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Cyclone Mekunu leaves scenes of devastation in Oman

A flooded street in Salalah, Oman. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Getty Images

Officials say at least five people have been reported dead after a major cyclone hit Oman and Yemen, the Associated Press reports.

The details, per Axios' Andrew Freedman: Making landfall as a Category 3 storm near the city of Salalah, Tropical Cyclone Mekunu was the strongest such storm to hit Oman since reliable records began in the 1950s. In less than a day, it dumped more rain than that desert region typically sees in a year. At least 30 people were reported missing, per the AP.

See the damage:
A car stuck in a flooded street in the southern city of Salalah, Oman. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Getty Images
A flooded street in the southern city of Salalah as the country prepares for landfall of Cyclone Mekunu. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Getty Images
Omanis take pictures on the beach as high waves break along the shore. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Getty Images
Cars on a flooded street in Salalah. Photo: Mohammed Mahjoub/AFP/Getty Images

Flashback: Cyclone Mekunu rolls ashore in Oman, threatening historic disaster

Go deeper

Zachary Basu
35 mins ago - World

Biden's ambassador nominee: "China is not an Olympian power"

Nick Burns testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Biden's nominee to serve as ambassador to China delivered a stark assessment of the challenges the U.S. faces in confronting Beijing, but stressed that the rising superpower is "not all-powerful" and the West retains "substantial" advantages.

The big picture: Nicholas Burns, a retired career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, used his confirmation hearing Wednesday to echo the growing bipartisan consensus that China poses "the greatest threat to the security of our country and the democratic world" in the 21st century.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: U.S. and Israel to form team to solve consulate dispute

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (right) meet in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. and Israel are planning to form a joint team to hold discreet negotiations on the reopening of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, Israeli officials say.

Why it matters: The consulate handled relations with the Palestinians for 25 years before being shut down by then President Donald Trump in 2019. Senior officials in Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government see the consulate issue as a political hot potato that could destabilize their unwieldy coalition.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Erin Doherty
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to Parkland school shooting

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz at the defense table during jury selection at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Oct. 6, 2021. Photo: Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday pleaded guilty on all counts for carrying out the 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead, including 14 students and three staff members.

Driving the news: Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty at a hearing on Wednesday to 17 murder counts and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder for carrying out the deadly shooting.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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