RIYADH: The joint Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tactical exercise titled “Arab Gulf Security 2” started yesterday in the UAE, with the participation of GCC security forces.

The drill was designed to enhance coordination, effectiveness and the exchange of experiences among interior security sectors of the participating countries to confront joint challenges and threats, and develop skills in an operation environment.

Saudi security forces prepared for the exercise at a camp in Riyadh, during which a number of scenarios were war gamed.
 

DUBAI: The UAE announced a new coronavirus case on  Monday bringing the number of those infected in the Emirates to eight.

The latest case is an Indian national who had been in recent contact with one of the other cases, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said.

Five Chinese and two Filipinos had already had the coronavirus diagnosed.

The ministry said all the cases were in a stable condition apart from one who was being treated in an intensive care unit “under close observation by a team of senior consultants.”

On Sunday, the ministry said 73-year-old Liu Yujia from China had made a full recovery.

“We assure members of the community that we are taking all adequate preventive measures including check-ups and observation of the patients’ escorts,” it added.

WASHINGTON: The US military is preparing to report a more than 50 percent jump in the number of cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, US officials told Reuters on Monday.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there were now over 100 cases of TBI, up from the 64 that had been previously reported last month.
The Pentagon declined to comment.

AMMAN: Nearly 700,000 civilians have been displaced by a renewed Russian-backed Syrian government offensive against the rebel-held northwest since early December, including nearly 100,000 in the last week alone, the United Nations said on Monday.
Davis Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the situation was increasingly dire near the border with Turkey where over 400,000 people had already taken shelter from earlier anti-rebel offensives last year before the latest campaign.

CAIRO: The Egyptian army said it had thwarted a terrorist attack on a security base on Sunday in the Sinai peninsula, killing 10 gunmen.
Military spokesperson, Col. Tamer El-Rifai, said that the Egyptian armed forces prevented the terrorist attack on one of its security bases in North Sinai and a four-wheel drive vehicle used by the terrorists was also destroyed.
The standoff also killed two officers and left five others injured. 
The military spokesperson said the attack occurred at 5pm local time (3pm GMT)
“The search operations and the pursuit of terrorist elements are being conducted to eliminate them in the Al-Hadath region,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.
The armed forces and the police also confirmed their continued efforts to eliminate and uproot terrorism.