship, the Giannis D, to your wreck wishlist, too.

"it's a playfully disorienting jungle gym that suggests diving in an M.C. Escher drawing, come to life," she says.

Dominica

A rough fileclam mesmerizes in the waters off Dominica.

Photo Brandon Cole

But in addition to its coral-clad walls and reefs, Dominica offers something many Caribbean islands can't -- the chance to swim with resident sperm whales that frequent the waters during specially permitted boat trips.

Even if you come to the Caribbean's Nature Island just to dive the reefs, however, you won't leave disappointed. And the place to see the corals and fish life at their best is within the protected Soufriere-Scotts Head Marine Reserve on the island's southwest tip.

Portugal

Divers needn't venture far beyond Lisbon for some of mainland Europe's most dazzling underwater views.

Much farther offshore, the volcanic archipelago of the Azores delivers with open ocean dives and sightings of the resident sperm whales. At the submerged seamount called Princess Alice Banks in the Azores, shoals of mobula rays swim in circles around the pinnacle at a depth of around 90 feet in what can only be described as a vortex of wonder.

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Dreaming of the deeps: World's most epic scuba diving destinations - CNN

EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World’s First "UAM" Theme Hotel – GlobeNewswire

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EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel

The signing ceremony of strategic partnership between EHang and LN Holdings

EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel

Eight journalists took rides on EHang 216 for aerial trips over LN Garden Hotel

EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel

Eight journalists took rides on EHang 216 for aerial trips over LN Garden Hotel

EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel

Eight journalists took rides on EHang 216 for aerial trips over LN Garden Hotel

EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel

Urban Air Mobility Global Total Addressable Market (Base Case)

GUANGZHOU, China, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EHang Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: EH) (EHang or the Company), the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company, announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with LN Holdings (000524.SZ), a Shenzhen-listed tourism platform company, to further commercialize its AAVs by integrating Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions into the latters hotel/tourism businesses. This collaboration will not only broaden the use cases for AAVs, but will also expand the partnerships in the existing ecosystem. As one of the collaboration initiatives, the introduction of EHang 216 AAV services into LN Garden Hotel will make it the world's first hotel to offer such services to its customers.

Senior executives from both companies attended a signing ceremony in Guangzhou on May 9, including Edward Xu, Chief Strategy Officer of EHang, and Feng Jing, Party Secretary and Chairman of LN Group. Representatives from major media organizations were also invited to take rides on EHang 216 AAVs onsite for aerial trips over the hotel. At dusk, an aerial light show was performed by EHang to celebrate the new partnership.

The partnership between EHang and LN Holdings will start with a pilot program at the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha, a coastal district in Guangzhou, to build the world's first UAM theme hotel. The program will promote the innovative integration of aerial sightseeing, traveler transportation, air logistics, aerial media light shows, intelligent exhibitions and education. It will also promote the new experience of air tourism and explore other commercial use cases for EHang AAVs.

This cross-sector collaboration intends to set an example for integrated operation of air mobility solutions in the tourism industry, while also contributing to establishing Guangzhou as Chinas first and the worlds leading UAM smart city and shaping the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to be the best place to live, work and travel.

Hu Huazhi, Founder, Chairman and CEO of EHang, said, We are excited to establish a comprehensive and long-term strategic partnership with LN Holdings. Helping to build Guangzhou into a global air mobility pilot city is a milestone for us, and further promotes the commercialization of the UAM ecosystem. Guests of LN Garden Hotel will experience our one-stop intelligent AAV services, including the unique aerial sightseeing, convenient and autonomous air deliveries and high-tech aerial light shows.

Liang Lingfeng, General Manager of LN Group and Chairman of LN Holdings, commented, We own a broad chain of resources in the tourism industry, covering travel, brand hotels, conventions, exhibitions and scenic attractions. By leveraging our controlling shareholder LN Groups ability to integrate its resources in consumer sector, cooperating with EHang could generate incremental products and services. We can fulfill customers travel demands in the air and on the ground by combining intelligent technology with the tourist experience. Eventually, we will provide new products and services across different sectors, business categories and regions in the country.

As a pioneer in the global UAM industry, EHang entered into a strategic agreement with Guangzhou Government in August 2019 to develop the worlds first UAM pilot city. In the future, tourists visiting Guangzhou can not only travel around landmarks such as the Canton Tower, Beijing Road and the Pearl River, but can also ride in an air taxi (the passenger-grade AAV) to enjoy the scenery of Guangzhou city from the air.

As other cutting-edge technologies such as 5G networks develop, AAV technology will gradually realize a market potential in the trillions of dollars. According to Morgan Stanley, the global UAM market should reach $1.5 trillion by 2040. The China market shows strong potential of $431 billion, accounting for almost 30% of the global UAM market.

(To watch the video, please click here.)

About EHangEHang (NASDAQ: EH) is a worlds leading autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company. Our mission is to make safe, autonomous and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone. EHang provides customers in various industries with AAV products and commercial solutions: air mobility (including passenger transportation and logistics), smart city management and aerial media solutions. As the forerunner of cutting-edge AAV technologies and commercial solutions in the global Urban Air Mobility industry, EHang continues to explore the boundaries of the sky to make flying technologies benefit our life in smart cities. For more information, please visit http://www.ehang.com.

About LN HoldingsLN Holdings (000524.SZ), subordinating enterprise of LN Group, is the operation integration platform, innovation development platform and capital operation platform of LN tourism industry, its market value ranks among top 10 of A-share listed tourist and hotel enterprises. It devotes to build international pan-tourism ecosystem with the core of consumption experiences covering travel, brand hotels, convention & exhibition operation, IP interactive entertainment, quality food, gourmet culture, global shopping guide, and leisure & health being. With the goal of Enjoy Pleasant Journey, Create Quality Life, LN Holdings is developing into a national leading, internationally well-known tourism brand operator with high credibility and consumer satisfaction.

Media Contact: pr.cn@ehang.com

Investor Contact: ir@ehang.com In the U.S.: Julia@blueshirtgroup.com In China: Susie@blueshirtgroup.com

Photos accompanying this announcementare available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eae74e07-a396-4842-ac91-04648f7ea963

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8cc79687-e1c9-4b36-b573-c8fcde7e7d33

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d869fa33-0c7b-4bb9-95f7-e42a9fb7f999

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EHang Joins Hands with LN Holdings in Building the World's First "UAM" Theme Hotel - GlobeNewswire

Travel from New York City seeded wave of U.S. outbreaks – Seattle Times

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New York Citys coronavirus outbreak grew so large by early March that the city became the primary source of new infections in the United States, new research reveals, as thousands of infected people traveled from the city and seeded outbreaks around the country.

The research indicates that a wave of infections swept from New York City through much of the country before the city began setting social distancing limits to stop the growth. That helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast.

The findings are drawn from geneticists tracking signature mutations of the virus, travel histories of infected people and models of the outbreak by infectious disease experts.

We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country, said Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health.

The central role of New Yorks outbreak shows that decisions made by state and federal officials including waiting to impose distancing measures and to limit international flights helped shape the trajectory of the outbreak and allowed it to grow in the rest of the country.

The city joins other densely populated urban hot spots around the world, starting with Wuhan, China, and then Milan, that have become vectors for the viruss spread.

