Fun new Christian song for kids tackles issues of identity, self-esteem

Created by family who produced America’s first Christian children’s album to go platinum

LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A., 2021-Apr-30 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Created by the family who produced America’s first Christian children’s album to sell 1 million copies, “Stars and Dots” is set to be released on all digital platforms today.

This follow-up single is part of Anthony & Tiffany Salerno’s roll-out to their debut children’s album, “I Am a Worshipper,” slated for release May 28. The single is available here and the album is available for preorder and pre-save here.

Anthony’s father, Tony Salerno, creative producer of gold, platinum and Grammy-nominated children’s albums, provided oversight and feedback for the forthcoming album, which leads off with “Stars and Dots” as the first track.

In the same upbeat vein, “Stars and Dots” has a cheerful tune with ocean vibes that introduces the practice of coming daily to God to hear His voice and discover His view of us — that we are immeasurably valuable and worthy of love because God created us in His image, Tiffany said.

“I’m excited for kids to hear this powerful song and the whole album, which carries the heritage of my parents’ music into a new era,” said Anthony, who grew up in Dallas, the Los Angeles area and the former home of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz in Sebastopol, Calif.

Inspired by Max Lucado’s bestselling children’s book, “You Are Special,” originally published by Crossway in 1997, “Stars and Dots” celebrates the truth that people can be liberated from the weight of others’ opinions by assigning value instead to what God says about them, Tiffany said.

Christi Given, who has hosted on TBN and written and sung more than 300 tracks and short jingles for Bravo TV’s “Vanderpump Rules,” Lifetime’s “Dance Moms,” and other shows, said she believes “Stars and Dots” could have a powerfully positive influence on children and adults.

“It has a very good message — to listen to God’s voice rather than comparing ourselves with others,” Given said. “Instead of focusing on how many ‘likes’ and comments we receive, we need to pay attention to what God says about us, which is the message of ‘Stars and Dots.’”

Chuck Reich, pastor, host and executive producer of “Answering the Call” on Overcomers TV, said he saw Anthony and Tiffany’s love for kids when they performed their songs for children at a church and a school in Haiti.

“Anthony and Tiffany are true professionals in media, and they have a heart for God and for children,” Reich said.

“It is so vital and life-changing for children to learn about their identity in Christ and hearing God’s voice from an early age. Anthony and Tiffany do an excellent job facilitating that through music,” said Rachel Bishop, minister of children and preschool director at Emmanuel Church in Abilene, Kansas. Bishop is a student of Visionwriters International, a ministry about identity and God’s voice that Tiffany said has greatly influenced her songwriting.

Tiffany wrote “Stars and Dots” before meeting Anthony on his birthday in September 2018 at CBS Studios in Hollywood. Anthony went on to provide music production and arrangement for the album, starting with “Stars and Dots.” The couple married in December 2020 at Mount Baldy Village Church in Mount Baldy, Calif., where they lead worship and direct the children’s department.

Their single is available here and their album is available for pre-order and pre-save here.

Further background, education

Tiffany earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications with emphases in journalism and public relations and a minor in creative writing, followed by a graduate certificate in technical writing and professional communication, from Kansas State University. She later graduated from Radiance International – Hollywood House of Prayer’s Launch ministry school with the Evangelism Award. Tiffany was born and raised in Abilene, Kan.

Anthony graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor’s degree in commercial music. He has worked as a musician, director and producer for many ministry leaders, including Willie Aames, known for playing the title character in “Bible Man” (1995-2003); Raul Ries, who pastors a congregation of 12,000 in California and can be heard on the “Somebody Loves You” radio program; Dennis Sempebwa, president and chancellor of The 300, a ministry training college; and others.

Anthony was born in Tyler, Texas, where his parents launched Agape Force at a site that has been shared with the headquarters of Youth with a Mission (YWAM), Teen Challenge, Leonard Ravenhill’s Last Days Ministries, the evangelist David Wilkerson, the late musician Keith Green and now Mercy Ships. “Music Machine,” which Tony produced in 1977, became America’s first Christian children’s album and first Christian album by a group artist to sell 1 million copies.

