AL-MUKALLA: Authorities in southern Yemen have declared a state of emergency, suspended schools and told fishermen stay home as the country braces for Cyclone Tej with torrential rain, high seas and wind speeds of up to 110 km per hour.
The India Meteorological Department said on Saturday that a cyclone brewing in the Arabian Sea is likely to develop into a severe cyclonic storm over the next 24 hours, threatening Yemen’s Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean before striking coastal areas between Yemen and Oman early on Wednesday.
DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed received a phone call from Lloyd Austin, US secretary of defense, state-run WAM news agency said Friday.
They discussed “cooperation between the UAE and the US in defense matters as part of the strategic relations that bind the two countries.
“They also addressed serious regional developments and escalation that threatens to exacerbate violence and instability, undermine security in the Middle East and jeopardize the likelihood of achieving peace,” the statement added.
CAIRO: Egyptian media on Saturday said preparations were underway to open the Rafah crossing to allow the passage of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Televised footage showed trucks moving towards the the crossing in what appeared to be preparation to let trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza from Egypt.
The US Embassy in Israel said the Gaza-Egypt border may open on Saturday, suggesting that such a move would enable foreigners to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave.