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Focus on Food Security: Seven Talented Women Scientists from the Global South Awarded the 2023 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards

Elsevier

Seven researchers have been awarded the 2023 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for their contributions to research that is helping meet the challenge of food security and advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, Zero Hunger, which focuses on agricultural productivity and sustainable food production. The winners’ research explores a wide range of ways that food insecurity can be tackled, from crop disease resilience to improved child nutrition, and indigenous plant use to increase productivity. The prize also acknowledges the scientists’ commitment to leadership, mentoring and engagement within their communities, including the use of innovative technologies in their research. Jennifer Thomson, President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) said “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could achieve SDG2, Zero Hunger? Our amazing awardees for 2023 are trying to do their bit to bring this about – and what a ‘bit’ that is! Just read about the research they are doing in their regions of the developing world and I am sure you will be as impressed as I was when we selected them as the winners. We wish them every success in their endeavors.” This year’s winners are: Renuka Attanayake, of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka: plant and molecular biology; crop disease identification and management Carla Fabiana Crespo Melgar, of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolivia: biotechnology and microbiology; increasing agricultural productivity Haneen Dwaib, of the Palestine Ahliya University, Palestine: nutrition and dietetics; obesity and dietary interventions Eugenie Kayitesi, of the University of Pretoria, South Africa: food science and technology; improved use of indigenous plant-based foods Gabriela Montenegro-Bethancourt, of the Maya Health Alliance, Guatemala: life sciences and nutrition; maternal mortality and child malnutrition Munkhjargal Tserendorj, of the Mongolian University of Life Sciences, Mongolia: veterinary medicine, animal and food hygiene; diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases Yeyinou Laura Estelle Loko, Université Nationale des Sciences, Technologies, Ingénierie et Mathématiques, Benin: entomology, plant genetic resources and crop protection; insect pests and resistant crops “With these awards, our vision is to celebrate these impressive women scientists who are helping to make real progress towards the UN SDGs,” explained Ylann Schemm, Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation. “We know that a quarter of all women are engaged in agriculture, which makes them more vulnerable to both climate change and resource scarcity. By focusing on food security in 2023, we want to spotlight the important research undertaken by women who are inspiring role models for communities most affected by this issue.” First awarded in 2013, the award is given in partnership by the OWSD and Elsevier Foundation. OWSD chairs a panel of distinguished scientists to select the winners, and the Foundation awards a cash prize for each winner of USD $5,000, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the 2024 5 th Global Food Security conference to provide them with vital networking opportunities. The winners will also have the opportunity to publish their work in STAR Protocols, an open access, peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press which offers structured, transparent, accessible, and repeatable step-by-step experimental and computational protocols from all areas of life, health, earth and physical sciences. Past Award winners have been invited to meet their country’s presidents, and have been celebrated by local, national and international media, while other winners have gone on to receive other prestigious awards and fellowships including L’OREAL-UNESCO’s For Women in Science Fellowships. --- Notes for editors Photos and reference sheets for each award winner, with a more extensive biography and description of their work, are available upon request, please contact the Elsevier Newsroom at newsroom@elsevier.com. For interview requests, journalists can contact Rebecca Clear, Corporate Responsibility Communications Director at r.clear@elsevier.com. Short bios of the 2023 winners: Prof Renuka Attanayake, Sri Lanka Renuka Attanayake is a plant pathologist working on crop disease identification and management in Sri Lanka. Her projects include the optimization of a rapid detection method of coconut phytoplasma in Sri Lanka, and the identification of genetic diversity of white mold pathogen on cabbage and black mold on onions. With her work, she is contributing to the development of resistant inducer treatments and farmers' education to reduce the negative effects of some of the most common crop diseases in her country. Dr Carla Fabiana Crespo Melgar, Bolivia Carla Fabiana Crespo Melgar is a biochemist focused on increasing agricultural productivity as a crucial step to alleviate hunger. With her research, she is investigating the potential of using beneficial microorganisms and application protocols as biocontrollers, biofertilizers, bioinoculants and growth promoters for crop production in Bolivia and the region, with the aim of exploring ways that they can be produced locally by communities or small companies, once the technology and application protocols are validated. Dr Haneen Dwaib, Palestine Haneen Dwaib has a background in