Travel from other U.S. cities also sparked infections across the country, including from an early outbreak centered in the Seattle area that seeded infections in more than a dozen states, researchers say. Even if New York had managed to slow the virus, it probably would have continued to spread from elsewhere, they say.

But the Seattle outbreak proved to be a squall before the larger storm gathering in New York, where, at the end of February, thousands of infected people packed trains and restaurants, thronged tourist attractions and passed through its three major airports.

During crucial weeks in March, New Yorks political leaders waited to take aggressive action, even after identifying hundreds of cases, giving the virus a head start. And by mid-March, when President Donald Trump restricted travel from Europe, the restrictions were essentially pointless, the data suggest, as the disease was already spreading widely within the country.

Acting earlier would most likely have blunted the viruss march across the country, researchers say.

It means that we missed the boat early on, and the vast majority in this country is coming from domestic spread, said Kristian Andersen, a professor in the department of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research. I keep hearing that its somebody elses fault. Thats not true. Its not somebody elses fault; its our own fault.

A lack of testing obscured the true extent of the outbreak for months, and officials acted on incomplete and sometimes conflicting information. The enormous growth of New Yorks outbreak partly reflects its volume of international visitors, especially from Europe, where most of its infections came from.

Dani Lever, communications director for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, criticized federal authorities, describing an enormous failure by the federal government to leave New York and the East Coast exposed to flights from Europe, while at the same time instilling a false sense of security by telling the state of New York that we had no COVID cases throughout the entire month of February.

A White House spokesman, Judd Deere, said that Trump had acted quickly. The president blocked most visitors from Europe starting March 13, more than a month after he restricted travel from China.

Just as he acted early on to cut off travel from the source of the virus, President Trump was advised by his health and infectious disease experts that he should cut off travel from Europe an action he took decisively without delay to save lives while Democrats and the media criticized him and the global health community still did not fully comprehend the level of transmission or spread, Deere said.

The travel from New York that helped spread the virus includes residents who traveled, commuters who work in the city and people who visited or passed through.

Now that infections are dispersed around the country, travel from New York is no longer a main factor shaping the progression of the epidemic, researchers said.

As states around the nation begin to relax their restrictions, the findings demonstrate that it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent those actions from affecting the rest of the nation.

Geneticists have analyzed and shared more than 2,000 samples of the virus from infected people. As the virus infects new people and replicates, it picks up mutations along the way. These mutations typically do not change the behavior of the virus, but they can provide a signature of a viruss origin.

Most samples taken in Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, Idaho, Wisconsin and many other states carry distinct mutations that can be traced back to viruses introduced into New York.

Overall, Grubaugh estimated, infections spreading from New York account for 60% to 65% of the sequenced viruses across the country.

Other scientists said that they would like to see more samples before calculating precise figures. But they agreed that New Yorks prominence in seeding the national spread appears to have begun in early March, two weeks before stay-at-home orders were put in place.

New York acted as the Grand Central Station for this virus, with the opportunity to move from there in so many directions, to so many places, said David Engelthaler, head of the infectious disease branch of the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona.

The most commonly detected viruses tied to New York have a distinct genetic signature linking them to outbreaks in Europe. Those spreading from Washington state have a signature linking them directly to China.

Benjamin M. Branham, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the airports, said that before the flight restrictions from Europe, the federal governments Customs and Border Protection only screened passengers from China, not from Europe.

At this stage, scientists say, genetic fingerprints alone are not sufficient for pinpointing the source of the viruses. But travel patterns and case histories of early known cases support the idea, they said.

It is a combination, still, of what genomic epidemiology and shoe-leather epidemiology is going to tell us, Engelthaler said.

Scientists modeling the progression of the disease nationally said the prominence of New York as a national hub was broadly consistent with their findings, although the picture was still emerging.

I would say this is not surprising in a sense, said Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. The picture emerging is consistent with numerical models.

Earlier research by Vespignani showed just how rapidly, and invisibly, the outbreak exploded in New York. By March 1, when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in New York, the city probably had more than 10,000 undetected infections, his research group showed.

New York and Washington state are not the only sources of the outbreak. Other large domestic hubs contributed to the spread, scientists believe, and a more diverse genetic mix is still seen in some places around the country, particularly in the Midwest and parts of the South.

Even as domestic travel began to drive the outbreak, some infections were still seeded around the country by international travelers, geneticists said. It is possible, experts said, that some of the virus samples attributed to New York may have instead been seeded in other cities by direct flights from Europe, or from travelers laying over in New York before traveling elsewhere.

For that reason, some scientists said they would like to see more samples before linking the majority of U.S. infections to New York.

I think thats probably the story line thats going to emerge, but Id like to see more data, said Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Mount Sinai in New York.

A New York Times analysis of travel data supports the idea that the chains of infection originated in New York, experts said. The number of cases across the country was closely related to how many travelers each place received from New York in early March, based on anonymized cellphone tracking data from Cuebiq, a data intelligence company.

It looks like most of the domestic spread is basically people traveling out from New York, said Dr. Kari Stefansson, founder and chief executive of deCODE Genetics, a leading genome analysis firm based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Last week, Andersen of Scripps Research and other scientists analyzing the outbreak in New Orleans reported that all of the samples taken from New Orleans were from the line linked back to New York. The virus swept through the area in March and has killed more than 1,000 people.

You can figure out, with travel patterns, that the most likely thing to have happened is those came into New Orleans directly from New York, Grubaugh said.

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Travel from New York City seeded wave of U.S. outbreaks - Seattle Times

The UAE has Offered to Host the IPL Reveals BCCI – Essentially Sports

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The Emirates Cricket Board has offered to host the IPL this year. The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has been suspended indefinitely in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The league was scheduled to start on March 29,2020, with the first match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. However, the BCCI suspended the tournament till April 15 after seeing the rise in coronavirus cases in India. But when the government increased the lockdown in the country till May 3, BCCI postponed the tournament for an indefinite time.

As there is no possibility of hosting the tournament in the country any time soon, BCCI is receiving offers from other boards to host the IPL 2020 in their countries. However, BCCI has not taken any decision as the game of cricket has been suspended globally due to the pandemic. The deadly virus has now affected more than 4.1 million people across the globe.

UAE is the second cricketing nation to have made the offer of hosting the IPL. A few days back, Sri Lanka had also offered to host the league. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that it has also discussed the possibility of playing host with BCCI.

Talking about the same, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal quoted, The UAE has offered to host the IPL if we want them to. But right now when there is no international travel, there is no question of taking a call on that. He further added, The health and security of players and all participants is our priority. At the moment, the entire world travel has come to a standstill, so there is nothing we can decide at this stage,

IPL is a big tournament for Indian cricket as it provides a lot of revenue to the board. If the league gets canceled this year, BCCI is expected to face huge losses. The cancelation of IPL 2020 will have a major financial impact on both BCCI and the Indian economy.

Dhumal told SportsStar, The BCCI will also be in a difficult position in case cricket does not resume soon, especially the IPL. In that case, the BCCI will also have to face a lot of financial hardships. IPL is one of the major revenue-generating tournaments,

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The UAE has Offered to Host the IPL Reveals BCCI - Essentially Sports

Pursuing goats and getting stuck in the Arabian desert – Jewish News

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It was as Abdullah threw both us and his Toyota Land Cruiser around, revving and sliding over the 100-metre high wind-scultped dunes of the Wahiba Sands, that I jinxed it by saying: Great driving!

