The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain’s capital of Manama said it will close its offices between 3 and 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, following calls for protests in the area. “Out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. Embassy will be closed to all personnel,” the embassy wrote on X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
The Associated Press has the story:
U.S. Embassy in Bahrain temporarily closed after protests
Newslooks- (AP)
CAIRO — The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain’s capital of Manama said it will close its offices between 3 and 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, following calls for protests in the area.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. Embassy will be closed to all personnel,” the embassy wrote on X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
It advised U.S. citizens to avoid the area around its premises, and areas with large crowd.
US NEGOTIATING FOR THE TEMPORARY REOPENING OF BORDER CROSSING
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A senior State Department official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday the U.S. has been trying to negotiate with the Israelis, Egyptians and Qataris on opening the Rafah border crossing to allow foreigners to leave Gaza.
The official said the plan was to open the crossing from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. But the official said it isn’t clear if Hamas will allow convoys to get there unimpeded.
He said U.S. officials have been reaching out to Americans known to be in Gaza to let them know.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations.
JAPAN SENDS EVACUATION PLANES TO STAND BY IN DJIBOUTI
TOKYO — Japan on Saturday dispatched three defense planes to a military base in Djibouti in East Africa to have them on standby in case of the need to airlift Japanese nationals from Israel and Gaza.
The Self-Defense Force’s Joint Staff said a KC-767 transport and refueling plane left the Komaki Air Base in central Japan on Saturday, while two C-2 transport aircraft left Miho Air Base in western Japan.
Japan maintains a base in Djibouti as part of an anti-piracy mission. The three planes are expected to arrive as early as Sunday to be on stand by in case a plan to evacuate Japanese nationals by a charter flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai becomes difficult due to safety reasons.
The government is reportedly considering options to evacuate Japanese nationals by land if necessary.
