Schools in Riyadh will switch to remote learning for a week as attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi rebels intensify, according to emails sent to parents on Sunday and reported by AFP. The messages said the schools had "just been informed by the Saudi authorities" that they must remain closed all week, without giving a reason for the measure. A Lebanese expatriate living in the Saudi capital told AFP the decision had come at the last minute and that residents had no idea what was happening. The Iran-aligned Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, targeting Riyadh and Khamis Mushait, a city in the country's southwest that hosts a major air base. The Saudi armed forces said they intercepted drones and ballistic missiles launched from Yemen.
Yemen slid back into war in July after years of relative calm, when fighting resumed between the Houthis and the forces of the country's internationally recognised government. The Houthis control the capital Sanaa and Yemen's Red Sea coastline. The government controls much of the south and east of the country and is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
Oman calls for restraint
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called on Saturday for the countries involved in the war in the Middle East to show restraint, saying the sultanate remains ready to support any effort towards understanding. Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, he urged all parties to settle their remaining differences through dialogue and political foresight, in order to reach consensual political solutions and a lasting understanding that would benefit everyone. Albusaidi said Oman reaffirmed its "unwavering commitment" to efforts to restore the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Oman lies across the strait from Iran, and ships trying to get around Tehran's restrictions have recently been charting routes closer to the sultanate's coast.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he had rejected an Iranian proposal for a ceasefire and a process that would have allowed the Strait of Hormuz to reopen within seven days. Before the war, around 20% of the hydrocarbons consumed worldwide passed through the strategic waterway. It has been at the centre of the conflict since the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic on 28 February. Iran has since claimed full control of the strait and has closed it de facto, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Gulf in retaliation.
Source: CNA; AFP