Mrs Os knuckles grew ever whiter beside me. You just have to know the route, Abdullah said confidently.

Two minutes later, his brow furrowing, we stopped. He got out, climbed to the top of a dune, looked around, then walked back to the car looking a lot less confident. He started the engine, dropped us down into a dune gully, took a left into another, and slowly came to an unintended stop, revving hard in the soft sand now flying up from the wheels. The car sank, as did our hearts.

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After several minutes of making matters worse, Abdullah said hed have to go and get help. I took his mobile number and watched him clamber off and away, over the red-hot sand, under the midday sun, towards what he thought may be the nearest Bedouin encampment.

Now weve all, at some point, been left unexpectedly alone in the middle of the desert in the heat of the day, so we all know how these things work. We discover things about ourselves in those moments. I discovered that Mrs O gets very sleepy when genuinely worried.

Time ticked. And ticked. And ticked. Finally, Abdullah called hed got help and was on his way, assuming he could find us again. It was no little relief when he appeared in the passenger seat of another Land Cruiser on the horizon.

When your Land Cruiser gets stuck in the Omani desert in the heat of the day and another has to pull it free

The day-long excursion, which incorporated a visit to a Bedouin house and a swim in the natural mountain spring waters of the beautiful Wadi Bani Khalid, had been described in the brochures as a Desert Adventure, and it certainly was.

Abdullah, now with burnt feet, had been heroic, a status he later cemented by stopping to help a female driver with children who had broken down by the side of an isolated mountain road.

Abdullah teaches Mrs O how to write in Arabic

Hed been our guide a day earlier too, when we visited Jabal Akhdar (Green Mountain) and Nizwa, Omans old capital, to see its famed silverware and the lively livestock market on Friday morning, where farmers and traders come from hundreds of miles away to sell and buy animals.

Armed with her new camera, Mrs O was off and away the second we walked through the arch and into the square, in hot pursuit of an Omani infant who was in turn pursuing a goat.

Lively Friday morning livestock markets in Oman are as much a social as a business gathering. Picture credit: Mrs O

Our base for these exploits was the Chedi in Muscat, a GHM hotel whose Balinese and Swiss offerings have long had the worlds travel press swooning. Its Omani venture is no less spectacular. Journalists who get hosted stays can sometimes feel duty-bound to preen lyrical about their host venue, even if it isnt all that. This hotel is all that and then some. It is, for many, the best hotel in Arabia.

Neither a look online nor a mid-article rundown of its attributes will do justice to this hotel, located alongside the Sea of Oman, 15 minutes from a new world-class airport and the factory that makes the worlds most expensive perfume, Amouage.

One of the pools at the Chedi Muscat, where life is as good as good gets

Run by an Englishman, it has three pools, including one measuring 103 metres. If you reach the end, where the yoga master takes early evening classes, you can watch the sun go down. Few things in life beat an Arabian sunset.

In seven years of travel reviews, staying at some of the worlds very best hotels, Ive only ever given four 10/10 scores, those going to The Grove in Hertfordshite, Belmonds Villa SantAndrea in Sicily, the Chedi in Bali and the Constance Prince Maurice. The Chedi in Muscat makes it five.

Ex-Omani soldiers practice their drills in the former capital Nizwa

Upon my return, colleagues in the editorial office had a thousand questions about the Oman trip, a first (we think) for any Jewish newspaper in the UK.

Yes, Id got in fine, despite having an Israeli stamp in my passport, and yes, theyre absolutely fine with Jews. They like them, in fact. We tend to forget that until the formation of the State of Israel, Jews and Arabs lived alongside one another in the southern Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Yemen next door. Old Omanis still recall with fondness their old Jewish neighbours and friends, who they genuinely miss. Its touching.

A cooling dip in a mountain wadi, just one of many reasons to visit Oman

And yes, both Mrs O and I would go back to the Sultanate in a heart-beat. They say the region of Dhofar, and especially Salalah near the coast, is stunning when the rains travel up from India in the summer, dropping the average temperature to the mid-20s. But we may give the dune-bashing a miss next time.

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Pursuing goats and getting stuck in the Arabian desert - Jewish News

Blockchain for Telcos: As Adoption Nears, The Telecom Sector Must Have Shared Visions Ready – ResearchAndMarkets.com – Business Wire

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Blockchain for Telcos - As adoption nears, the telecom sector must have shared visions ready" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering

The "Blockchain for Telcos" study presents the opportunities for CSPs to leverage on blockchain capabilities. The analysis is based on a global benchmark of CSP concrete public initiatives in blockchain. These have served to identify the potential internal and external applications for telcos and to show market trends.

Based on the development of blockchain-related PoCs, the report focuses on the major use cases that bring added value for CSPs in highlighting stakes and opportunities for each case. It includes an overview of the positioning of key stakeholders towards blockchain, covering both major CSPs and key technology providers. The report includes an Excel file including a tracker of use cases.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Overview of blockchain technology

2.1. Definitions

2.2. Key concepts

2.3. Value proposition

2.4. Offerings

3. Applications of blockchain in telco businesses

3.1. Potential areas for blockchain applications in CSP processes

3.2. Expected benefits from blockchain implementation

4. Applications of blockchain in telco businesses

4.1. Overview of CSP usage of blockchain

4.2. Overview of areas of blockchain adoption in CSP processes

4.3. Overview of CSP-preferred blockchain technology providers

4.4. Summary of CSP blockchain experiments

5. Focus on four use cases: CSPs stakes, opportunities, perspectives

5.1. Inter-carrier settlements and reconciliation

5.2. Identity management

5.3. Payment services

5.4. IoT device connectivity and security

6. Ecosystem

6.1. Telecom blockchain consortia

6.2. Player profile: Telefnica

6.3. Player profile: Deutsche Telekom

6.4. Player profile: Vodafone

6.5. Player profiles: Turkcell and Asia Pacific Telecom

6.6. Player profile: TBCASoft

6.7. Player profile: Clear Blockchain Technologies

7. Market trends

7.1. Drivers

7.2. Barriers

7.3. Perspectives

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sqkwul

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Blockchain for Telcos: As Adoption Nears, The Telecom Sector Must Have Shared Visions Ready - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

Applications of blockchain technology in food industry – New Food

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How can blockchain technology help improve the food industry? New Food hears from two experts about this technologys potential within the sector.

We are living in a digital era and the technology of this digital world is changing rapidly. The interesting part of this digital revolution is that it directly or indirectly impacts each of us. Whether there is a change in the smartphone technology leading to a revolution in the flow of information, or an advancement in online security thus changing the way we do banking.

In many cases, a piece of technology or system starts with solving one problem, but the more that is understood, the further its potential can grow. For example, who would have thought that irradiation, initially designed for safe space food, would be used for food preservation or HACCP and become a basic requirement for the food industry?

Blockchain is regarded as the next disruption in the technology world and is being studied in several applications, business sectors and processes. This includes the secure handling and storing of administrative records and digital authentication to strengthen intellectual property rights and patent systems, as well as bring transparency throughout the supply chain, reduce food frauds and enhance food safety.

Blockchain has established its unparalleled authority in the financial sector and now the food industry is looking at where it can be applied. We should also keep in mind that this technology is at its nascent stage and it may take more research and time before it becomes parts and parcel of the food industry.

The objective of this article is to introduce blockchain technology in common language and share some examples from the world where its application in the food industry is under study.