Via EPR Network
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PayPerHead Agents Expect 2021 Triple Crown Revenue Bounce Back

San Jose, Costa Rica, 2021-Apr-28 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Because of the pandemic, the handle on the 2020 Kentucky Derby dropped significantly from the previous year. Handle on America’s signature horse race fell 49.8% from 2019. Churchill Downs didn’t run the race until September 5, four months after Derby’s traditional race day on the first Saturday in May.

PayPerHead agents are hopeful the 2021 Triple Crown results in a racebook revenue bounce back. The 2019 Kentucky Derby set a record handle of $165.5 million. 2019’s handle was 10% higher than 2018’s $149.9 million, which had been the previous record.

This year’s race lost star power after winter book favorite Life Is Good became injured. But Essential Quality is undefeated, owned by Godolphin, and trained by Brad Cox, who has ranked in the top ten in wins and earnings in the past four years.

The 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner won’t be the only undefeated horse in the race. Rock Your World, who won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, has victories over grass and dirt. Known Agenda, the Florida Derby winner, and Hot Rod Charlie, who won the Louisiana Derby, will also enter.

Although three races comprise the Triple Crown, for agents, the Kentucky Derby is the most important. Per Nate Johnson, PayPerHead’s product development manager, the Derby attracts more betting action than any other thoroughbred event.

“The Kentucky Derby may be the most popular horse race in the world. In 2019, Japan saw $4.1 million wagered on the Derby. It’s also the one race that should produce action for almost all of our agents,” Johnson said.

PayPerHead agents see most revenue from the sportsbook, live in-game betting platform, and products like the digital casino and live dealer. Johnson said few agents rely on horse racing revenue but that all see horse racing action on the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

When asked about betting action on the Belmont, Johnson said it was hit or miss. “Everyone wants to see if the Derby winner can take the Preakness. If there’s a Triple Crown at stake, the same horse won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, the Belmont could attract more action for our agents than the Derby.”

Johnson added, “Our agents count on the Kentucky Derby for racebook revenue followed by the Preakness. If different horses win the Derby and Preakness, the Belmont becomes just another horse race.”

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Decentralization and digital identity venture Manyone marks the 2nd year of its strategic collaboration with Blockchain@UBC

VANCOUVER, Canada, 15-Apr-2021 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Manyone, a pioneering technology venture in decentralization and digital identity, is delighted to announce that 2021 marks the second year of the strategic collaboration between Manyone and The Peer Social Foundation and the Blockchain@UBC research cluster at the University of British Columbia.

This academic-industry partnership is one of the first to critically assess the feasibility of decentralized social media, explore engineering possibilities and configure the privacy and security implications of self-ownership of social media data.

Blockchain@UBC Graduate researchers gain research opportunities at Manyone and The Peer Social Foundation by applying for grants from MITACS (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex System), a Canadian non-profit research organization that fosters cross-sector collaboration and develops talents for the innovation ecosystem in Canada.

In the next year, UBC researchers will identify technical requirements for decentralized identities, design new system architecture, and explore the value and business models for blockchain-based identity management.

Chang Lu, Research Manager at Blockchain@UBC states that, “Manyone and The Peer Social Foundation offer an inspiring space for our students to sharpen their knowledge about blockchain. Their vision of decentralized social media represents a paradigm shift in the world of social networks. We are grateful that we can contribute to the shift”.

Michael Cholod CEO at Manyone and The Peer Social Foundation comments, “As a Vancouver based pioneering enterprise, we value the opportunity to work with academics and researchers in Canada to identify the social and organizational impact of decentralized identity and determine the privacy and security implications of self-ownership of social media data. The academics at UBC help us in understanding the bigger picture and how to look for real world solutions.”

Dr. Victoria Lemieux, Blockchain@UBC Co-Lead and Associate Professor at UBC’s School of Information, further adds that, “We’re excited to delve further into both the technological and policy ramifications of Manyone’s vision of securing digital data free from manipulation or distortion and to support technical and social innovation in Canada”.

