AL-MUKALLA: Security forces in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, the interim capital of Yemen, have seized a new consignment of drone components intended for the Iran-backed Houthis.
Security Belt Forces in Aden said in a statement that their forces recovered a number of sealed boxes containing telecommunication equipment meant to guide drones hidden in a truck in Aden’s Al-Mansoura district traveling to Houthi-controlled regions.

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday met Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, at Al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman, Jordan News Agency reported.

The two parties discussed ways of boosting defense cooperation between the countries, as well as regional and international efforts to combat terrorism. 

Gen. Yousef Hneiti, chairman of Jordan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also present at the meeting.
 

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s MPs will try on Wednesday for the 12th time to elect a successor to Michel Aoun whose presidential term ended in October.
Former ministers Suleiman Frangieh and Jihad Azour officially announced their candidacy for the presidency two days prior to the 12th scheduled parliamentary voting session.
The Maronite Patriarchate has declared that it remains “equidistant from all candidates.”

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities said three British tourists were missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in caught fire on the Red Sea coastline on Sunday.

The Red Sea Governorate said 26 people including 12 crew members were rescued when the medium-sized scuba diving boat, Hurricane, went up in flames off the southern Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam.

A search party was launched to find the remaining three tourists.

Citing initial investigations, Egyptian authorities said an electrical short circuit in the boat’s engine room sparked the blaze.

TUNIS: The European Union on Sunday said it is considering more than one billion euros in aid to boost crisis-hit Tunisia’s economy and reduce the flow of irregular migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.
The North African country, highly indebted and in talks for an IMF bailout loan, is a gateway for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting the dangerous voyages to Europe.