In basic terms, a blockchain is a digital distributed ledger, maintained by a network of multiple computing machines. It stores data in the form of blocks that are cryptographically secured and immutable. The blockchain is the brainchild of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. It was first reported in 2008 and since then, has become very popular among the IT fanatics.

Decentralised

Unlike the current internet system, there is no single server where entire information is stored. These data are saved as copies in different computers (called nodes in the blockchain world) and there is no central authority supervising anything. These computers are connected to the blockchain network. Due to this distributed copies of data (transaction), blockchain is also known as a distributed ledger.

Trustless

Trustless should not be confused with not trustworthy. Blockchain provides such a transparent environment that one need not to have a third-party to mediate or enhance trust between two parties involved in transaction.

Transparent

This should not be misinterpreted as violating privacy. The identity of parties involved in a transaction is hidden via complex cryptography and represented only by their public address (code). While the identity is secure, all the transactions that are carried out by public address are accessible. This level of transparency enhances trust in the system while securing privacy.

Immutability

Any data entered in blockchain cannot be modified/tampered with in the future. This immutability feature of blockchain has made it so popular that it is being explored in all the sectors where data integrity and data protection is of utmost importance.

Blockchain is a process of passing information from stage one to stage two in a process, which takes places in a fully automated and safe environment.

Figure 1: Pictorial depiction of flow of information in current server network and blockchain network

Within the food supply chain there are different participants involved in each step, from farmers, to processors, manufacturers, certifying agencies, government agencies, logistics, distributors, retailers and so on. Each of these participants shares critical information about the product that sits in their own local server. This information is not accessible to other participants and thus, there is an increased chance of food fraud in the system.

If a consumer wants to buy organic tomato ketchup, they rely on the label claim. The manufacturer of ketchup relies on the supplier of tomato puree or concentrate processor. The tomato processor relies on the claim/organic certification furnished by the farmer or farmer association. If any of the participants provide a false claim, both the consumers and other participants are cheated.

Blockchain provides a secure environment where each of the participants in the blockchain network has access to each data and these data, once entered and verified, cannot be modified. For example, a farmer that provides an organic food certificate, which is verified by an authorised agency, cannot have that certificate tampered with at later date.

Information or data provided by each participant referred to as a transaction forms a block. This block is verified by thousands, perhaps millions, of computers distributed around the blockchain network. The verified block is added to a chain, which is stored as multiple copies across the net. This creates a unique record with a unique history. Modifying a single record would mean modifying the entire chain and in millions of computers (nodes), which is practically impossible.

This unique property of blockchain is due to thecryptographic hash function. In simple terms, hashing means converting all input data (information) or any length to a fixed-length coded output. Interestingly, even if we make a small change in input, the changes that will be reflected in the hash will be huge. Figure 2 is an example of a hash created using the SHA-256 algorithm. You can see only changing P from capital letter to a small letter, changes the hash drastically. It should be also noted that irrespective of the size of input text/information, the length of the hash remains same.

Input

Hash

Tomato Puree

fba8d76ce672034611034b47dfb44e2a051b3efefed5c98fa5bcd93d04052fb0

Tomato puree

2de11dbbe1a285a63334696df0f4be1e3d529710b60308646305c5a978eae3f3

Figure 2: Example showing how Hash changes drastically with slight change in input

In blockchain, each block (information/input) is linked to another block that contains data and a hash of the data inside the previous block. So, any change in data at any stage/block will change the hash drastically, therefore causing an avalanche effect disturbing the entire blockchain. You can correlate it with a genetic mutation. In point mutation, a single change in nucleotide pair can change entire genetic makeup. A slight change in information would change the entire blockchain and as these are saved as several copies in the network, it cannot be practically done.

To understand data input at different stages of the supply chain, blocks and hash and blockchain refer to a pictorial explanation in Figure 3. To depict the hash of the block, the colour of the block and its hash in the subsequent block is kept the same.

Figure 3: Pictorial depiction of information forming blocks are every stage of supply chain. The data from each block is converted to hash which becomes part of next block

Blockchain, when integrated with the latest technologies for data capturing, has huge potential in the food industry. Building on the respective strengths of blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), we can revolutionise the food industry. IoT solutions link the physical and digital worlds, capturing data like temperature and humidity during transportation or storage of product. Blockchain provides a secure and an immutable platform where this data can be stored and accessed by every participant in the supply chain.

In its latest report, Key Vertical Opportunities, Trends & Challenges 2019-2030, Juniper Research shows that blockchain used with IoT sensors and trackers will have several advantages. These are:

According to the 2018policy paperbythe Food and Agriculture Organizationof theUnited Nations (FAO), blockchain could dramatically transform the food supply chain in India. As per the policy paper, blockchain technologies can help in building an immutable contract between the various players in supply chain, enabling further transparency in the system.

A smart contract can reduce the number of intermediaries in the supplychain network. These smart contracts can reduce transaction costs, improve margins and increase efficiency, and as a result, transfer a large chunk of profits to the farmer/producer.

There are several IT giants who have made different blockchain platforms or solutions to the food industry.A few examples include Food Trust and Watson platforms by IBM, Track and Trace, and Leonardo platforms by SAP, Track and Trace, and Internet of Things solutions by Oracle.

Below, we have compiled several examples from different food industries where blockchain has been or is planning to be used in pilot-scale to bring transparency in the supply chain network and gain consumer trust.

Blockchain is a promising technology with multidimensional benefits. If used along with the IoT, we can establish a transparent supply chain of food, reduce food fraud and build consumer trust.

There are already many companies who are experimenting with this new technology and these trials will further build the capabilities of the blockchain technology and make it economically viable also to be accepted by the majority of food processors in coming years. In order to bring this technology to the mainstream of the processed food world, food processors, supply chain participants, government authorities, and IT experts have to come together to build a comprehensive plan to implement Blockchain Technology.

About the authors

Sanjeev Kumar Sharma is a Food Scientist by profession and has about 14 years of experience in different food industries like Nestl, Heinz, and Mondelz. Currently, he is working in the R&D centre of Mondelz in India. He is an author of three books an active blogger and founder of http://www.foodtechpathshala.com.

Vinay Singh is a data science manager at BASF SE and has over 15 years of industry experience focusing on digital solutions. He is the author of several books and is also visiting research scholar at National Central University of Taiwan and guest lecturer at Furtwangen University, Germany

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent official positions of their respective companies.

Blockchain, Contaminants, Data management, Equipment, Food Fraud, Food Safety, Ingredients, Outbreaks & product recalls, Packaging & Labelling, Processing, Quality analysis & quality control (QA/QC), recalls, Research & development, Robotics & automation, Sensory technology, Supply chain, Technology & Innovation, Traceability

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Applications of blockchain technology in food industry - New Food

Groundbreaking Patent Issued to Ai-Blockchain for Cryptographic Digital Asset Ledger Solutions – GlobeNewswire

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HOBOKEN, N.J., May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkWire The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a patent on private blockchains to Ai-Blockchain ("AiB"). Ai-Blockchain is a leading provider of custom artificial intelligence driven and blockchain solutions to clients such as financial exchanges, hospitals, media content providers and supply chain platforms for nearly a decade. Experts consider AiBs patented platform to be the most efficient, secure, and scalable blockchain technology.

U.S. Patent No. 10,579,974, entitled "SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR A DISTRIBUTED DIGITAL ASSET NETWORK WITH RAPID TRANSACTION SETTLEMENTS," was issued on March 3, 2020. The patent is directed to AiBs core technology which enables private blockchains to transact digital assets quickly between parties such as digital rights management for media companies, financial exchanges and customers, healthcare institutions and physicians, and supply chains and retailers. AiBs combination of leading software technology with foundational computing elements is so unique that the US Patent and Trademark Office has now recognized its innovative components.

Founders Stephen L. Reed and S. Drew Hingorani have created a game-changing approach to security and encryption, transactional speed and client service. For example, AiB developed a HIPAA-compliant data payment platform which can be used by health facilities and hospitals to compensate physicians. In some healthcare organizations, physicians are paid using relative value unit (RVU) based compensation agreements, which are complicated. In these situations, RVU-based formulas are the most critical part of a physician's compensation plan and it is a labor-intensive process which leads to an insurmountable loss of productivity thereby reducing the amount of time devoted to patient care. AiBs solution has solved this challenge. For more information on how to work with AiB, please visit http://aiblockchainalliance.org

This new proprietary blockchain smart contract is built upon the recently open-sourced high-performance Kafka blockchain technology, which is available on GitHub today via the following link: https://github.com/ai-coin/KafkaBlockchain. Anyone interested in a free architecture diagram tutorial to enhance their existing infrastructure enterprise technology should contact AiB immediately.

Stephen Reed, developer and AiBs Chief Scientist, says, "Our platform has significant application in the healthcare industry and financial institutions where all stakeholders demand continual improvement of security and efficiency. With this issued patent, Ai-Blockchain can deliver its source code across all industry standards in managing digital asset transfers between two parties or multiple parties. AiBs patented platform is the most efficient, secure and scalable blockchain technology in the world."

Confluent's Kai Waehner, Technology Evangelist, Enterprise Architect, and Global Field Engineer said, "I am really excited about AiB's Kafka add-on, "KafkaBlockchain" to build tamper-evidence into scalable streaming applications using Kafka and its whole ecosystem, including Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams and KSQL. This allows customers to build mission-critical and secure applications on top of battle-tested Kafka infrastructure; without the complexity and immaturity of other blockchain products."

The AiB platform operates seamlessly with Apache Kafka. KafkaBlockchain is a java library for tamper-evidence using Kafka. Messages can be encrypted and made tamper-evident at a rate exceeding 2 million messages per second per topic. AiBs smart contract blockchain product operates efficiently yet consumes a fraction of the energy required by competing blockchains. The architecture also features tamper-evident security, accountability, and transparency with the lowest costs and highest scalability.

Potential use cases include: developing digital identity structures for use with vulnerable populations; enhancing cyber-security to better protect the privacy of all personally identifiable information; securing personal data across financial services; healthcare, real estate, supply chains and other important industries that are migrating to cloud-based solutions.

Ai-Blockchains CEO, Drew Hingorani, states, "We truly appreciate the USPTO issuing our patent as we showcase our healthcare solutions enabling physicians to spend more time with patients and demonstrating our blockchain payment cloud platform for a variety of uses across multiple industries. We continue to develop and enhance our private and public blockchain technology and both the cloud and the on-premise solutions are available for companies to collaborate, deploy, evaluate, study and test. Stephen Reed is a respected technology professional with a strong track record of building and creating originative products while leading engineering teams for over four decades using all technologies. Working with him and the team has been educational and uplifting along with meeting interesting people worldwide.

Joe Bacon, best known for his years of service to Rolls-Royce in the UK, recently stated, "Having researched and conducted proof of concept studies for the industrialization of blockchain technology over several years, a few areas of concern consistently arose: transaction speed, energy consumption, security, data tenancy, and lifecycle costs. I am pleased to say having worked with Ai-Blockchain since 2016, they have addressed all of these issues with their patented technology stack, which utilizes the robust and secure Amazon AWS cloud services for scalability to meet all of the demands of global businesses. I would highly recommend engaging and working with AiB to explore how they can help your business succeed in transforming the way you work, whilst reducing through-life costs compared to Ethereum or other blockchains. I am sure they wont mind me saying that from a return on investment point of view they significantly outperform larger organizations. The AiB team applied sound architectural designs and provided technology product demonstrations that no other Blockchain or software company did in the same way. I will be pleased to see more people working with AiB in 2020."

About Ai-Blockchain:

AiB technology and blockchain solutions bring a new class of products to the world. Ai-Blockchain is a privately held technology company that developed a patented blockchain platform on the cloud. Private and public blockchains are proposed for multiple business uses. AiB consultants and employees work remotely to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. For information on how to join an AiB online video session, please email info@ai-blockchain.com or call +1.201.349.4996.

Media Contact:

Ai-Blockchain50 Harrison Street, Suite 212BHoboken, NJ 07030Email: info@ai-blockchain.com Phone: +1. 201.349.4996

Wire Service Contact: NetworkWire (NW) New York, New Yorkwww.NetworkWire.com212.418.1217 OfficeEditor@NetworkWire.com

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Groundbreaking Patent Issued to Ai-Blockchain for Cryptographic Digital Asset Ledger Solutions - GlobeNewswire

Exit Scam? Blockchain Project Loom Network Appears to be Dead, Developers Abandon it After $45 Million ICO – Crowdfund Insider

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The Loom Network, a platform-as-as-service (PaaS) blockchain initiative, appears to have an extremely uncertain future.

Based on investigations and comments from social media users, theres no real proof of a live or active project being supported by the developers of the Loom Network.

According to available information, the Loom Network is an Ethereum-based PaaS DLT solution that allows developers to run enterprise-grade or large-scale decentralized applications (dApps).

As noted (via Twitter) by Bruno Skvorc, manager of blockchain and crypto education site, Bitfalls, Loom is no longer has an active presence on major social media networks, which had previously included Telegram, Reddit, and a company blog.

Looms core team also seems to have abandoned the project. Skvoric remarked:

Id call it an exit scam if there was anything left to exit with.

The South Korean Loom Network project had conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) back in January 2018. The company notably sold its Loom token holdings right before the historic crash of the cryptocurrency market in 2018, after a bull run that saw Bitcoins (BTC) price briefly reach nearly $20,000.

Loom secured more than $45 million through its ICO, by selling its Ethereum-based tokens, ICODrops according to reports.

An admin message posted in Looms Telegram group claimed:

This channel is now closed. Loom Network has pivoted from blockchain games to enterprise, therefore weve decided to consolidate our public channels so our staff can focus on enterprise sales, support, and outreach.

Looms Reddit channel has also been silent, with members saying that updates for the project have not been announced for a long time.

A frustrated user noted around a month back that there was a lack of communication.

The user wrote:

This sub is basically dead. There have been no updates or anything here for a while really.

The user claims they stopped getting emails from Loom, which were reportedly sent to community members two times per month.

Notably, the developers of Loom have not published a Medium blog post since February 2020.

A blog post in February had confirmed that project CEO Matthew Campbell would be leaving.

Vadim Macagon, who has reportedly been involved with the Loom Network initiative for a long time, was supposed to be appointed as the new chief executive.

Loom Network developers had noted in the blog post (published earlier this year) that theyd be cancelling their bounty program, and there were also questions around the projects roadmap for 2020.

Stake Capital, a well-known Loom Network supporter and transaction validator, had noted via Twitter on March 31, 2020, that it would hand over control to Matic. Stake Capital had claimed that Loom was basically a dead project.