Manyone, with offices in Vancouver, Canada and Stockholm, Sweden is launching the world’s first decentralised secure messaging and identity sharing platform in April 2021.

Manyone is a pioneering technology venture that aims to deliver private secure networks, private digital identities, to increase enterprise productivity and digital security. Manyone actively works with The Peer Social Foundation. The Peer Social Foundation and Manyone believe in empowering a distributed internet where everyone can feel in control of their digital identity. They do this by delivering a self-sovereign digital identity and decentralized social platform for enterprise and consumers. A critical component of this is to work beside and support vital education, R&D and the open-source community to connect people, businesses and governments.Find out more here: www.manyone.one

SOURCE: EuropaWire

The website of Norwegian lawyer Høgseth DA named Mono Solutions’ top website of 2021

COPENHAGEN, 14-Apr-2021 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Mono Solutions has named Norwegian lawyer’s Høgseth DA’s website, https://advokathogseth.no, as its top website of 2021.

The site, designed by Norwegian agency, Idium, topped 105 European entries – all  created on the Mono website builder platform – in a competition designed to raise awareness of the power of digital marketing done right.

Each entry was judged for overall customer experience, including page loading speed and intuitive web design and was subject to a conversion and trustworthiness health-check.

Mie Bilberg, VP of Marketing, Mono Solutions, says Idium’s work on Høgseth DA’s website stood out for being easy to navigate and very trustworthy. “The use of authentic pictures throughout added credibility to the business, as well as an opportunity for visitors to the website to make an instant connection. The site’s structure, visual formatting and navigation also made the brand’s content and call to action engaging and accessible.”   

“Idium is one of Norway’s largest website suppliers and has since 2017 had Mono as the primary supplier for its SME offering. We have spent 2020 converting more customers to the Mono platform, in effect reducing the number of platforms and enhancing the value chain internally. At the same time our customers have received a better product.” Says Odd-Geir Folland, CEO, Idium.

With research revealing the average customer decides in 50 milliseconds whether s/he likes a website or not, web designers need to be smart in the way they attract potential customers and address their needs and expectations.

“In a year where websites have been a lifeline for many small business owners, a powerful and user-friendly web presence and ecommerce channel is arguably more important than ever before. I was happy to see the increased quality of websites submitted to this year’s competition. It’s clear from the submissions that more businesses are investing in online business models, either by offering online booking functionality, ecommerce capabilities, or by optimizing pages for lead generation, as is the case of this year’s winning website. No longer is a website simply there to give small business owners an online presence, a website is now a critical revenue stream for small business owners.” says Mie.

With this shift comes a responsibility for digital service providers to enable small business clients with an online business model that offers a safe visiting and trading experience for customers, “Nothing converts like trust and, in 2021, an unsecured website is no longer acceptable. While all of this year’s entries came with recommended security features. In a more general picture of the global website landscape, we do still sadly see many websites lacking basic security features, such as SSL certificates and privacy policy and cookies policy. Designers who build on a Mono platform, can easily enable this with a Mono map module.”

The Mono website builder platform offers small businesses and design agencies white-label website technology to craft engaging, profitable, search and conversion-optimized websites with fast page speed – a top priority for high-performing websites in today’s digital age. Mono Solutions has 80 digital service provider resellers globally, and more than 125,000 small businesses subscribed to its website builder platform, with even more new subscribers joining every month.

Ann-Kristin Haug Lahmidi, Customer journey and Process Manager, Idium, says,

“Receiving such positive feedback on our Mono websites creates an increased positivity around the platform. As employees of Idium we, subsequently, take pride in working with Mono. At the same time, we strive to provide our customers all the opportunities which are present in the platform and utilize us as their advisor and supplier to achieve the goals they have set for their website.”

Find out more about Mono’s 2021 website of the year and Mono’s Best Website Competition. https://www.monosolutions.com/best-website-competition-winner-2021

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Xrysos Odigos to use Mono Solutions platform to help small businesses in Greece

COPENHAGEN, 12-Apr-2021 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Mono Solutions and Xrysos Odigos have partnered to bring websites and online business models to thousands of small businesses across Greece.

