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Saudi Arabia Signs Cooperation Deal With UN Agency to Empower Children in Cyberspace

NCA Gov. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti and ITU’s telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin signing the agreement in Geneva (Asharq Al-Awsat)
NCA Gov. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti and ITU’s telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin signing the agreement in Geneva (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs Cooperation Deal With UN Agency to Empower Children in Cyberspace

NCA Gov. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti and ITU’s telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin signing the agreement in Geneva (Asharq Al-Awsat)
NCA Gov. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti and ITU’s telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin signing the agreement in Geneva (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority signed a strategic partnership agreement with the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on Thursday, launching the global program on “Creating a Safe and Prosperous Cyberspace for Children".

National Cybersecurity Authority Gov. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti and ITU’s telecommunication development bureau director Doreen Bogdan-Martin penned the accord at the union’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Delegates from both sides attended the ceremony, including the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, envoy Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Wasel, and deputy governor of the NCA for international cooperation, Majid bin Mohammed Al-Mazyed.

The program launch will reinforce Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s international initiative to protect children in the cyberworld, announced in February at the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh.

The agreement will focus on developing best practices, policies, and programs to protect children against increasing cyber threats targeting them while using the internet. It will also provide guidance on keeping children safe in cyberspace via at least 50 global training programs offered in the UN’s official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

More than 500 open consultation sessions will be held to follow up on the implementation of the program.

Trainers around the world will be advised on how to implement guidance and develop mobile apps and entertaining educational games that would contribute to achieving the aims of the scheme.

The program will also support countries in evaluating, developing, and improving relevant policies, launching awareness campaigns, enriching discussions on child protection in developing nations, and establishing task forces to help countries set up child protection programs.

ITU secretary-general, Houlin Zhao, praised the Kingdom’s role in supporting international activities to protect children in cyberspace.

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Deadly Floods Bring Relief to Moroccan Farmers

Residents walk on a flooded street in Morocco's Ouarzazate city on September 7, 2024. (AFP)
Residents walk on a flooded street in Morocco's Ouarzazate city on September 7, 2024. (AFP)
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Deadly Floods Bring Relief to Moroccan Farmers

Residents walk on a flooded street in Morocco's Ouarzazate city on September 7, 2024. (AFP)
Residents walk on a flooded street in Morocco's Ouarzazate city on September 7, 2024. (AFP)

When powerful thunderstorms hit Morocco's arid south, they brought deadly floods but also provided some relief to farmers as the country grapples with its worst drought in nearly 40 years.

The torrential rains at the weekend triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara desert.

While the rain was devastating in part, it also brought some relief to farmers growing crops like almonds, dates and cereals.

"These rains will bring a breath of fresh air" to the south, said agronomist Mohamed Taher Srairi.

"But it has not rained elsewhere, and the country remains under a heavy structural drought."

The unusual rainfall resulted from a tropical air mass shifting northward, according to Lhoussaine Youabd, spokesman for Morocco's General Directorate of Meteorology.

Experts say climate change is making extreme weather, such as storms and droughts, more frequent and intense.

Morocco is one of the world's most water-stressed nations, with frequent droughts affecting a third of the population employed in agriculture.

Near areas of the northwest African country lashed by the weekend's rain, water levels in dams have risen and groundwater is expected to replenish.

The four Draa Oued Noun dams, which supply areas impacted by the floods in the Ouarzazate region, saw water levels increase by 19 percent to 191 million cubic meters, according to Youssef Ben Hamou, director of the agency managing the barrages.

The region of Ouarzazate, located in Morocco's south, sits between the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara.

Water levels of the large Ouarzazate dam climbed to 69 million cubic meters, roughly 70 percent of its capacity, while levels at the Fask dam rose by 10 million cubic meters in just 24 hours.

- Rains bring hope -

"The rains have proved to be a boon for the region, because these reserves will be able to ensure drinking water supply which remains a priority," said Ben Hamou.

Mohamed Jalil, a water resources consultant, said the downpours would help to replenish soil saturation levels, although that usually requires rainfall over time after a long drought.

"This will bring respite to the oases, particularly for agriculture," he said.

The psychological impact of the long-awaited rains was also significant, he said, especially after a harsh, dry summer.

The massive rainfall had "brought hope" to the drought-hit area, he said.

The Moroccan government has pledged financial aid to the flooded areas.

During a visit to Ouarzazate this week, Agriculture Minister Mohammed Sadiki announced the allocation of $4.1 million to repair damaged infrastructure, support agriculture and help those affected by the floods.

Although no further downpours are expected in the immediate future, climatologists warn that Morocco must better prepare for weather disasters driven by global warming.

Moroccans should be ready "for new phenomena whose frequency and violence are unknown, given the effects of climate change", said Mohamed Said Karrouk, a climatology professor at Hassan II University in Casablanca.