Nutrition and Public Health, and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. She is investigating dietary interventions to tackle obesity as a case of disguised hunger, since the lack of a decent, well-balanced diet causes deficits in the majority of micronutrients and occasionally macronutrients. Her research focuses on studying the gut microbiota and to find non-invasive early detection biomarkers of premature cardiovascular dysfunction and adipose tissue inflammation in pre-diabetic laboratory rats. Prof Eugenie Kayitesi, Rwanda Eugenie Kayitesi is a food scientist, who is trying to improve nutrition, diet diversity and food security in Africa developing unique products from underutilized food sources, as well as improving their nutritional composition and health promoting constituents. The core of her research relates to indigenous, underutilized African plant-based foods, such as legumes, cereals, green leafy vegetables and fruits. Her work has highlighted the importance of using readily available and affordable food crops to create food products with improved nutritional, functional and sensory quality. Gabriela Montenegro-Bethancourt, Guatemala Gabriela Montenegro-Bethancourt is a nutritionist and food scientist whose work contributes to strengthen primary health care in rural Guatemala. She works in the most impoverished communities in Guatemala’s to provide health care in Mayan languages and contribute to reducing maternal mortality and child malnutrition, overcoming barriers to the treatment of complex medical conditions, providing optimal care to children and adults with chronic conditions, and promoting access to clean water. Her research is designed to take into consideration nutrition’s broad strategic possibilities, such as empowering women, increasing the availability of nutrient-rich foods, improving access to health services, and design effective policies. Dr Munkhjargal Tserendorj, Mongolia Munkhjargal Tserendorj is a Veterinary Doctor with a PhD in Animal and Food Hygiene, who is helping Mongolia to control economically important tick-borne diseases. She has conducted national and international projects for strengthening capacities in the diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases, especially vector-borne diseases, leading to the development of effective strategies to decrease severe economic losses in the small ruminants' population in Mongolia. Data from these studies is now used as base information for initiating prevention and control programs. Dr Yeyinou Laura Estelle Loko, Benin Yeyinou Laura Estelle Loko is an Entomologist with a PhD in plant genetic resources and crop protection committed to the reduction of losses caused by insect pests. She develops control methods that respect human health and the environment, favoring the use of naturally resistant varieties, medicinal plants with insecticidal properties, entomopathogenic microorganisms, and predators. She is also working on the development of a digital toolbox and an intelligent monitoring system adapted to smallholder farmers for effective pest management in Benin. To find out how the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award helps shape our understanding of the Global South, find out more about 2022’s winners here. About OWSD The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) provides research training, career development and networking opportunities for women scientists throughout the developing world. Headed by eminent women scientists from the South, OWSD has more than 9,000 members and runs various programs, including a PhD fellowship programme with over 360 successful graduates from Least Developed Countries and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as an Early Career fellowship programme providing research grants of up to USD$50,000 in addition to leadership training. OWSD is the only international forum to unite women scientists from the developing world with the objective of strengthening their role in the development process and promoting their representation in scientific and technological leadership. OWSD is affiliated with The World Academy of Science (TWAS), a program unit of UNESCO, and is based in Trieste, Italy, with national chapters throughout the developing world. www.owsd.net About The Elsevier Foundation The Elsevier Foundation is a corporate not-for-profit 501(c)(3), funded by Elsevier, a global information analytics business specialized in science and health. Since 2006, the Elsevier Foundation provides over $1.5 million USD a year in grants to knowledge-centered institutions around the world, which address the UN Sustainable Development Goals through tech-enabled innovations in inclusive health and research. The Foundation offers a comprehensive matching gift and volunteering fund to enable employees to work with Foundation partners and support their communities. The Elsevier Foundation is part of Elsevier’s larger corporate responsibility program which centers on our unique contributions to sustainable development in gender, health, climate and reducing inequalities. elsevierfoundation.org About Elsevier As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems. In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders. Elsevier employs 8,700 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our over 2,700 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our over 43,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com Contact Details Elsevier Rebecca Clear +44 7919 396403 r.clear@elsevier.com OWSD Giulia Signori-OWSD Communications communications@owsd.net Company Website https://www.elsevier.com/

