Beirut, Apr 16: At least 68 children were among those killed in the car bomb attack on a convoy carrying evacuees from besieged government-held towns in Syria, a monitor said today.
Yestersay's attack in Rashidin west of Aleppo killed at least 126 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating a previous toll of 112 dead.
At least 109 of those killed were evacuees from the towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, it said, while the rest were aid workers and rebels guarding the convoy.
Tehran, Apr 13: Iranian armed forces have seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions across the region after a deadly Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria.
The incident comes amid Israel bracing for Iranian retaliation after the regime's April 1 strike on a building in the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed seven IRGC military advisors, including two generals.
The ship was commandeered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite force that lost seven members in the Syria strike, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.
“The ship has now been guided towards the territorial waters of our country,” state-run IRNA reported.
The vessel was identified as the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries, which reportedly departed from a port in the United Arab Emirates en route to India.
Footage from the deck of the vessel obtained by The Associated Press news agency on Saturday showed soldiers rappelling down from a helicopter.
The helicopter appeared to be a Soviet-designed Mil Mi-17, which is operated by the naval forces of the IRGC.
Zodiac Maritime said in a statement that MSC is responsible for all vessel activities.
“Title to the vessel is held by Gortal Shipping Inc as financier and she has been leased to MSC on a long-term basis. Gortal Shipping Inc is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime,” it said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had said a vessel was seized by “regional authorities” 50 nautical miles (92km) northeast of the UAE’s Fujairah in a waterway vital to world trade.
Another Israeli-linked container ship was attacked and damaged by a drone in the Indian Ocean in late November, which the United States blamed on Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X that the move by Iran was “a pirate operation in violation of international law”.
He called on the European Union and “the free world to immediately declare” the IRGC a “terrorist organization and to sanction Iran now”.
The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, is a main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew.
Qatar and Kuwait have banned any use of their airspace and air bases for attacks against Iran amid heightened tensions between Iran and the Israeli regime following an Israeli attack early this month on an Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria.
Reports on Saturday indicated that both Qatar and Kuwait had issued directives to the United States stressing that the US military will not be allowed to use air bases in the two countries for carrying out any potential airstrikes on Iran.
Qatar and Kuwait have also indicated that their airspace will not be available for any military action against Iran.
The US has military aircraft at the Ali Al Salem Air Base and Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait. The Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is also the largest US air base in the West Asia region.
The directives issued by Iran’s two Arab neighbors come amid reports showing that Iran is preparing to respond to an Israeli airstrike that killed two of its senior military commanders in its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.
Washington has urged Iran to deescalate while saying that it will defend Israel in case it is attacked.
Iran, which has no direct relations with the US, has called on regional Arab countries to advise the US not to interfere if Israel is attacked.
Countries have been wary of a major confrontation in the region more than six months into an Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
Reports show they have already limited the ability of the US to use their airspace and air bases for attacks on resistance groups that are allied with Iran and have been attacking Israeli and US interests in the region since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Dubai: Dubai was slapped by heavy floods as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hit by extremely heavy rains on Tuesday. The desert city received over a year and a half's worth of rain in just a day even as heavy thunderstorms lashed other parts of the UAE.
Roads turned into rivers as they were filled up with water. Shopping centres like Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates were also seen flooding.
Schools across the UAE have been shut and are expected to remain closed on today as well.
According to a report by India Today, Dubai airport received about 100 mm of rain in just 12 hours on Tuesday and a total of 160 mm in the last 24 hours.
On average, Dubai receives about 88.9 mm of rain in a year, which concludes that the city received more than a year's rain in a day.
Dubai International Airport said on Wednesday it was experiencing significant disruption due to bad weather and was working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
Flights have been delayed or diverted and impacted by displaced crew, the airport said in a statement, adding that recovery would take some time.
Dubai's Emirates airline said that it was suspending check-in for passengers departing the airport from 8 am (0400 GMT) on Wednesday until midnight due to operational challenges caused by the bad weather and road conditions.
Dubai International was temporarily diverting arriving flights on Tuesday evening because of a storm, and operations were suspended for 25 minutes earlier in the day.
According to India Today, the airport stopped flight operations and issued a warning earlier today on X.
The Dubai International Airport requested the passengers to check their flight status.
Employees in Dubai have been told to work from home.
The UAE Government took to X and said, "Based on the directives of the Council of Ministers, it was decided to extend remote work until tomorrow, Wednesday, April 17, for all federal government employees, with the exception of jobs that require presence at the workplace, taking into account the weather condition that the country is going through."
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