Algeria Shows Interest in China’s Expertise in Building Warships

Algerian Army chief Gen. Said Chanegriha visits the Naval Base in Shanghai. (Algerian Defense Ministry)
Algerian Army chief Gen. Said Chanegriha visits the Naval Base in Shanghai. (Algerian Defense Ministry)
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Algeria Shows Interest in China’s Expertise in Building Warships

Algerian Army chief Gen. Said Chanegriha visits the Naval Base in Shanghai. (Algerian Defense Ministry)
Algerian Army chief Gen. Said Chanegriha visits the Naval Base in Shanghai. (Algerian Defense Ministry)

Algerian Army chief Gen. Said Chanegriha showed interest in purchasing special equipment from the Chinese Navy a few days after he expressed the desire of the Algerian Air Force to benefit from Beijing’s expertise in drone manufacturing.

During his official visit to China that started a week ago, Chanegriha toured the Naval Base in Shanghai, where he was briefed on its tasks and the vessels and naval equipment, the Algerian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

He also toured the frigate Chan Ju docked at the same base and was briefed on Chinese naval technology used in building warships.

On Friday, he visited the Chinese company (CSTC), a subsidiary of the group (CSSC), which specializes in the manufacturing of vessels, especially military warships.

Chanegriha arrived in Shanghai on Thursday where he held a meeting with Brigadier General Shu Shi Jin, Political Commissioner of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Shanghai. According to the Ministry statement, they discussed bilateral military cooperation between their armies.

Chanegriha visited the Beijing headquarters of CATIC AFIC Global, a company specialized in the manufacturing of aircraft and aeronautical equipment.

The Defense Ministry said he was shown a presentation on the company’s products, including aircraft designed for search and rescue and firefighting, as well as helicopters and reconnaissance planes.

Chanegriha and his accompanying delegation held extensive discussions with company officials, delving into potential areas of bilateral cooperation in military industries.

The Algerian General also visited ELINC, a subsidiary of the CEC group, focused on the production of technologies, electronic systems, and cyber defense.

Earlier last week, Chanegriha visited the 72nd Unit of the Chinese Air Forces and the Falcon Brigade headquarters of the Special Military Police, where he and his accompanying delegation followed a military series of demonstration and exercises that highlight the combat skills and readiness of the Chinese forces in the face of any type of potential threat.



UN Begins Polio Vaccination in Gaza, as Fighting Rages

 Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Begins Polio Vaccination in Gaza, as Fighting Rages

 Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather during a polio vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 1, 2024. (Reuters)

The United Nations, in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities, began to vaccinate 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with Israel and Hamas agreeing to brief pauses in their 11-month war to allow the campaign to go ahead.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

The campaign began on Sunday in areas of central Gaza, and will move to other areas in coming days. Fighting will pause for at least eight hours on three consecutive days.

The WHO said the pauses will likely need to extend to a fourth day and the first round of vaccinations will take just under two weeks.

'Complex’ campaign

"This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world," said Juliette Touma, communications director of UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency.

"Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time," Touma told Reuters.

Israel and Hamas, who have so far failed to conclude a deal that would end the war, said they would cooperate to allow the campaign to succeed.

WHO officials say at least 90% of the children need to be vaccinated twice with four weeks between doses for the campaign to succeed, but it faces huge challenges in Gaza, which has been largely destroyed by the war.

"Children continue to be exposed, it knows no borders, checkpoints or lines of fighting. Every child must be vaccinated in Gaza and Israel to curb the risks of this vicious disease spreading," said Touma.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to battle Hamas-led fighters in several areas across the Palestinian enclave. Residents said Israeli army troops blew up several houses in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, while tanks continued to operate in the northern Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun.

On Sunday, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where they were apparently killed not long before Israeli troops reached them, the military said.

The war was triggered after Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 stormed into southern Israel killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages by Israeli tallies.

Since then, at least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Gaza, the enclave's health ministry says.