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Exit Scam? Blockchain Project Loom Network Appears to be Dead, Developers Abandon it After $45 Million ICO - Crowdfund Insider

Blockchain Technology: All we need to know – WhaTech

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Blockchain has been the talk of town for quite some time now, it is one of the hottest and fastest growing technology in the IT industry today. If you have been following investing, banking or cryptocurrency in the course of the most recent ten years, you might be acquainted with the term Blockchain, the record keeping innovation behind the Bitcoin network.

Many experts believe that, Blockchain is the most significant innovation on the internet since the internet. This technology has already been the talk of the tech world. Even though it is an intricate technology, most people and association have started adopting blockchain considering numerous advantages it offers to the business today. Aside from the financial sector, it has increased a great deal of consideration in different ventures also.

Before moving further, let us first understand What is Blockchain Technology , its significance, its impact and decentralization.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is defined as:

The Blockchain technology is a decentralized record that tracks exchanges that happens over a distributed system. This innovation permits members from over the system to affirm their exchange without the requirement for a central authority, this incorporates cash exchanges, casting vote, and trade settling and many more.

In the context when we talk about Block and chain, we are referring to the computerized data (the Block) that is stored in a public database (the chain).

How it works?

If someone demands for a transaction, this transaction is then communicated to a P2P arrange that comprises of PCs which are known as nodes.

The purpose of these nodes is to approve the transaction and the status of the client using algorithms. Now, this validated transaction can include either cryptocurrency, records, transactions or any sort of other data. This confirmed transaction is then joined with the other different transaction that make another block of data. Now, to the existing blockchain this block of data is added. This Blockchain cannot be changed and it is permanent.

Importance and Application

Indeed, when it comes to the latest technology, its certain that nobody wants to fall behind the competitors. Blockchain has been the talk of town, and most organizations are moving towards it to improve their plan of action, installment techniques and distributed storage and so forth.

The importance of Blockchain

Security

Information breach and data stealing is one of the major concerns while operating in the digital world. Through Blockchain technology, the data stored has robust security which makes it impossible for one to hack.

Inexpensive

Blockchain is less costly than most of the traditional financial model available in the market.

Less time for transaction

The burden of waiting for hours by an individual for sending, receiving money and confidential documents is eliminated as with blockchain the transaction only takes aa couple of minutes.

Transparent

There are very limited chances of any kind of discrepancy as everything is displayed on the network.

Increased Financial efficiency

Through decentralized blockchain one can make transaction from one individual to another without the involvement of a third party. So, unlike traditional banks this helps to save a lot of money.

Prevention of fraud

It is very easy to detect fraud as the Blockchain is open source ledgers, which facilitate in identification of forgery since record of every transaction is present.

Application of Blockchain

Banking Sector

The benefits from integrating Blockchain into the business operation is best used by the Banking sector more than any other industry. The shortcomings of operating only on the business hours is eliminated by Blockchain, regardless of the time or the day of week of the transaction it only takes as little as ten minutes for a customer to see their transaction processed.

Also, the exchange of funds between institutions is made secure and quick through Blockchain.

Healthcare

Healthcare service providers can use Blockchain to safely to store their patients clinical records. At the point when a clinical record is created and marked, it tends to be composed into the Blockchain, which furnishes patients with the confirmation and certainty that the record cant be changed.

These individual health record could be encoded and stored on the blockchain with a private key, so they are just accessed by specific people, in this way guaranteeing protection.

Property record

A lot of paperwork and records required for buying and selling of land, the process is costly as well as its time consuming with a chance of human error. Blockchain makes this process much simpler and easier.

There is no need for scanning documents and tracking of physical files in a recording office, the information regarding the property ownership is recorded and verified on the blockchain.

Smart contracts

A smart contract is a computer code that can be incorporated with the blockchain to facilitate, check or negotiate an agreement. Smart Contracts work under a set of condition that client agree to. At the point those conditions are met, the terms of the contract agreement are consequently carried out.

Voting

Casting a vote with Blockchain has the potential to eliminate fraud in election and lift voter turnout, as was tried in West Virginia, in Nov. 2018 midterm election. Each vote would be put away as a block in the blockchain, making them almost difficult to mess with. The blockchain convention would likewise keep up transparency in the constituent procedure, diminishing the work force expected to conduct an election and give the authorities results instantly.

Disadvantages

While there are many upsides to the blockchain, there are additionally critical difficulties to its reception. The barriers to the use of blockchain technology today are not just technical. The genuine difficulties are political and administrative, and the large number of hours required for custom programming plan and back-end programming to coordinate blockchain to current business systems. The other shortcomings include technology cost required for operation, central bank concerns regarding the validation of cryptocurrency etc.

Road ahead

With the utilization of technology, there is so much that we can achieve together. But it is also important to not overlook that people are the at the focal point, all things considered.

Proposed in 1991 as a research project, blockchain is serenely subsiding into its late twenties. Like most recent college grads at its age, blockchain has seen a considerable amount of open examination in the course of the most recent two decade, with organisation around the globe theorizing about what the technology is prepared to do and where its going in the years to come.

With the numerous functional applications for the innovation previously being executed and investigated, blockchain is at long last becoming well known at age twenty-seven, in no little part in view of bitcoin and digital currency. As a trendy expression on the tongue of each financial specialist in the country, blockchain stands to make business and government tasks progressively exact, proficient and secure.

Contact us to be on the forefront of innovations coming to disrupt whole of the universe and embrace the upcoming industry shift.

This article is written by Kalyani BSc Maths student from Delhi University.

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Blockchain Bites: Paul Tudor Jones, Open Options and Why Bitcoin Looks Strong Heading to the Halving – CoinDesk

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Yesterday, it came to light that Paul Tudor Jones II, a titan investor, is considering bitcoin as a hedge against inflation.While it's unknown where he intends to make his allocation or how much he'll invest over what period of timethrough his flagship fund, we do know why. Bitcoin is what gold was in the 1970s, he thinks.

"I am not a millennial investing in cryptocurrency, which is very popular in that generation, but a baby boomer," he said in a letter to investors. "In a world that craves new safe assets, there may be a growing role for bitcoin."

Next week asConsensus: Distributedkicks off, Blockchain Bites will be your guide to the event. We'll publish twice daily, providing adetailed schedule of eventsas well as a daily recap. I hope you can join us for the completely free and virtual event.You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk'snewsletters here.

In other news, Bixin is launching a $66 million fund of funds, Massive Adoption organizer Jacob Kostecki is getting sued and Filecoin is delivering physical hard drives.Here's the story:

Top Shelf

Industry Head Looking to HedgePaul Tudor Jones II, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is ready to bet on bitcoins price as an inflation hedge. Jonesflagship $22 billion Tudor BVI Global Fund has been authorized to hold as much as a low single-digit percentage exposure percentage"of its assets in bitcoin futures, according to a note sent to investors this month. It is not clear whether the fund has begun buying futures, what kind (physically delivered or cash-settled), on which exchange it would do so or whether it plans to also trade the underlying commodity.

Bitcoin Halving Interest Doubles (Five Times Over)With fewer than four days left till bitcoin's halving, popular interest in the once-every-four-years event is reaching a fever pitch.Google Trends, a barometer for gauging interest in trending search topics, shows searches for "halving" or "bitcoin halving" at five times the peakin 2016, when the blockchain underwent its previous halving event. CoinDesks First Mover team takes a deeper dive, you cansign up for the newsletter here.