February 21, 2023 03:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Comcast Plans Major Network Expansion in Texas

Comcast Houston

Comcast announced today it will significantly expand its next-generation network, the Xfinity 10G Network, in a major way across several southeast Texas counties in 2023. The media and technology company said it will invest more than $100 million to install at least one thousand miles of new fiber-rich highways that will reach up to 80,000 homes and businesses by the end of this year. The planned expansions add to Comcast’s ongoing $2.8 billion investment in Texas over the last three years. Network expansion efforts will begin in Kingwood, Pinehurst, Prairie View, Waller, New Caney and Conroe. Construction will continue in other communities that have ongoing network infrastructure builds in the Houston area. Construction has started in Kingwood, which will be the largest expansion of the year; it is expected to be complete by the end of 2023 and will reach nearly 24,000 Kingwood homes and businesses. These locations will have the foundational next-generation network in place to begin deploying DOCSIS 4.0, setting the stage for the introduction of new symmetrical multi-gigabit Internet options. “We will bring our fiber-rich network to twice the number of homes and businesses this year compared to the number we passed last year,” said Ralph Martinez, Senior Regional Vice President of Comcast’s Texas Region. “Southeast Texas’ rural and suburban communities have been growing fast, and we are building out our next-generation Comcast network in tandem with the growth. We will continue to expand to even more rural communities in the next few years.” Once complete, Comcast, the nation’s largest provider of 1.2 Gigabit per second speeds, will give consumers access to reliable and fast Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Mobile service that outperforms its competitors. Comcast engineers have also developed multiple artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies that make the network faster and more reliable while delivering up to 100 Gbps for Comcast Business customers. In addition, Comcast’s next-generation technology provides multiple layers of security that automatically detect and block hundreds of thousands of cyber events every second, and a Smart Network that automates many core network functions and dramatically reduces the number of outages. “Access to reliable internet and telecommunications services is something that we cannot go without in our day-to-day activities,” said Houston Mayor Pro-Tem and Kingwood resident, Dave Martin. “Comcast and their new construction project in Kingwood is a perfect example of a business working to bridge the gap to connect more people to much-needed services while increasing accessibility to much-needed services and their dependability. I appreciate Comcast’s partnership and commitment to District E.” Comcast is also committed to addressing digital equity in communities we serve, through Project UP, the company’s $1 billion dollar commitment to help tens of millions of people connect to the internet and build futures of unlimited possibilities. Last year, Comcast Texas invested more than one million dollars to help local community organizations provide personalized digital skills training, offer workforce development/readiness workshops and other tech education to students, adults, and people with disabilities. The funding also supports ongoing efforts to build awareness about connectivity programs like Internet Essentials and the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which offers eligible households up to $30/month credit, or up to $75 for households on tribal lands, for home Internet. Comcast proudly participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program, and offers Internet Essentials Plus, a $29.95/month home Internet service that is effectively free for eligible households, once the ACP credit is applied. Interested customers can visit Xfinity.com/ACP or call 1-800-Xfinity to learn more about this program and find out if they qualify. For more construction details and updates, visit ComcastTexas.com/Expansion. Powered by the Xfinity 10G Network Comcast’s next-generation network and Internet experience are powering homes today and into the future: · Ultimate Capacity: Xfinity customers connect nearly 1 billion devices across the company’s network annually. The Xfinity 10G Network with the next-generation Xfinity gateways deliver the most advanced WiFi technology carrying three times more bandwidth to power streaming, gaming, videoconferencing, and more, simultaneously. · Fastest Internet: 10 million+ Xfinity Internet customers subscribe to gigabit speed products, and Ookla rated Xfinity the fastest Internet provider at the end of 2022*. Symmetrical gig speeds to the first homes are planned for later this year. · Unprecedented Coverage: The latest Xfinity Gateway provides a more reliable connection throughout the home. Customers can get wall-to-wall WiFi coverage with a powerful xFi Pod that extends coverage to hard-to-reach areas, with plans for an offering of increased support for in-home WiFi through a “boost guarantee” later this year. · Most Reliable Connection: Comcast is scaling the nation’s largest and most reliable network – the Xfinity 10G Network – that passes 60 million homes and business and counting. The company plans to launch a new device that is “storm-ready” with cellular and battery backup to help keep customers connected even when the power goes out. · Ultra-Low Latency: The Xfinity 10G Network and the latest xFi Gateway are a powerful combination that deliver ultra-low latency for those moments when response times matter most like video games, a fast-growing category with Xfinity households averaging more than one gaming console per home. For local businesses, Comcast Business offers a suite of connectivity, communications, networking, cybersecurity, wireless, and managed solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what’s next. Powered by the nation’s largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest-growing providers of Ethernet services. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Ookla’s SpeedtestTM Market Index report shows that Xfinity delivered the fastest median download speeds to its Internet customers in the United States for the final quarter of 2022. Contact Details Comcast Steve Campion +1 832-920-2001 Steve_Campion@Comcast.com Company Website https://houston.comcast.com/