Xrysos Odigos provides turnkey digital marketing services to help small businesses thrive online, being a one-stop-shop for all digital marketing needs.

Xrysos Odigos needed a platform and a partner that could keep up with the newest technology trends and market demands while ensuring their team’s effectiveness to create the best digital experiences for their clients.

“We decided to go with the Mono Platform, as the platform is strong within the customer experience. It´s build to please online search engines, thus getting higher rankings for our websites. It’s cost-effective and easy-to-use for small business owners. We are thrilled to have a strong technology partner like Mono Solutions to help us achieve the vision of providing the right digital marketing tools designed specifically for small businesses”, says Maria Spyropoulou, Head of Digital Services at Xrysos Odigos. 

By combining digital marketing services, with best-in-class technology, XO Greece helps small businesses establish themselves online.

“We´re thrilled to be the platform of choice for Xrysos Odigos. Mono Solutions is here to empower small businesses with best-in-class marketing technology like website, eCommerce, and other services, this ambition we achieve through a strong partnership with local digital service providers like Xrysos Odigos. With a partnership with Xrysos Odigos, we can serve the needs of small businesses in Greece.”, says Henrik Stampe, CEO at Mono Solutions.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Conference organiser company Confinn behind the largest web conference in Lithuania’s history

VILNIUS, 1-Apr-2021 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Three days, 6000 minutes of content, 300 speakers, and over 10,000 attendees. With its unprecedented scale, the Lithuanian Business Forum will certainly feature in every best practice handbook for virtual events. The largest web conference in the country’s history took place in early March and transformed a now-tired traditional online format into an unusual digital space, recreating the true feeling of a live event. Nine months of preparation, many complex technical challenges, and carefully curated content – the organisers are right to describe setting up this event as a true feat.

A 3-day interactive programme

On March 3rd-5th, the record-breaking Lithuanian Business Forum brought together experts from various fields – economists, politicians, business and management consultants – and created a unique space to share ideas and promote solutions amongst professionals. The event focused on digitalisation and the circular economy.

According to Dainius Baltrušaitis, organiser of the Lithuanian Business Forum and head of Confinn, a conference organiser company, many people have grown tired of the virtual format’s omnipresence events being online-only because of the pandemic. This is why this unprecedented conference for the Nordic-Baltic region elicited a radically different reaction from the public: it attracted a lot of early interest, and its engagement remained high during the entire event.

Organisers are convinced that this success was due to the innovative format of the event. The Forum lasted 3 days and included interactive presentations, discussions and webinars.

“Last year, the event was spread out across nine halls, so it was difficult for our attendees to visit everything physically. In order to make the experience more enjoyable this year we split the programme over several days, so people could have a chance to listen to whichever speaker they wanted to see. We are delighted to hear that our attendees reported feeling as if they’d visited a new and unique space after the event. The constant interactive migration from one hall to another generated excitement and made them feel like they were attending a “real” event”, said business psychologist Dainius Baltrušaitis.

 

Artūras Laucius, another leader at ‘Confinn’, explains that the dynamic platform not only drew in people but also allowed them to consume valuable content for the next six months. “We chose this format because it gives the content a lot more depth. While people at the event are not required to listen to all the speakers, they may want to view them at a completely different time that is more convenient to them. So a one-day event of this scale, once recorded, can turn into a month-long event, and a three-day event can become a three-month event”, he added.

The biggest organisational challenges

According to Artūras Laucius, an event of this scale requires very careful preparation. One of the main challenges was time and people management. In order to organise such a huge conference without any interruptions, preparations need to start no less than nine months in advance.

“It is important to have all technical solutions tested, as they cause many of the problems that organisers have to deal with. We were planning to have many attendees, and we were concerned that some of our programs would interpret so many connexions as being a cyber-attack, which would paralyse our servers. When performing “stress tests”, it is necessary to slowly increase the number of users, as one thousand, five thousand or more users bring with them different technical challenges. It is important always to be one step ahead – to know exactly what ten thousand attendees will see on their screens during the event, and how it’s actually going to work”, he explains.

