The GCC has condemned the Houthi hijacking of a UAE-flagged vessel off the coast of Yemen.
It said it supported the UAE and any response to hijacking, which took place near the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Sunday.
Brig Gen Turki Al Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels, confirmed on Monday that the cargo ship, the Rawabi, had been hijacked.
He said the Rawabi had been taking a Saudi field hospital from Yemen's Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean to Jazan in the south of the kingdom.
"The militia must promptly release the ship," Brig Gen Al Malki said, "or the coalition forces will undertake all necessary measures and procedures to handle this violation, including the use of force if necessary."
Separately, the US also condemned the hijacking.
"We urge the Houthis to immediately release the ship and crew unharmed and to cease all violence that sets back the political process to end the war in Yemen," State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.
The GCC's Monday evening statement came after Kuwait condemned the hijacking. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it considered the incident a “criminal act that threatens global trade”.
It is not the first time the Houthi rebels have targeted shipping.
In November 2019, the Houthis seized two South Korean vessels and a Saudi-flagged tug in the Red Sea a few kilometres off Uqban Island, north of Hodeidah. In July the year before, Riyadh said the rebels attacked two Saudi-operated oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Also on Tuesday, the coalition said Saudi defences intercepted and destroyed five drones launched at the kingdom from Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.
It said “operational options” were on the table to respond to Houthi threats.
Drones and rockets are launched at Saudi Arabia on a near-daily basis, some landing in residential areas and causing civilian casualties.
The hijacking and rockets come as the Houthis push a ferocious assault on Marib, the Yemeni government's last northern stronghold. In November, the rebels took control of a large area south of Hodeidah.
Since the surge in fighting, the rebels have increased their rocket and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and the coalition has stepped up its air strikes.
Saudi Arabia leads the Arab coalition that intervened in Yemen at the request of the internationally recognised government nearly seven years ago following the rebel takeover of the capital.
The civil war has caused what the UN has describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
International attempts to stop the war have so far made little progress.
In late November, the UN said the war will have killed 377,000 people by the year's end, both directly and indirectly through hunger and disease.
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
RESULTS
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
Jawan
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bedu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaled%20Al%20Huraimel%2C%20Matti%20Zinder%2C%20Amin%20Al%20Zarouni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%2C%20metaverse%2C%20Web3%20and%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Currently%20in%20pre-seed%20round%20to%20raise%20%245%20million%20to%20%247%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%20funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; 5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; 6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m