February 20, 2023 10:08 AM Central Standard Time

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i2Coalition Warns of Crippling Impact in Amicus Brief filed with U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Google LLC

i2Coalition

In advance of the oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court for Gonzalez v. Google LLC, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) warns of the crippling impact this case could have on businesses of all sizes that build the Internet. On January 18, 2023, the i2Coalition, joined by our members cPanel, LLC; Identity Digital Inc.; Texas.net, Inc.; and Tucows Inc., filed an amicus brief calling on the Court to affirm the judgment of the Ninth Circuit and protect the foundational role Section 230 plays in ensuring the Internet's infrastructure functions efficiently and effectively. "While Section 230 may in part be responsible for protecting giant platforms that host user-generated content, it is also one of the pillars of intermediary liability law, which protects the entire ecosystem of lesser-known Internet infrastructure companies that operate the Internet at every level, down to the Internet user," said Christian Dawson, the i2Coalition's executive director. "Google may be the company listed on the case, but an adverse ruling would have far-reaching implications and cripple the ability of our member companies to ensure that the infrastructure running the Internet can continue to operate." The i2Coalition's brief demonstrates that Section 230's expressed words provide no basis for excluding the automated operation of algorithms (instructions to computer systems) from Section 230 liability protection. The coalition explains that a myriad of companies throughout the Internet ecosystem, including those providing its infrastructure, depend on algorithms to classify, organize, process, and transmit all sorts of data and that these functions do not alter Section 230(c)(1)'s protection of those companies. These include services that may seem mundane but are critically important, such as Domain Name Service (DNS) resolutions that translate domains into IP addresses. These services require stable, clear, and neutral rules that are not subject to political combat and weaponization by regulators and other actors. The extraordinary breadth of stakeholders that filed briefs last month in support of preserving Section 230, in its current form, includes private sector companies, entrepreneurs, advocacy organizations, academics, and computer scientists. Collectively, these briefs urged the Court to uphold Section 230 liability protection as courts have uniformly applied it for the past 25 years. In addition, the filings included the submission to the Court of an amicus brief from the original co-authors of the statute, former U.S. House Representative Christopher Cox and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. "With the Internet as we know it at stake, we implore the Court to uphold Section 230's protections," said Christian Dawson, the i2Coalition's executive director. "For 25 years, courts have uniformly applied the law without Congress seeking to steer the courts onto a different course. If revisions to Section 230 are warranted, Congress alone should make those changes." The full i2Coalition amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court docket can be found here. About the i2Coalition Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) is a trade association representing the interests of businesses that construct and operate essential building blocks of the Internet. Its members include cloud providers, data center operators, domain name registrars, domain name registries, and other foundational Internet enterprises. Its mission is to preserve a free and open Internet as an engine for growth and innovation. It works with its members to advocate for sensible policies, establish and reinforce best practices, help create industry standards, and promote awareness of how the Internet works. To learn more about the i2Coalition, please visit www.i2Coalition.com. Contact Details Aaron Alberico +1 202-744-0785 aalberico@raynoravenue.com Company Website https://i2coalition.com/

February 20, 2023 10:35 AM Eastern Standard Time

News Release

Gamelancer Media's new dead of global partnerships & sales making quick impact with new connections

Gamelancer Media Corp

Gamelancer Media Corp's new head of global partnerships & sales Kris Mychasiw joins Proactive's Natalie Stoberman to share how he intends to make an impact in the short-form content space. Mychasiw has nearly two decades of experience in the sponsorship and marketing industries, and is known as an industry disrupter, noted for tapping into emerging markets and developing innovative sponsorship strategies to create new monetization opportunities. During his tenure with the Canadiens, Kristopher worked with many multinational brands such as CIBC, Crypto.com, Lenovo, Manscaped, and Lowes, among others. Contact Details Proactive Investors Canada +1 604-688-8158 na-editorial@proactiveinvestors.com

February 17, 2023 11:06 AM Eastern Standard Time

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PTOP Announces Pink Current Status! PTOP Also Announces Payment Completed To Accountants For Q1 Financial Statements To Be Completed Soon!