When setting up the event, content selection is another important task. According to Dainius Baltrušaitis, selecting high-quality material takes longer than one would expect, and investing in promoting your event matters when you want to attract the best moderators to your event. “We approve about 30% of speakers. In our case, with 300 speakers and 20 days of content waiting to be approved, it takes a very long time to go through discussions regarding content with everyone and select the best candidates. This is a crucial but time-consuming process. Choosing the best content and ensuring that everything goes smoothly guarantees a successful event. Long-term experience and good knowledge of the region are very important, too”, he notes.

Our tip to keep viewers engaged

Virtual events are very time-sensitive, explains Dainius Baltrušaitis. While a speaker has two minutes to make an impression during a live event, they only have 30 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention in a virtual format.

 

“If you start introducing yourself in the first minute, this means your visibility has failed, and your message is doomed. In an online format, you have as little as thirty seconds to present your point and convince the viewer to listen on. This is then followed by the main point of the speech, expert insights, and three examples. During a live event, a member of the audience would often feel uncomfortable standing up in the middle of the hall and leaving the auditorium, asking fellow audience members to make room for them as they leave. Here, in a virtual event, all it takes is one second and a click to move to another digital space if the content is not catchy enough.

“Our content professionals put a lot of effort into making the speakers shine. Sometimes a speaker contacts us and claims that there is no way for them to shorten their 40-minute presentation. We would then ask them to write everything down on a piece of paper physically. We would normally delete most of the text, reducing it from 20 pages to about 2. Our recommendation is to limit presentations to 10 minutes,” he explains.

Dainius Baltrušaitis further explains that another important aspect is to have an interactive comment section, which the moderator can control. Upvoting interesting questions works as an additional encouragement for attendees to get involved.

“All conference organisers know how hard it is to get audience members to ask questions. When people are asked if they have any questions during a live event, there is usually an awkward silence. But our trick is inertia. You need to wait out that initial period and encourage the participants to get involved after 4–5 minutes when an avalanche of questions normally begins. In the virtual format, we’ve included interactive comment fields that initially feature a couple of questions that can be upvoted. This method is simpler than users having to take the first step themselves. Upvoting helps us engage with the audience, and it encourages them to write their own questions.” says Dainius Baltrušaitis, who is pleased that technical and content-related ‘know-how’ gained in this region is being replicated abroad. Confinn, which used to primarily work on the largest conferences in the Nordic-Baltic region, is receiving more and more enquiries from across Europe to help organise huge virtual events with up to 100,000 people.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

2021 NFL Draft Should Break 2020’s Record Betting Handle

San Jose, Costa Rica, 2021-Apr-06 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 saw the most wagering dollars flow to the NFL Draft than in the draft’s history. Because of this year’s pool of college players, per head agents, those who offer free betting software, expect handle to significantly increase on the draft’s first round on Thursday, April 29.

Sports bettors wagered $20 million on last year’s draft. The $20 million represents the money Vegas sportsbooks and other U.S.-based sportsbooks accepted. Offshore companies and local bookies don’t release wagering handle stats. The overall number from betting on the 2020 NFL Draft may have eclipsed $50 million.

The first player chosen in 2020, Joe Burrow, had won the Heisman Trophy. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Burrow first. Ohio State player Chase Young went second to the Washington Football Team, and Young’s teammate, Buckeyes’ cornerback Jeff Okudah, went third to the Detroit Lions. A quarterback going first followed by a couple of defensive players is typical for the NFL Draft. Quarterbacks going with the first three picks in the draft has never happened.

2021 is unique because most analysts believe the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers, the teams with the first three picks, draft quarterbacks. The 49ers moved to third specifically to take a quarterback. The Jaguars have said they will draft Clemson signal-caller Trevor Lawrence. The Jets said they would take BYU QB Zach Wilson. The odds on Lawrence and Wilson are so low that most draft handicappers won’t bet on either option. What the 49ers do with the third pick is where it gets interesting.

The latest rumor is that San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan wants Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. Before the 49ers moved up in the draft, many experts had Jones not going before pick 8 when the Carolina Panthers make their choice.

