Mashreq bank's preparation for digitization has only helped the bank improve its profits during Coronavirus pandemic while most of its competitors continue to struggle

In an interview with ETCIO, Miao Song, Global CIO & Global VP of MARS, talks about the IT & Digital odyssey of the company in tackling the Covid-19 crisis.

A new study of attitudes towards transport and mobility has identified five groups of travellers. The groups differ significantly in their choice of transport, distance travelled and the impact their transport choices have on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Researchers have identified policies in Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands that have made cycling safe, convenient and mainstream in these countries. Coordinated transport, educational and land use measures have increased the popularity of this sustainable mode of transport over recent decades.

New research has explored public expectations of public transport. Surveys of Spanish citizens revealed that existing bus users have different expectations of transport quality compared to non- or “potential” users. The results may help to inform future public transport policy and campaigns which encourage more people to use public transport.

Electric vehicles (EVs) could play a role in future power supply, but face issues surrounding the longevity of their batteries. This study reconciles two recent contradictory results on the effects of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology on battery life-time, and shows that V2G — a process via which EVs would exchange energy with the power grid to provide ancillary services, such as supplying power during peak periods, and helping to regulate grid frequency — could actually extend the lifespan of commercial lithium-ion batteries.

Khudoleĭ, K. M

Benefits gained from the use of logging residues as a fuel depend more on the type of fossil fuel they replace than on the distance the residues have to travel, according to new research. Residues that replace coal produce the greatest reductions in CO2 emissions.

The only way to establish a long-lasting and effective strategy for forest management is through collaboration between ‘conventional’ scientists and local experts, according to new research.

Last year my organization fell victim to a trans- national export invoice fraud. Since 99 percent of our sales come from exports, the cyber fraud dealt a big blow to our organization. We have a customer in South East Asia and my organization had business dealings with this customer for over five years.

Trefil, James, 1938- author

Wenz, John, author

A new study provides a 'snapshot' of the environmental skills programmes available across different industries in EU Member States. The study highlights the importance of partnerships – between public and private sector, and between different industry sectors – in ensuring the European workforce acquires the necessary skills to make the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.

There has been a mixed response to Local Agenda 21 (LA21) across Europe, but a new study from the Basque Country in Spain has identified factors that contribute to a successful LA21 strategy. These are a local entrepreneurial presence, joint problem-solving and joint decision-making by local government members.

Regional governments lack the support required to meet EU-wide targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in the building, transportation, agriculture and waste sectors, according to a new study. The researchers outline a five-step process to help regional governments develop indicators and policy measures to help ensure national targets are met.

A lack of trust between stakeholders, planners and decision makers in coastal Portugal is obstructing adaptation to climate change plans, finds a new study. The researchers suggest that building trust between stakeholders and coastal managers could lead to improved participation and dialogue for future planning, financing and implementation of coastal adaptation.

A new five-step method has been developed for assessing the resource efficiency of products and improving the reuse, recycling and recovery of material at a product’s end of life. The Resource Efficiency Assessment of Products (REAPro) method allows the identification and testing of practical measures to improve resource efficiency at both the product and policy level.

Reducing the amount of phosphorus used in agriculture could go a long way in meeting the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) targets. A Swedish evaluation of measures for reducing agricultural phosphorus suggest phosphorus inputs to the sea could be cut by 180 tonnes per year, or about two-thirds of Sweden's target.

A new study has indicated that, although greywater treatment and re-use could produce water savings of up to 37 per cent, it could not comprehensively remove hazardous substances. Complementary measures are needed, such as eco-labelling and regulatory controls.

'Greywater' that is recycled from household washing can be used to irrigate home gardens, according to a new study by Jordanian researchers. The researchers found that treatment units supplied by the Jordanian government produced small quantities of recycled water that could be used to irrigate gardens, whilst meeting national standards for irrigation of trees and many home-grown crops.

Soil conditions play a crucial role in determining water runoff and retention in forested sites, according to new research. Soil characteristics, such as compaction, play a greater role than forest type in determining water dynamics.

Scientists have modelled the potential benefits of decentralised flood protection (DFP) in Central Europe and conclude that it could be a significant step towards natural flood management in the EU.

Population growth of any country is ultimately dependent on that country’s access to freshwater resources, which also determines its capacity to produce food. A new study shows that population growth is expected to decline in countries with low water resources, as water-rich countries reduce food exports in order to feed their own growing populations.

Climate change adaptation measures could improve the security of some groups of society at the expense of others, a new study concludes. Climate change adaptation policies should be based on genuine democracy and investment must be fairly distributed, to ensure that all at-risk groups benefit equally, its authors recommend.

Eight key features for increasing the climate change resilience of water management and spatial planning projects are presented by new Dutch research. These include: focusing on the long term, integrating the projects with other sustainability measures and encouraging stakeholder participation.

Funding for scientists, planners and inspectors should be available before any shale gas development begins, a new review recommends. As revenue for such staff is often provided by the development itself, planning, which is vital to provide immediate environmental protection as well as monitoring long-term impacts, is neglected. The researchers also advocate the use of 'adaptive management' as a decision-making framework for this complex issue.