Serious TensionsMicree Ketuan Zhan, the exiled co-founder of Bitmain, has moved to reinstate his position granted the right to recover his status as legal representative of Beijing Bitmain Technology by the Beijing Haidian District Justice Bureau. When Zhan went to the bureau to collect his new registration license, he was met by a cadre of Bitmain executives seeking to block his move.Tensions escalated into a physical brawl,as reported by Chinese daily Caixin and a video circulating on WeChat.

Filecoin Delivers... a PackageFilecoin is mailing out hard drives of climate data, world literature or the human genometo kick-start its file-storage network.In a program called Filecoin Discover, the Filecoin Foundation will deliver these tomes to future miners physically, on eight-terabyte hard drives, with instructions on how to link the devices to the Filecoin system to go live this year.

Fund of FundsBixin, one of the earliest bitcoin miner operators and wallet startups, isdedicating 6,600 bitcoin, worth $66 million, to a new fund of funds.The company will target global quantitative trading funds whose strategies are based on arbitrage, bitcoin futures contracts and trend analysis.

Domination DerivativeAnew derivative from Bitfinexallows investors to take a position on bitcoin's overall share of the cryptocurrency market. The BTCDOM contract would allow investors to place a perpetual swap (a future without expiry date) based on bitcoins dominant value versus the value of other cryptocurrencies.

Contours of FinanceHDBank has tapped blockchain network Contourto digitize and streamline trade finance. Contour uses R3s Corda blockchain tech for the issuance and settlement of trade contracts, a process still done with pen and paper by some firms.

Shifting Trade Finance?Tradeshift, the digital trade finance platform that uses blockchain to make payments instant and transparent, has proposed a scheme to the government of Denmark that mayfree billions of dollars from supply chains.The plan offers lines of credit backed up by the Danish government to big companies to pay their suppliers instantly, as supply chains around the world calcify during the COVID-19 crisis.

ATM BoostCoinstar, the coin counting kiosk maker hosting 3,500 Coinme bitcoin ATMs, is looking todouble its bitcoin-capable supermarket locations.Placed in grocery stores and other businesses allowed to remain open during the COVID-19 shutdowns, Coinme reports a 40% bump in transaction volume since February.

Mass' Adoption Class ActionThe organizer of the canceled Massive Adoption crypto conference,Jacob Kostecki, is being suedover allegations that ticket refunds are too slow. The putative class action lawsuit was filed by a would-be attendee alleging fraud, breach of contract, conversion and unjust enrichment. Storied crypto lawyer David Silver is handling the case pro bono, while Kostecki claims refunds will be paid out by July 31, after announcing delays.

'Massive Fraud'The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued a Miami resident and two Israeli nationals Thursday over two"massive fraudulent solicitation schemes,"one of which focused on cryptocurrency services.

Exemption LegislationA key lawmaker in the California Assembly has proposedexempting digital assetsthat are presumptively not an investment contract from the states definition of corporate securities. Exactly how to treat digital assets under securities law has been a resoundingly inconclusive, and sometimes contradictory, debate in the U.S.

Series ASwiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse is raising a $280 million. (The Block)

Keybase Kayfabe?Zoom, the popular-by-necessity video conferencing service, hasacquired crypto key directory Keybasein a bid to bring end-to-end encryption to its paying customers. The acquisition comes at a time when Zoom has been criticized for privacy and security issues, and is part of Zooms 90-day push to make the platform more secure.Meanwhile, manyBitcoiners and cryptographers(Decrypt) are not happy with the acquisition.

Next Stop AheadAnotherEth 2.0 testnet, Schlesi, is live,bringing the network one step closer to its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Eth 2.0. Named after a rail line stop in Berlin, the testnet is the first multi-client testnet for Eth 2.0s beacon chain.

CoinDesk: COVID Response

#NYBWGivesCoinDesk has joined Gitcoin, The Giving Block and Ethereal Summit to support charities helping communities in difficult times. We're raising $100,000 and giving you a voice through the quadratic funding model. CoinDesk is matching $25,000 of funds raised.Learn how it worksand how to donate.

Market Intel

Open InterestOpen contracts onbitcoin options rose to record highs above $1 billionon Thursday as the cryptocurrencys price rose into five figures, surpassing the previous all-time high of $970 million registered on Feb. 14, according to crypto derivatives research firm Skew. The surge in open interest looks to have been caused by increased demand for put options, or bearish bets.

CoinDesk Monthly Review: April 2020

CoinDesk Research's monthly review of crypto markets overviews returns, volatility and correlations of bitcoin, ether and other crypto assets - all in a macro context. Plus, we track growth in stablecoins and look at what past halvings can tell us about the upcoming one. The report isfree to download.

CoinDesk Podcast Network

Could a new currency challenger the dollars supremacy in the international system? Airing May 8, episode 2 ofThe Breakdown: Money Reimaginedexamines a set of challengers -- from Libra to the Chinese DCEP -- seeking to reshape the global monetary order in their image.

The Breakdown: Money Reimaginedis a podcast crossovermicro series exploring thebattle for the future of money in the context of a post COVID-19 world. The four-part podcast features over a dozen voices including Consensus: Distributed speakers Niall Ferguson, Nic Carter and Michael Casey. New episodes air Fridays on theCoinDesk Podcast Network.Subscribe here.

Heading Into the HalvingOn this episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks atnine reasons why Bitcoin has never been strongergoing into the halving.

Who Won #CryptoTwitter?

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Blockchain Bites: Paul Tudor Jones, Open Options and Why Bitcoin Looks Strong Heading to the Halving - CoinDesk

IIIT-Hyderabad announces 3 new fellowships in AI and blockchain related areas – Express Computer

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International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) has announced three new PhD and Post-Doctoral fellowships in the broad areas of AI and blockchain. A total of up to five Kohli PhD Fellowships for the academic year 2020-21 will be awarded to candidates with a prior track record in research that showcases their research aptitude, scholarly abilities, capacity to think through unstructured problems, and an interest to work in the broad areas of AI aligned with IIITHs Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems (KCIS).

The institute has also announced the launch of Ripple-IIITH PhD and Post-Doctoral fellowships in the broad areas of blockchain. IIITH, a global partner of Ripples University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) set up a blockchain Center of Excellence (CoE) at IIITH last year and has been actively researching different aspects of blockchain such as security, next-gen blockchains, game-theoretic issues, ML over blockchains, e-governance over blockchain, etc.

Speaking on these new Fellowships, Prof P J Narayanan, Director, IIITH said, KCIS is one of the largest AI research groups in the country. We have also made significant progress with our blockchain CoE since its inception a year ago. Lots of opportunities are available work in these emerging areas for PhD and Post-Doc aspirants with the top-class faculty in the AI area and the Blockchain area. We look forward to attracting them.

If you have an interesting article / experience / case study to share, please get in touch with us at [emailprotected]

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IIIT-Hyderabad announces 3 new fellowships in AI and blockchain related areas - Express Computer

Blockchain Jobs Are the Highest Paying Tech Roles in the UK – Cointelegraph

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Digital lender, Capital on Tap, released figures that reveal Blockchain-related jobs offer the highest-paying salaries among all disruptive technology businesses in the UK.

