UK to charter flight for British nationals out of Dubai

Published

1 month ago

2026/03/8

Priyan

The UK government will charter a flight from Dubai early next week for British nationals wanting to leave the region.

It comes as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to be affected by the conflict.

On Saturday, a resident was killed by falling shrapnel from a “aerial interception” officials said, and a drone strike was also caught on camera near the city’s international airport.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier that Iran would not attack neighbours “unless attacked first”.

Qatar also reported missile and drone attacks on Saturday.

The government’s commercial flight will be available for a charge. British nationals, their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible to register.

Two government-chartered flights so far have returned British citizens from Muscat, Oman.

The first landed at Stansted airport on Friday, the second at Gatwick airport on Saturday. A third flight will leave Muscat on Sunday.

The Foreign Office said the Dubai flight will be in addition to commercial routes operating out of the UAE and will leave early next week.

The government says all passengers must hold a valid travel document and non-British dependants will require a valid visa or permission to enter or remain that was granted for more than six months.

The Foreign Office will contact people directly to issue them a ticket and will prioritise those who are vulnerable, such as those with urgent medical needs.

More than 160,000 people have registered their presence in the region with the Foreign Office.

Air travel via Dubai, one of the world’s busiest airports, has been severely disrupted since Iran began launching retaliatory strikes at Gulf nations in response to the US and Israel’s offensive.

Last week, Emirates briefly suspended all flights from Dubai, which is a popular tourist destination for UK nationals.

On Saturday, footage verified by the BBC showed what appeared to be a drone striking within the perimeter of Dubai International Airport.

The footage, filmed from an industrial area just south of the airport, captured an explosion close to a terminal building.

The UAE government has not commented on the incident.

Throughout the week, British people who have been stranded in the region have told the BBC about their experiences.

On 28 February, Victoria Cameron, from Larkhall in Scotland, was queuing to get into her Dubai hotel when the first Iranian missiles struck the city.

“Then the staff said ‘run, run, leave your suitcases’. They rushed us all to the side of the hotel.

“Our phones were going off, saying ’emergency, emergency’. We were crying, we were shaking.”

Cameron arrived back in Edinburgh on Wednesday on an Emirates airline flight.

Stuart Carson was staying at Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai on Saturday when it was struck, causing his “whole room to completely shake”.

“Once dawn broke, we started to feel a bit more comfortable with the situation and just gathered our thoughts and had breakfast in the hotel,” he said.

He arrived back home in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, after a number of earlier flights he had booked were cancelled by airlines.

[BBC]

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 12.00 noon 21 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 21 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, Northcentral, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities

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US, Iran exchange threats as fragile ceasefire set to expire

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

The temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran is set to expire before a resolution as tension grows between the countries [Aljazeera]

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after United States President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday without a deal.

The war of words comes as the second round of US-Iran peace talks scheduled to take place this week in Pakistan remains in limbo after the US and Iranian flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, angering Iranian authorities and provoking another surge in global oil prices.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said, “There is no official confirmation on whether Iran is going to take part in talks in Islamabad.”

“We know that Iran has tried to keep the door ajar to diplomacy, so there is still a possibility,” he added.

In an overnight post on X, Ghalibaf expressed anger at Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire”.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” he said.

This was a “mixed message”, according to Asadi, “saying Iran is ready for negotiations but not under terms imposed by the US”.

“There will be no easy negotiations, if, of course, they even happen, as there are still several complicated sticking points. Both sides have a long list of demands, including relating to the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, war reparations, ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional relations,” Asadi said.

Meanwhile, Trump said he was confident that Iran would negotiate, adding that the country would otherwise “see problems”.

He told PBS News on Monday that if the ceasefire expires without a deal, then “lots of bombs start going off”.

[Aljazeera]

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Six Foreign Envoys Present Credentials to President Dissanayake

Published

4 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

Two High Commissioners, three Ambassadors and an Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See presented their credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (20).

The ceremony, held at 10.00 a.m., followed the formal order of precedence, with the envoys representing Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Luxembourg, the Holy See, Pakistan and Kuwait.

Accordingly, diplomats who presented their credentials were:

01. Vincent Sumale, High Commissioner-designate of Papua New Guinea (Based in New Delhi)

02. Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa, Ambassador-designate of Somalia (Based in New Delhi)

03. Christian Biever, Ambassador-designate of Luxembourg (Based in New Delhi)

04. Monsignor Andrzej Józwowicz, Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See

05. Major General (Retd) Nayyar Naseer, High Commissioner-designate of Pakistan

06. Saleh Mubarak Al-Sarawi, Ambassador-designate of Kuwait

Following the presentation of credentials, the President engaged in a cordial discussion with them. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, and the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, were also in attendance.