Peer to Peer Network

McapMediaWire -- Peer To Peer Network a.k.a MobiCard Inc. (OTC: PTOP ) is proud to announce it has obtained the coveted “Pink Current Status” from the OTC Markets and has also made payment to Blue Chip Accounting to have 1 st quarter financials completed soon. “We fell out of compliance for Pink Current only because the attorney letter had not been submitted after we submitted our fiscal year-end financial reports. When I found out, I notified our attorney and he promptly sent in the attorney letter to cover the financial periods for the annual report required. It took OTC markets 3-5 business days from the time they received the attorney letter to put us back to “Pink Current Status”. I assume this will open the gates back up to new investors who otherwise would not be able to buy the stock,” commented Chairman & CEO Joshua Sodaitis. “I remain steadfast in adhering to the proper reporting requirements. We paid the accountants for our Q1 financials and should have them completed and posted to OTC Markets by the end of February. I also remain committed in wiping off debt from the balance sheet,” elaborated CEO Sodaitis. OTC Markets revised their Pink Current and Pink Limited guidelines on the information that’s required by companies to qualify for each, which are publicly available on the otcmarkets.com website. According to the OTC Markets Group website: “ The Pink Limited tier, and the information required to be qualified as Pink Limited is more basic — what you need under Rule 15c2-11. Pink Current goes above that. In order to meet those guidelines, you’re going to need to have specific financial information — more than the Pink Limited guidelines. Both will allow a security to be quoted on an ongoing basis, but the Pink Current guidelines are more stringent. And with respect to the impact of being on one tier versus the other, brokers that are quoting those securities may place restrictions on the Pink Limited tier that they do not place on Pink Current. Companies that trade on our Market are subject to the Blue Sky laws in the 50 states and four territories. That also is impacted depending on whether or not you are Current or Limited. As an example, for companies that come in Current that are making their information available to us, you would gain a state like Illinois. It will have an impact not just on a broker’s potential restrictions on trading Limited versus Current, but also on the Blue Sky status of individual states.” Quote directly from OTC Markets: Rule 15c2-11 Amendments FAQs - OTC Markets Blog. This Pink Current Status for PTOP means that entire new states like Illinois (as used in the OTC Markets example above) amongst others, will now have access to buying shares of PTOP in the open market. This is an obvious benefit to shareholders and the company. If you are curious to see the balance sheet, financial disclosure documents, or other financial reports we encourage you to view them on the OTC Markets group website. “Next week I will be putting out some more exciting news as I strive diligently to knock down the strategic objectives I laid out in the Annual Letter To Shareholders. I believe this will finally be PTOP’s year. Together with the help of shareholders we can make our strategic goals a reality. I would say this is the BEST time to become a shareholder of PTOP,” concluded Chairman & CEO Joshua Sodaitis. Contact Info: Joshua Sodaitis, Chairman & CEO MobiCard, Inc. 45 Prospect Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Phone: 1-617-481-1971 Email: info@freemobicard.com ABOUT: Peer to Peer Network aka MobiCard is the 1st of its kind digital contact/business card. It will greatly facilitate the ability of individuals and businesses to share information and more effectively expand their visibility and brand awareness. MobiCard is a combination of powerful mobile apps and desktop apps with wide ranging capabilities, including linking video's, user websites, all forms of contact information, and all of each user's social media links into one consolidated source. It is more than just a digital business card; it's a "dynamic digital footprint." A subscriber can custom create their business card to include a company logo, profile photo, contact details, website, audio messaging, social media links and multi-media content. The platform sharing and alert system enables users to share their card via text/SMS, e-mail, and global social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. The system provides the user instant text alerts when their card is opened or shared to third party referrals all while building an invaluable database of contact leads. Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company invokes the protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategies, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, as well as statements that include words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings at www.sec.gov. The company is no longer a fully reporting SEC filing company. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact Details Joshua Sodaitis, Chairman & CEO MobiCard, Inc. +1 617-651-2460 info@freemobicard.com

February 16, 2023 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

IGEN Networks Corp and Prolog Execute LOI for Merger

iGen Networks Corp.

