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CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS URGE ACTION ON DEBT, INFLATION, AND CLIMATE CHANGE, RENEW CALLS FOR RUSSIA TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WAR CRIMES

New York, Sept. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly, the Open Society Foundations is calling for bold steps to address critical worldwide crises, including:

  • A global rescue plan that sees higher–income countries committing 2% of their GDP to tackle spiraling living costs and embracing solutions such as pricing regulations, IP waivers, and windfall taxes;
  • Immediate debt relief and financial assistance to lower–income countries, including by suspending IMF/World Bank surcharges and issuing a new round of Special Drawing Rights;
  • Creation of a Loss and Damage mechanism to support countries that have already experienced irreparable or severe harm due to climate change;
  • Russian accountability for war crimes in Ukraine and an end to the war there; and
  • More open, inclusive, and effective global institutions that reflect the make–up of the world.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow isn't just a line from Macbeth," said Mark Malloch–Brown, President of the Open Society Foundations. "For too long, it has also been at the heart of world leaders' plan to tackle these mounting global challenges. That has to change."

Malloch–Brown and other Open Society Foundations representatives will be in New York in September and are available to comment on the above:

  • Mark Malloch–Brown, President, formerly served as UN Deputy Secretary–General to Kofi Annan, led the UN Development Programme and was vice–president at the World Bank and Minister with responsibility for Africa, Asia, and the UN under UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He can speak about the global fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, debt relief, development assistance, and reform of international institutions.
  • Laura Carvalho, Director for Equity, is a leading Brazilian economist and co–founder and Director of the Research Center on Macroeconomics of Inequality at the University of So Paulo and has written extensively on development economics and inequality. She can speak about the global economy and the need to reduce inflationary and debt pressures in the Global South.
  • Yamide Dagnet, Director for Climate Justice, previously served as the Director of Climate Negotiations at the World Resources Institute, focusing on the equitable implementation of international climate agreements. She can speak about the need for climate action that is fair and equitable for all countries and communities.
  • Natalie Samarasinghe, Global Director of Advocacy, formerly served as CEO of the United Nations Association–UK and Speechwriter for the President of the UN General Assembly. She can speak about global crises and the need for international action, as well as UN reform.
  • Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director, International Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine (not in New York during UNGA), was Director of the Centre for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy of Ukraine. He can speak about the work and needs of civil society in Ukraine and the Ukraine Democracy Fund.

The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, is the world's leading funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.


New version of i-PRO Active Guard turns VMSs into powerful search engines for real time alarm notifications and post-event searches

Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — i–PRO Co., Ltd., a global leader in professional security solutions for surveillance and public safety, today announced the latest version of its Active Guard plug–in. The AI–based plug–in can turn video management systems (VMS) into powerful search engines capable of real–time searches or deep forensic analysis. Already supported by leading VMSs including Genetec Security Center and i–PRO Video Insight, the latest version now adds support for Milestone Systems' X–Protect and i–PRO's ASM300 software, and features the industry's largest number of search attributes and new UI enhancements.

"With the addition of Milestone X–Protect, i–PRO Active Guard is now available to the major leaders in the global VMS market and will revolutionize how Security Officers conduct real time and post event searches," said Norio Hitsuishi, Global Head of Product Management at i–PRO. "These enhancements combined with the extension of our AI–capable camera line–up are creating a powerful end–to–end AI security ecosystem that allows businesses to take their security infrastructure to the next level. This latest announcement underscores i–PRO's mission as a trusted next–generation partner to make AI the new standard in the security industry."

Fast and intuitive, i–PRO Active Guard creates a more efficient and accurate AI–powered system without compromising on image quality or network performance. The plug–in integrates seamlessly into the existing UI of the VMS, appearing as just another function tab. It allows users to easily manage the AI analytics from multiple i–PRO cameras and allows users to easily set up sophisticated search parameters based on the industry's largest number of search attributes which include gender, age, clothing color, facial characteristics, vehicle color and direction, and many more.

With Active Guard, Security Officers no longer have to spend time looking at multiple screens for persons or vehicles of interest or watch hours of recorded video to search for important events. Operators can register specific characteristics in their watch lists (for instance "male wearing a red shirt and blue pants") and the VMS will send them a real–time alarm whenever a match is identified, a feature that is unique to i–PRO. This enhances real–time situational awareness and enables proactive security. The same process can be set up for fast data mining of events during forensic investigations.

The metadata is captured and analyzed by i–PRO AI network cameras at the edge, which use the powerful Ambarella SoC, reducing bandwidth and eliminating the need for expensive servers. i–PRO Active Guard is a light–load and unique in the industry in that the edge–processed AI data results are sent to the Active Guard server eliminating the requirement for additional on–premises servers. The metadata is then searched and presented in the Active Guard plugin on the client.

For more information, visit

https://i–pro.com/global/en/surveillance/featured–products/i–pro–active–guard

About i–PRO

i–PRO Co., Ltd., is a global leader of advanced sensing technologies in the fields of Intelligent Surveillance, Public Safety and Industrial/Medical Imaging. Established in 2019, i–PRO was built on a legacy of over 60 years of innovation with Panasonic. The company's products, software and services extend human senses to capture moments of truth with innovations that inform and protect. In order to help create a safer world, i–PRO Co., Ltd., supports the work of professionals who protect and save lives.

i–PRO is a trademark of i–PRO Co., Ltd. Other trademarks used in this document may be trademarks of the manufacturers or vendors of the respective product.

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