Sunday, December 13, 2009 DUBAI: Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit nation and the current unsettled weather pattern will continueThe UAE has received season’s heaviest rainfall today which was particularly higher in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit nation and the current unsettled weather pattern will continue.The weather bureau has recorded more than 60 millimetres of rain in Al Foa, a suburban town in Al Ain, 24.4 millimetres over Jebel Hafeat, and 20 millimetres at Al Ain International Airport. Abu Dhabi has received 33.1 millimetres of rain until this morning and Dubai has also received intermittent rain.Rain water has inundated different areas, including streets, roundabouts, and markets in Al Ain city, forcing people to stay in-door. Attendance in school and office was also affected as the city was receiving heavy down power at around 7am.According to National Centre of Meteorology (NCMS), conditions will continue to be cloudy in most areas in the country, particularly in coastal areas, mountains, and islands in the Arabian Gulf. An official at Dubai Met Office said the rain and thunderstorms would continue throughout the day.The sea is also rough and vehicular traffic on roads is also affected. A big traffic jam was reported by a commuter on Al Ain-Abu Dhabi Road near Bani Yas, a town outside Abu Dhabi city. “We have been stuck for more than an hour,” said Sarkar Haider, a motorists.The maximum temperature is expected to be 24 degree Celsius and minimum will be 19 degree Celsius in Dubai and most of the other parts of the emirates.
BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
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