McapMediaWire -- IGEN Networks Corporation (OTC: IGEN ) (CSE: IGN ), a leading innovator of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for the consumer automotive, asset management, and supply-chain industries, today announces the successful completion of a Letter-of-Intent (LOI) for the purchase of 51% of Prolog privately held shares on January 13, 2023. The purchase in the form of IGEN common shares will be approximately $900K to $1.1M USD paid through multiple tranches based on achieving minimum revenue thresholds that will range from $1.8M to $3.5M USD over the first 12 months from closing of the definitive agreement. Revenue contributions from Prolog will be fully recognized (100%) along with 51% of net income by IGEN upon completion of the proposed merger. Neil G. Chan, CEO of IGEN stated, "This proposed merger creates a unique combination of knowledge and technologies for the supply-chain industry globally. Along with our consultancy practice, IGEN will offer comprehensive end-to-end logistic solutions that include facilities and warehouse management, GPS telemetry and inventory tracking, fleet asset management and maintenance through-out the supply-chain of commercial and government organizations." Juan Ignacio Avila, CEO of Prolog stated, "We are excited with the opportunities of this proposed merger with IGEN. Prolog has proven its leadership in providing comprehensive logistics, supply-chain, maintenance, and management solutions to some of the largest and most complex organizations in Mexico, Spain, and Central America. Through IGEN channels in the US, we can now apply our 25 years of technology expertise and experiences to the US markets along with participating in the growth of our businesses together." The Letter-of-Intent (LOI) is a non-binding agreement and will establish the basic terms for the definitive agreement between IGEN Networks Corp and Prolog. This transaction will be arm's length as additional terms may be added, and existing terms may be changed or deleted. Definitive terms will include a PCAOB qualified financial audit. About IGEN Networks Corporation IGEN Networks Corporation creates software services for the consumer automotive and commercial asset management industries enabling their customers to better manage their assets and protect their drivers. IGEN is a fully reporting company in both Canada and the United States. It is publicly traded on the OTC Markets under the symbol IGEN, and listed on the CSE under the symbol IGN. For more information, please visit: www.igennetworks.net About Prolog Prolog is a technology development and logistics consulting company with over 25 years of experience in the development of supply-chain, logistics, telematics, and asset management solutions. Prolog operates in Mexico, Spain, and Central America with more than 1200 clients, 80 distribution centers, and 250,000 vehicles utilizing its asset management platforms. For more information, please visit: www.prolog.com.mx Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities law. The terms and phrases "goal", "commitment", "guidance", "expects", "would", "will", "continuing", "drive", "believes", "indicate", "look forward", "grow", "outlook", "forecasts", "intend", and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by IGEN in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that IGEN believes are appropriate in the circumstances, including but not limited to statements regarding investment liquidity, financing options and long term goals of the Company, general economic conditions, IGEN's expectations regarding its business, customer base, strategy and prospects, and IGEN's confidence in the cash flow generation of its business. Many factors could cause IGEN's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to competition; IGEN's reliance on key personnel; IGEN's ability to maintain and enhance its brand; and difficulties in forecasting IGEN's financial results, particularly over longer periods given the rapid technological changes, competition and short product life cycles that characterize the mobile application industry. These risk factors and others relating to IGEN that may cause actual results to differ are set forth in the under the heading "Risk Factors" in IGEN's periodic filings with the British Columbia Securities Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on IGEN's forward-looking statements. IGEN has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Contact: IGEN Networks Corporation Neil G. Chan info@igennetworks.net 1(855)912-5378 Contact Details IGEN Networks Corporation info@igennetworks.net Company Website https://www.igennetworks.net/

February 16, 2023 09:53 AM Eastern Standard Time

The Rapidly Expanding World Of Biometrics May Hold Promise In Securing The Future Of Financial Cybersecurity

BIO-key International, Inc.