Water scarcity is an important cause of low crop yields worldwide. Yields could be significantly improved by focusing attention on unproductive water losses and improving retention of plant-available water in soils, and particularly the largely unexplored interactions between soils and roots. A new review of scientific literature sets out key soil management measures for crops under drought conditions.

Available evidence from the last decade, describing the nature, behaviour and effect of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in the environment, has been reviewed. It identified factors that influence ENP distribution and fate and highlighted the existence of significant research gaps which, if filled, would help in understanding the impacts of long-term accumulation of nanomaterials and the changes that occur to them when they are released into the environment.

The criminal minds too have evolved during this pandemic. While there has been a significant drop in number of heinous crimes in city, cybercrime cases have spiked since lockdown.

As social distancing measures become common and workers adjust to their new professional environments, even from their own living rooms, there is potential for private and working life to blur into one.

Big infrastructure and cost requirements have long kept data analytics a fiefdom of large enterprises; however, the advent of cloud tech has made it possible for SMEs to use data analytics with a fraction of a cost.

A passion for data is a prerequisite to pursue a career in data science — datasets should instantly inspire you to infer, analyse and visualise information.

78% respondents of the survey said that the government should permit online retailers to ship all products, apart from essential items.

The platform enables enterprises to reduce Video KYC completion drop-offs by 20% and reduce the cost of operations by up to 90%

The company is planning to develop tools that will give more controls to meeting hosts and allow users to securely join a meeting.

TONIK Financial, Asean’s first licensed digital-only bank, is leveraging cloud to mitigate the risks of Covid-19.

The company is planning to develop tools that will give more controls to meeting hosts and allow users to securely join a meeting.

The insurance firm is looking at ways to expand the business, improve claim processing by going deeper into machine learning and neural networks.

Conservation efforts should focus on species that have recently declined in number, are harmless or are perceived as high value, according to a European public survey. Participants also felt that disappearing habitats should be targeted for protection. The results suggest that, by choosing different criteria that more closely match the public's values and criteria, conservationists could improve public support for their work.

A synthesis of 192 studies has provided a quantitative estimate of the impact of the loss of plant biodiversity on ecosystem primary production, showing that this impact could be as great as that of other major environmental changes, such as climate warming, rising ozone levels and ocean acidification. They examined the effects of biodiversity loss on primary plant production of biomass and decomposition of plant litter, both of which underpin the carbon cycle and provision of key ecosystem services.

The goals of providing sufficient quantities of food to support the world's growing population, whilst simultaneously protecting its biodiversity, may seem incompatible. However, a recent review of the literature has highlighted how 'alternative' agricultural practices can offer a realistic solution to the problems of achieving both food security and biodiversity conservation.

The presence of wild bees alongside honeybees was found to increase almond orchard production in a recent study. The findings demonstrate how increased biodiversity enhances ecosystem services, such as pollination, and provide an opportunity to increase agricultural yields whilst also benefitting wildlife.

Reforms to reduce discards of over-quota fish catches are generally predicted to have positive effects on marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Although concerns have been raised over the impacts of the changes on scavenging seabirds who feed upon discarded fish, new research on gannets indicates that, while they often forage near fishing vessels, more than half their time is spent foraging 'naturally' in the open sea.

Although cities are typically low in biodiversity, they can provide important refuges for native species, new research shows. Urban planning making use of green infrastructure can enhance city habitats and may help reduce the loss of biodiversity that follows urban expansion, the researchers say.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) in which fishing is prohibited contain substantially more fish, including commercially valuable species, than either partially protected or unenforced MPAs, according to a recent survey of rocky reef fish in the Mediterranean Sea. This suggests that MPAs need to be highly protected to offer the best chance of recovery for fish stocks, say the researchers.

A potential new biopesticide, made of spider venom and snowdrop proteins, kills agricultural pests but shows minimal toxicity to honeybees, new research suggests. Learning and memory of honeybees exposed to the biopesticide were not affected, even at doses higher than they would normally encounter in the environment.

Monitoring and assessment of habitats is essential to evaluate biodiversity policy and improve the condition of valuable ecosystems. A new study has reviewed the value of remote sensing — using information from satellite or airborne imagery — for this purpose, and the authors make a series of key recommendations, including the importance of tailoring remote sensing output for policymakers.

Pollination studies have, to date, focused almost entirely on bees, butterflies and hoverflies; however, other kinds of flies also have an important role to play in this vital ecosystem service, a new study suggests. Using data from 33 farms, the researchers found that non-hover flies were in fact responsible for carrying 84% of the pollen transferred by flies between flowers in farmland.

A survey of deepwater fisheries off the coast of Greenland which used traces of fish DNA has produced similar results to trawl surveys and fishing catches. The ‘environmental DNA’ (eDNA) technique can therefore complement trawl data, the researchers say. It may be particularly useful for surveying large species — which can often avoid bottom trawls — or cryptic species1 in inaccessible ocean areas.