According to the UK-based firm, Blockchain has an average annual salary of GBP 75,000 (around $93041 USD). They also showed that the industry provides 544 permanent jobs throughout the country.

The study highlights that disruptive technology is becoming an emerging force that is adhering to all industries, from virtual reality to 3D printing.

The report highlights that the United States takes the crown with the highest number of businesses across all major disruptive technologies, followed by India and the UK with second and third place respectively.

According to Capital on Top, the Internet of Things, augmented reality, and advancements in online learning have also changed the way schools engage with their current student body. However, the Education sector is still placed in the eighth position among the segments in the UK.

A spokesperson at Capital on Top issued the following comments:

Disruptive technology significantly changes the way we operate in both our professional and personal lives. It removes old habits and systems and replaces them with something more superior in accuracy, efficiency and the experience it provides. Disruptive technologies also provide a great opportunity for businesses to create an entirely new way of doing something that has never been seen before thanks to this technology.

The study contrasts with the report published by Cointelegraph in March, which showed that blockchain salaries in China plummeted 37% in 2019.

However, the Canadian Digital Chamber of Commerce revealed in 2019 that wages in the blockchain industry are among the highest in the country.

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Blockchain Jobs Are the Highest Paying Tech Roles in the UK - Cointelegraph

IBM: five principles to build trust and value in blockchain – Supply Chain Digital – The Procurement & Supply Chain Platform

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In the May edition of Supply Chain Digital, we examined blockchains influence on the supply chain and the opportunities that have come to the fore.

In this article, we examine IBMs report Blockchain as a force for good: Five principles to build trust and value, and take a closer look at their blockchain principles that work.

1. Open is better - blockchain networks should harvest diverse communities of open source contributors and organisations. This will allow for open innovation as well as strengthen the overall quality of code. Wherever possible, developers should avoid proprietary technologies in favour of open source frameworks with defined approaches for sharing contributions. If done correctly, this can accelerate innovation, decrease time to maturity and reduce cost.

2. Permissioned doesnt mean private - blockchains should be designed around the principle of permissioned and trusted access. Permissioned blockchains have an access control layer to allow certain actions to be performed only by certain identifiable participants. Most organisations require the necessity to know exactly what business theyre conducting business with as well as ensuring no illegal activity is being transacted over the network.

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3. Governance is a team sport - enterprise blockchains should embrace distributed and transparent governance to enable networks to serve the requirements of participants and prevent undue concentrations of influence. Enterprises should decide on a platform that automatically provides a democratic structure hardwired into the network, with built-in privacy and permissioning features. Rules governing who can join the blockchain network and how should be clearly described, in addition to guidelines on how participants can play key roles.

4. Common standards are common sense - enterprise blockchains should be centred around common standards with interoperability in mind. This will enable future-proof networks, prevent vendor lock-in and encourage a robust ecosystem of innovators. It is important that interoperability includes cloud platforms: vendors should meet participants where their data already is. With most blockchain networks currently sitting in silos, it is deemed acceptable that the technology is evolving to support a network of networks.

5. Privacy is paramount - participants on an enterprise blockchain must be able to control who can access data and under what circumstances. This is vital on a platform that distributes data widely across multiple nodes. Despite no single participant owning a blockchain network, the rights to the data that resides on it should always belong to the creator. Any APIs should extend the same permissioned access programmatically. Blockchain platforms should also abide by privacy regulations, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that in most cases, personal data should be kept off-chain.

For more information on procurement, supply chain and logistics topics - please take a look at the latest edition ofSupply Chain Digital magazine.

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IBM: five principles to build trust and value in blockchain - Supply Chain Digital - The Procurement & Supply Chain Platform

EU utilities to severely reduce spending on blockchain solutions – Smart Energy

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A new report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) states that spending on blockchain solutions in Europe will decline due to COVID-19.

IDC has predicted that spending on blockchain solutions across all sectors within the block would grow by 28% between 2020 and 2023. Spending was anticipated to hit $1.4 billion in 2020.

There will be a slight slowdown in blockchain solutions, with spending down around 8% in 2020on previous expectations, according to IDC.

Related articles:How blockchain can help in the COVID-19 crisis and recoverySwitzerland pilots worlds first-of-its-kind local electricity market

Carla La Croce, IDC European blockchain co-practice, said: The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have had a negative impact on many industries, and we expect a significant slowdown in technology spending due to a pause in investments across companies and prioritisation of urgent expenses.

With depressed customer demand, disrupted supply chains, and widespread remote working, many companies are putting on hold innovative projects, including in blockchain, until there is more clarity about the future.

Business and IT services will be the most impactedtechnology segments in 2020 (down 16%), followed by software (down 12%), with blockchain platforms driving the slowdown. If hardware is expected to have the lowest decrease in 2020 (down 8%), external storage will see the biggest fall (down 17%). By industry, IDC has revised down spending for all vertical markets, with a more severe slowdown forpersonal and consumer services, manufacturing, resource industries,utilities, telecoms, and the whole financial sector. Overall CAGR for 1923 is expected to be down by more than 3 percentage points compared with pre-COVID-19 forecasts.

Enlit Europe will feature innovative companies accelerating decarbonisation at Europes largest gathering of companies driving and leading the energy transition. Are you going to be there? Click here to join us in Milan.

Radoslav Dragov, IDC European blockchain practice co-lead, adds: While the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to the blockchain industry, it can also unlock new opportunities by highlighting current problems across many industries.

Blockchain provides transparency and breaks down data silos while guaranteeing strong security and a single source of truth.

The report analyses blockchain adoption within nine regions, 32 countries, 19 industries, 27 use cases, and 6 technologies.

For more information about the report, clickhere.

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EU utilities to severely reduce spending on blockchain solutions - Smart Energy

Qatar Central Bank Is Actively Working on Fintech Initiatives, and Exploring Blockchain Use Cases – Crowdfund Insider

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Qatars central bank (QCB) has proposed a second strategic plan which involves establishing clear policies that aim to support venture capital funding and the development of SMEs, according to Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani, the governor at QCB.

The Qatar Development Bank (QDB), a local bank that provides financial services, banking and loans for the development of major industries, has launched several innovative programs that offer financing to SMEs.

The QDB aims to improve credit access and will help SMEs in taking part in the countrys evolving economy, Sheikh Abdulla stated.

Commenting on the QCBs plans to adopt blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) and Fintech solutions, the governor said:

The QCB is actively working on developing strategies that will allow [industry] players to easily [take part in various] Fintech initiatives and products that are currently on the horizon. We are formulating the QCBs approach to Fintech by taking lessons from a number of major global initiatives in this regard.

He added:

Our approach involves a careful and sensitive review of the impact and risks that the deployment of emerging technologies would have on the financial sector itself, while accommodating the adoption of modern tools. In that sense, we are designing those functions and frameworks that will be able to properly identify, oversee, regulate and accept new entrants into the financial sector.

Sheikh Abdulla also pointed out that blockchain tech is now well-known, globally. He believes it can streamline payments, back-office operations, risk management, and improve record management and transaction reporting.

He revealed that the QCB is focused on exploring various DLT use cases, and the potential impact the technology could have on the countrys businesses.

He remarked:

QCB is exploring the use of blockchain within the existing regulations.

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Qatar Central Bank Is Actively Working on Fintech Initiatives, and Exploring Blockchain Use Cases - Crowdfund Insider