Agents don’t care so much about odds because, as one might expect, getting NFL Draft picks right is tricky. Each college football athlete represents a different betting option. Choosing who goes third, fourth, fifth, and so on correctly is close to impossible.

PayPerHead Product Manager Nate Johnson said that the company’s clients could offer betting on the NFL Draft for the first time. “Last year, we added a Premium Props platform to our offerings. Our agents can now provide betting options on the NFL Draft.”

Johnson said the props platform is a big hit. “Players love it because they don’t have to search for quarter and halftime lines. The NFL Draft is unique because it’s a single event. But most prop players like to bet on halftime and quarter lines.” Players also like to bet on individual sports star performances. “Agents should see a big uptick starting April 1. MLB started on the first, and baseball is tailor-made for prop betting,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that sports bettors love to wager on how many strikeouts pitchers get and how many hits, runs, and home runs batters account for in single games. “Our agents are excited about both the NFL Draft and the MLB Season. Most agents have seen at least a 15% rise in action after adding Premium Props. That rise could eclipse 20%, or even 25% once players get into baseball.”

Via EPR Network
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Transmetrics’ AI-powered demand forecasting and predictive optimization platform deployed by Egyptian shipping company Transmar

CAIRO, Egypt / AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, 31-Mar-2021 — /EPR INTERNET NEWS/ — The ‘AI platform for logistics’, as Transmetrics is often referred to, is successfully streamlining operations at Transmar, a leading carrier of containerized cargo between Egypt and its key partners in the region. Transmetrics’ demand forecasting and predictive optimization platform is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.

With four decades of experience and a strong operational presence in Egypt, KSA, UAE and Sudan, Transmar has built a solid reputation in the market, founded on family values that drive the company’s ambition to offer the best in class service to its customers. Transmar owns and operates a large fleet of both dry and refrigerated containers, serves thousands of customers, and moves hundreds of commodities throughout the Middle East.

“We strongly believe in the power of Data. Transmetrics’ AI solution helps us leverage our 4 decades of operational experience, to make decisions both faster and smarter. As a regionally focused carrier we are more exposed to volatility. We’re excited about the capabilities Transmetrics will provide by helping see up to 12 weeks into the future, ensuring we have optimum planning and repositioning plans” said Ahmed el Ahwal, Commercial Manager at Transmar. In a recent study, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that repositioning empty containers in the shipping industry costs €13 to 17 billion per year (US$14 – 19 billion), which adds up to 8% of a shipping line’s operating costs.

Transmetrics software provides daily rolling AI-driven forecasts for the next 10 to 12 weeks based on the cleansed historical data and relevant external factors influencing the demand. The planning and system optimization tools suggest an optimal and actionable plan for the repositioning of empty containers as well as storage for the next 12 weeks. This also takes into account all the related costs. Stevedoring, gate costs, etc. as well as other variables, and business constraints. The system is equipped to consider repair and maintenance as cost variables which is now work in progress and being co-developed with Transmar.

“We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with Transmar. It goes to show that the AI revolution in logistics is happening worldwide. I look forward to the results we will achieve together with the great team at Transmar” said Jon Fath, CEO of Transmetrics. “This requires deep knowledge of logistics processes because it is still a very hands-on business. Big Data methods, which are used in our product, support our client’s team in finding smarter ways to reposition their assets so that the Transmar local agencies have the right amount containers available when they need it.“

“Transmetrics’ solution helped our team to more accurately allocate our assets. Its monitoring tools and automated forecast result in improved turntime of our assets. Actually, it is a Double Win: our customers benefit from even better services and our team gets state-of-the-art support from AI,” El Ahwal said.

Transmetrics and Transmar also identified a number of next steps to further increase the benefits of Transmetrics solutions such as cabotage management functionality and a management dashboard. The dashboard will include cost reporting and is expected to show how the supply chain will look like for the next 3 months due to its predictive capabilities. “After implementation, Transmetrics is still giving us very professional and pleasant customer service, being open for discussions on product enhancements and being always available for questions and corrections on the data or on the logic where it is needed”, said Hossam Houta, Asset Manager at Transmar.

SOURCE: EuropaWire