Saudi Arabia installing cranes at Yemen ports to boost aid delivery

Agencies

August 19, 2017

New York, Aug 19: Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was installing four cranes at three ports in Yemen to help boost humanitarian aid deliveries and was ready to assist with installing cranes at the key port of Hodeidah once it was under control of a neutral party.

The Saudi mission at the UN said in a statement that the cranes were being installed at the ports of Aden, Mukalla and Al-Mokha — which are all under the control of a Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen.

The coalition has said it is determined to help Yemen’s government retake all areas of the country held by Houthi militias, including Hodeidah port, and would ensure alternative entry routes for badly needed food and medicine.

The UN has worked to avert attacks on Hodeidah, a vital Red Sea aid delivery point for millions of Yemenis in danger of slipping into famine. Around 80 percent of Yemen’s food imports arrive via Hodeidah.

“Saudi Arabia is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation,” it said. “We have always supported every effort to ensure that the people of Yemen receive the aid and relief they require especially in times of crisis.”

The coalition began an air campaign in March 2015 to help defeat the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

The coalition has accused the Houthis of using the port to smuggle weapons and ammunition and has called for UN monitors to be posted there.

The UN has proposed that Hodeidah be handed to a neutral party to smooth the flow of humanitarian relief and prevent the port being engulfed by Yemen’s two-year-old war.

“The coalition... reaffirms its readiness to facilitate the immediate installation of cranes at the port of Hodeidah, in line with the secretary-general’s special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed latest proposals,” the Saudi statement said.

The UN Security Council urged the warring parties in Yemen in June to reach a UN-brokered deal on management of Hodeidah and resumption of government salary payments as the country slides closer to famine.

Top UN officials last month accused the parties fighting in Yemen and their international allies of fueling an unprecedented deadly cholera outbreak, driving millions closer to famine and hindering humanitarian aid access.

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Deadly Beirut blast could have been missile attack or bomb, says president

Agencies

August 8,2020

Beirut, Aug 7: A devastating explosion that destroyed much of Beirut might have been the result of a missile attack or bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said, as the death toll from the blast rose to 154.

More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting in a port warehouse for six years, but there have been conflicting accounts about why Lebanese authorities decided to empty the shipment of explosive material. The vessel carrying the flammable cargo was heading from Georgia to Mozambique when it stopped in the Lebanese port to load up on iron, according to the ship’s captain.

By Friday, 19 suspects had been arrested and Lebanon’s former director general of customs Chafic Merhy had been questioned by military police.

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All you need to know about Saudi Arabia's Tawakkalna App

coastaldigest.com web desk

May 21,2020

The Tawakkalna application developed by Saudi Arabia's National Information Centre to processes requests for movement permits during the curfew to curb the spread of the virus has become a major helplnine for past few weeks.

The application developed through the close cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) was launched on May 4.

According to Saudi Telecom Group, it handles 20,000 calls daily through the Tawakkalna platform by dedicating a call centre of 600 employees through its Contact Centre Company (CCC).

The Tawakkalna app can be used to issue e-permits for a selected group of government and private sector employees who were exempted from the curfew, and individuals who have medical appointments as well as couriers.

Tawakkalna has features for the service of citizens and residents, for ensuring their safety and comfort that would contribute to facilitating the access of authorized persons to travel permits.

The official page about Tawakkalna on Twitter, says: “You must always keep in mind that pinpointing your exact location of residence is the only way for you to benefit from the app’s range of services and permits.”

The app will also provide the latest alerts and medical news issued by the Ministry of Health about the virus as well as about its spread, ways to prevent it and movement permits.

Tawakkalna can be used for self-disclosure for people who show signs of coronavirus infection and for requesting ambulance service and other important services for the community.

Through the app users can apply for a one-hour permit for a walk in the neighborhood on a daily basis, thereby encouraging walking during this period of lockdown.

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sir,

i am facing problem for receiving OTP code during registration for my family. i am unable to get OTP code.

please assist.

Entering date of birth is the big problem is the big problem of this app.

Dob entering problem

Hi,

I am trying to register in the Tawakkalna app, but it keeps on throwing error. Any idea?

thanx

B I

R8NEB24

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Dubai company sacks Indian expat for Islamophobic FB post over corona

Gulf News

April 12,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 12: In the backdrop of rising tide of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia on the social media, a company in Dubai sacked an employee from Hyderabad for his hate-filled posts on Facebook.

Bala Krishna Nakka from Hyderabad, who was working as Chief Accountant at Dubai’s Moro Hub Data Solutions Company, was sacked after his Facebook went viral evoking widespread condemnation. The man had posted images on his Facebook page which showed Muslims as suicide bombers wearing bombs in the form of coronavirus cells.

It triggered demands both on Facebook and Twitter for action against him. In a quick response the company announced that the person was being sacked from his job, as the company had zero tolerance towards hate propaganda.

Moro Hub said in a statement: “At Moro, we take a zero tolerance attitude to material that is or may be deemed Islamophoic or hate speech. The tweets that we have been alerted to do not, in any way, reflect Moro’s brand values.”

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in India, a more intense hate propaganda has been unleashed by right wing elements on social media targeting India’s Muslim minority, some of whom are based in Gulf region.

As both the mainstream media, especially Indian TV channels, as well as social media users, have unleashed a campaign linking the spread of virus to a Muslim missionary organisation, the Tableeghi Jamaat, in India, a fresh war of words has broken out on social media.

While some activists have taken up it on themselves to highlight the hate propaganda and draw the attention of employers to such hate mongers, the right wing social media handles have also launched their own counter-offensives against such activists.

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