By Gita Karunakaran, Benzinga Biometric systems are gaining immense popularity around the globe. They are easy to use and implement and provide a cost-effective solution for ensuring high-end cybersecurity. Biometrics are unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints or facial scans, that can be used for automated recognition. They’re popular for being a reliable, secure, and practical means of identifying and authenticating individuals through their unique biological characteristics. Over the years, biometrics has found widespread use in a variety of applications, including cybersecurity. Companies like BIO-key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), for example, use biometrics in their Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions as an optional added layer of security for enterprises. Viable Financial Cybersecurity May Need More Than Traditional Biometrics In The Future In most cybercrime cases, fraudulent activity is reportedly detected only after someone has already lost money or data to hackers. As such, any analysis commences only after the fact. With cybercrime on the rise and financial losses from cybercrime projected to cost over $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, organizations are constantly on the lookout for fail-safe solutions to protect their brand and reputation from damaging breaches, proactively. A branch of biometrics – known as behavioral biometrics – that has emerged from observing human behavioral patterns seems to hold promise in possibly pre-empting potential cybercrimes. Behavioral biometrics track an individual’s behavior patterns and the manner in which he or she interacts with the device itself, such as the way a screen is held, the manner of typing, and the speed at which the mouse is moved. Biometric behavioral inputs, when collected and analyzed, can enable banks and financial services providers to flag potential fraud even before a transaction goes through. This enables them to take action to prevent it – either by halting the transaction or requiring additional authentication factors from the customer, before proceeding. An additional benefit of behavioral biometrics is that the analysis can happen without extracting and storing data from the customer’s phone or device, minimizing the chances of customer data being stolen or misused. When It Comes To Reducing Fraud, Biometric Authentication Can Help Merchants As fraud continues to rise and with eCommerce remaining a highly targeted sector for fraud, traditional authentication such as passwords and pins alone may not be sufficient for merchants to successfully combat scams and hacks. Equally, consumers are becoming more aware of cybersecurity risks and frauds, and have mounting concerns about safeguarding their payment information and other sensitive details while transacting online or even in person. As a result, customers are reportedly willing to take extra steps – including facial recognition – in authenticating their banking as well as non-bank accounts if it means a more secure experience. However, there have also been concerns about the ability of facial recognition to prevent fraud when they are relied upon as the sole criteria to transact, especially if the face scan matches aren’t verified through additional alternative means. One of the solutions to this issue has been to adopt a hybrid fraud prevention tactic, which combines biometrics such as fingerprint identification or voice recognition with other identity authentication technologies. At the same time, privacy regulations continue to grow, putting pressure on organizations to adhere to multiple norms and regulations on the storage of biometrics. All of this highlights the need to arrive at the right fraud-fighting tools to prevent revenue loss, customer asset loss, and brand reputation damage for organizations and merchants – to strike the perfect balance of data privacy and security. The increased awareness of cybersecurity risks and a rise in the adoption of biometrics has also given rise to the growth of multi-factor authentication (MFA) – sometimes with more than one biometric method or multimodal biometrics as a preferred option for maximum protection against cybercrime, hacking, and fraud. And increasingly, biometrics is seen as possibly the only security that can help banks, retailers and other organizations combat sophisticated fraud attacks, as fraudsters continue to use various tactics, including SIM swaps and porting scams, to redirect OTPs (one-time passwords) to a device they control or convince their victims to hand them over through deception or brute force attacks. BIO-key seems headed in the right direction with its IAM solutions powered by Identity-Bound Biometrics (IBB) combined with traditional authentication and multi-factor options. The company believes that IBB is a way to establish trust and accountability. IBB enables organizations to confirm an individual’s genuine presence when accessing systems and provides them with the ability to audit with full transparency. BIO-key’s single, unified IAM platform, PortalGuard, offers solutions for a range of use cases and business initiatives, such as MFA, Single Sign-on, and Self-service Password Reset. PortalGuard requires only a one-time enrollment and can be quickly set up for access across multiple devices and locations according to BIO-key. This could offer greater deployment versatility and scalability and enable enterprises to provide a consistent and seamless user experience. To learn more about BIO-key’s identity-bound biometric solutions visit the company webpage here. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

