Middle East & North Africa

Yemen’s Defence Minister, Saudi-Led Coalition Discuss Combat Readiness Of Pro-Gov’t Troops

ADEN, Feb 10 (NNN-SABA) – Yemen’s defence minister, received yesterday, a military delegation from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, in the country’s southern port city of Aden.

Mohsen Muhammad Al-Daeri, along with local Yemeni government officials, held a meeting with the high-ranking Saudi delegation, on strengthening cooperation on the combat readiness of local pro-government armed forces.

Al-Daeri thanked the Saudi-led coalition for “generous support” and for their commitment to “the legitimate government and the rights of the Yemeni people.”

Turkey: Children plucked from ruins days after earthquake, but death tolls tops 22,000

ANTAKYA, Turkey/JANDARIS, Syria, Feb 10, (Reuters) - Rescue crews saved a 10-day-old baby and his mother trapped in ruins of a building in Turkey on Friday and dug several people from other sites as President Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to this week's huge earthquake.

The confirmed death toll from the deadliest quake in the region in two decades stood at more than 22,000 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria four days after it hit.

Huawei to invest 400 mln USD to establish cloud region in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech giant Huawei has announced an investment of 400 million U.S. dollars to establish a cloud region in Saudi Arabia.

The announcement was made on Thursday during LEAP 2023, Saudi Arabia's largest and most comprehensive Information and Communications Technology exhibition.

The investment aims to boost Saudi Arabia's digital economy and enable access to more advanced and secure cloud services for government, corporate and individuals, said the company.

Turkey’s lax policing of building codes flagged before quake

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has for years tempted fate by not enforcing modern construction codes while allowing — and in some cases, encouraging — a real estate boom in earthquake-prone areas, experts say.

The lax enforcement, which experts in geology and engineering have long warned about, is gaining renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of this week’s devastating earthquakes, which flattened thousands of buildings and killed more than 20,000 people across Turkey and Syria.

Turkiye engineer's disaster relief tank can help quench quake survivors' water needs

09 Feb 2023; MEMO: As Turkiye continues to deal with the devastation left in the wake of two of the biggest earthquakes in its history, a young Turkish engineer in the UK wants to help quench the needs of earthquake victims with an innovatively practical water tank.

Turkiye: too much earthquake news 'misleading' says government

09 Feb 2023; MEMO: Too much misleading news on social media about the devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria in the early hours of Monday morning prompted the government in Ankara to disable Twitter before agreeing with the company to tackle fake news.

The earthquake has killed at least 15,000 people and the death toll continues to rise as rescue workers continue to search for survivors under the rubble.

Israel: Ex-attorney general warns Netanyahu using judicial reforms to end his criminal trial

09 Feb 2023; MEMO: Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has warned that the judicial reforms proposed by the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are an effort to end the ongoing criminal trial against him.

During an interview with Channel 12, Mandelblit noted the timing of the proposals and Netanyahu's previous position on the judiciary, which he says indicate that the corruption trial was a key motivating factor for the prime minister.

Morocco mulls raising retirement age to 65

09 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Moroccan government has begun reviewing a major reform plan to the country's pension systems, including raising the retirement age to 65.

A study conducted at the end of 2022 at the Moroccan government's request, recommended raising the retirement age to 65 years in the public and private sectors.  It currently stands at 63 years in the public sector and 60 years in the private sector.

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