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Sandstorm spreads to Qatar; normal life disrupted

April 2, 2015

Doha, Apr 2: Citing “extreme weather conditions,” Qatar’s Supreme Education Council has decided that private and public schools should remain shut today.

Several universities are also closed today, including Northwestern University in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Georgetown University in Qatar and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. The College of the North Atlantic Qatar has also announced it will be shut.

The move comes as Qatar residents wake up after one of the worst sandstorms the country has seen in years.

Sandstorm Qatar2

The weather is a result of a high pressure front from Saudi Arabia, which has also shut many of its schools in certain parts of the country, Arab News reports.

Hamad Airport

Early this morning, a number of flights due to depart from Hamad International Airport (HIA) were delayed due to the adverse weather, an airport representative said, although only one was canceled.

A Jet Airways flight to Mumbai had been scheduled to take off at 3:20am, but was delayed for more than three hours and is now set to take off at 7am.

A Qatar Airways flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka was also delayed by more than three hours as it finally took off at 4:30am, instead of its scheduled 12:55am.

Another Qatar Airways flight, this time to Riyadh, suffered delays of nearly six hours as the flight which had been set to leave at 1:10am is now due to leave at 7am.

R1157 from Dammam (KSA) which was due to arrive in Doha at 5:10am has been rescheduled for a 9:25am arrival, while QR1167 from Riyadh was delayed from its 5:25am arrival and is now due to arrive in Qatar at 10:50am.

Finally, a Fly Dubai flight to Dubai which was due to leave Doha at 3:10am was canceled.

However, most flights appear to have landed this morning as scheduled, without incurring any significant delays.

And the airport representative told Doha News that most flights would be flying on schedule for the rest of the morning. Still, passengers due to travel today are advised to check with their airline for the latest status update.

Weather forecast

According to the Qatar Meteorology Department (MET), wind speeds here are forecast to reach as high as 35 knots inshore (65km/hour) and 38 knots (70km/hour) offshore.

Dusty conditions are expected to prevail through Friday, though the worst of this sandstorm should be over by lunchtime, says Steff Gaulter, senior meteorologist at Al Jazeera English:

For those reporting to work today, the Ministry of Interior has warned of almost zero visibility on the roads, and reminded people to please refrain from using their hazard lights:

Here’s a roundup of what people are experiencing around town:

Sandstorm Qatar1

Sandstorm Qatar3

Sandstorm Qatar4

Sandstorm Qatar5

Sandstorm Qatar6

Sandstorm Qatar7

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News Network
January 6,2020

Riyadh, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions.

Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to possible Iranian reprisals after Tehran vowed "revenge" following the strike on Friday that killed powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not consulted regarding the US strike," a Saudi official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"In light of the rapid developments, the kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint to guard against all acts that may lead to escalation, with severe consequences," the official added.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry made a similar call for restraint at the weekend and King Salman emphasised the need for measures to defuse tensions in a phone call on Saturday with Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

In a separate phone call with Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed "the need to make efforts to calm the situation and de-escalate tensions", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The crown prince has instructed Prince Khalid bin Salman, his younger brother and deputy defence minister, to travel to Washington and London in the next few days to urge restraint, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

Prince Khalid will meet White House and US defence officials, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

The killing of Soleimani, seen as the second most powerful man in Iran, is the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Washington and Tehran and has prompted fears of a major conflagration in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump, who ordered the drone strike, has warned that Washington will hit Iran "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.

The American embassy in Riyadh on Sunday warned its citizens living close to military bases and oil and gas installations in the kingdom of a "heightened risk of missile and drone attacks".

A string of attacks blamed on Iran has caused anxiety in recent months, as Riyadh and Washington deliberated over how to react.

In particular, devastating strikes against Saudi oil installations last September led Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to adopt a more conciliatory approach aimed at avoiding confrontation with Tehran.

Analysts warn that pro-Iran groups have the capacity to carry out attacks on US bases in Gulf states as well as against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz -- the strategic waterway that Tehran could close at will.

"Expect Iranian reprisals (directly or through partner groups in Iraq, Lebanon or elsewhere) to target US partners in the region including Saudi Arabia," said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

"Given the climate in the US, where support for Saudi in the media and Congress is at an all time low, it will be difficult for Trump to commit significant resources to come to its aid."

Yemen's pro-Iran Huthi rebels, locked in a five-year conflict with a Saudi-led military coalition, have also called for swift reprisals for Soleimani's killing.

"The aggression... will not go without a response," said Huthi political council member Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti.

"How the response is going to be, when and where will be determined by Iraq and Iran, and we will stand with them as a hub for the resistance."

It was unclear if the Huthi warning was directed in part at Saudi Arabia, which has stepped up efforts to end Yemen's conflict amid a lull in Huthi attacks on the kingdom.

Saudi Arabian military commanders recently met with counterparts from "friendly countries" to formulate a new strategy to tackle the Yemeni rebels, particularly those "opposing" a political solution, according to Asharq al-Awsat.

Riyadh has said it will host a separate meeting of foreign ministers of Arab and African coastal states on Monday.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 25: Dusty weather to persist in the UAE on Monday as well with a chance of rainfall in parts of the country, the national Met department reported.

According to the NCM, the weather today will be fair to partly cloudy, with a chance of some convective clouds formation by afternoon - eastward and northward - extending to some internal areas that may be associated with some rainfall.

The weather will get humid by night and Tuesday morning over some coastal areas.

NCM predicts a wet Eid break.

Sharjah Police issued a weather warning as heavy rain flooded roads in Sharjah's Kalba among other areas.

Moderate to fresh winds will gain strength during the day causing blowing dust and sand.

The sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea.

Earlier on Sunday, a weather alert was issued by authorities as moderate to heavy rain - accompanied with hail - lashed parts of the UAE. A rainbow in Dubai skies cheered up residents, celebrating a unique Eid this year amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic - by mostly staying home.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Dubai, Jul 9: The Government of India has announced an additional 104 special repatriation flights from the UAE to India as part of the Vande Bharat Mission, Phase 4 from July 15 - 31.

According to a flight schedule listed on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) website, national carriers Air India and Air India Express flights have been scheduled to various cities in 10 Indian states. Each flight has a capacity of 177 passengers.

Vande Bharat Phase 4 officially began on July 3, and in an earlier press briefing Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs had said 'Phase 4 will focus on repatriation of Gulf-based Indians.

The new additional flights have been organised to cities in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, according to the MEA schedule. To the joy of expats from Maharashtra, at least seven flights have been planned to Mumbai, which has been a less serviced state since the start of the Vande Bharat Mission.

Consul Press, Information, and Culture, Consulate General of India in Dubai Neeraj Agarwal said, "Approximately 100 repatriation flights are planned for the next 23 days, including 50 from Dubai and Sharjah each. If all flights are full, we are looking to evacuate anything between 17,000 to 18,000 passengers in the coming days."

Booking for the newly announced flights will open soon, said Agarwal. "Some of them are already open, and others will be open in the next few days. However, a few flights are subject to slot approvals," he explained.

Commenting on the possibility of flights from India to the UAE, Agarwal said, "We express hope that this too will happen soon."  The flight schedule can be seen here: https://www.mea.gov.in/phase-4.htm

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