February 16, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

LevLane Advertising Wins Two PRSA Pepperpot Awards

LevLane

LevLane Advertising, a full-service, independent advertising, media, digital, and public relations agency, received two awards from the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Philadelphia Chapter at their 2022 Pepperpot Awards ceremony. The Pepperpot Awards honor Philadelphia-area PR agencies and professionals for exceptional campaigns and tactics. Each year, projects are submitted to be judged by an independent review panel within the PRSA and the best campaigns are awarded with either a Pepperpot for first place, or a Ladle for second place. LevLane was awarded the first place Pepperpot award in the following category: Influencer Programs: Awarded for the work done on behalf of Agile Therapeutics for the partnership campaign featuring USWNT player Carli Lloyd. LevLane was awarded the second place Ladle award in the following category: Research Tactics: Awarded for the work done on behalf of Provident Bank for quarterly original research on banking, finance, and consumer attitudes. “As an agency, our goal has always been to create meaningful, emotional connections between stakeholders and brands,” said Liz Weir, Chief Marketing Officer at LevLane. “Being recognized by our peers for these campaigns is an honor and reinforces the value of our human connection-centric strategy.” About LevLane LevLane is an award-winning, full-service, independent advertising agency in Philadelphia, PA, that has been building brands that people love for nearly 40 years. Contact Details Lauren Stralo +1 215-825-9692 lstralo@levlane.com Company Website https://www.levlane.com

February 16, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Sekur Private Data Announces Its 2023 Budget Is Fully Covered With Existing Cash Flow

Sekur Private Data Ltd

By Faith Ashmore, Benzinga Sekur Private Data Ltd. (OTCQX: SWISF) (CSE: SKUR) (FRA: GDT0) is a US-listed cybersecurity and internet privacy company with roots in Switzerland that provides private and secure communications solutions. It uses its own servers and military-grade encryption security and combines them with its proprietary encryption and Swiss data privacy laws. The company is best known for its corporate products like SekurMail and SekurMessenger which offer users complete privacy. Capitalizing on the strict Swiss privacy laws, Sekur has built a brand that prides itself on state-of-the-art technology allowing for secure communication. The company has seen great success in Latin America and even recently announced its advancement into the privacy markets with its new VPN product, SekurVPN. Sekur also recently announced a partnership with Nobleus, an American all-encompassing e-commerce platform that offers customers tools and resources to run a successful online business. The agreement will allow Nobleus the rights to distribute and resell Sekur services and products to its client base. Nobleus is expected to provide these services to its clients in Q1 2023. This agreement will help position Sekur as an alternative security and privacy communications platform and allow online American businesses to become more independent from big-tech platforms. Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are very pleased to have partnered with Nobleus. Nobleus is an innovative company and is progressing very nicely on all fronts in its e-commerce platform rollout. We believe partnering with Nobleus will provide substantial growth opportunities for Sekur to reach the consumer masses through their unique distribution model. Our prime directive is to provide private and secure communications for everyone.” Sekur Announces Its 2023 Finalized Budget In another exciting announcement, Sekur announces that it is entering 2023 with no debt and no need to raise cash to meet its 2023 budget obligations. As of the announcement, the company had approximately $3 million in cash and an established budget of $2,360,000 for 2023. The 2023 budget includes all of its expenses. The company reported a 50% decrease in the budget from 2022 for its marketing, hardware, and general and administrative needs. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y67PiL8Pcig" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> The company is looking at an increase in gross sales and is confident in its ability to succeed in these goals, largely due to the expansion of products launched at the end of 2022, as well as upcoming launches in 2023, like SekurVPN. Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are pleased to announce that we have been able to cut close to 50% of our expenses for 2023, and still expect an increase in sales. Some of the assumptions are due to the new marketing plan we have and some of the sales increases are attributed to the B2B relationships we have signed and established in Latin America and the USA. There has been a lot of chatter, on some investment forums notably, about our need to raise funds in 2023, and we can now demonstrate with certitude that we have no need for new funding to meet the needs of the Company for the 2023 fiscal year. 2023 will increase focus on establishing more B2B relationships and on SMB marketing, as we continue to expand our direct-to-consumer base. As we are not connected to any Big Tech platform, we offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications without any data mining, through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland. We look forward to continuing to offer true data privacy to all individuals and their businesses and protect their intellectual property, and their privacy, from data miners and malicious hackers." This article was originally published on Benzinga here. Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure communications and secure data management. The Company distributes a suite of secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted e-mails, and secure communication tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its websites www.sekur.com and www.sekursuite.com, and approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Corporate Department corporate@sekurprivatedata.com Company Website https://sekurprivatedata.com

February 15, 2023 09:15 AM Eastern Standard Time