Washington orders all US embassy staff, families to leave Saudi Arabia: diplomatic source

A diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday that Washington has ordered all US embassy staff and their families to depart from Saudi Arabia. According to the source, families of embassy staff have also been ordered to leave Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates as the kingdom faces sustained attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

In Jeddah, Saudi authorities have ordered an investigation into the collapse of a large, temporary water tank belonging to a private company. The incident occurred on Tuesday, causing a surge of water that reportedly damaged vehicles and surrounding property.

Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of the Mecca Region, has directed a committee of relevant authorities to investigate the causes of the collapse. The Mecca Governorate stated the committee will examine if safety regulations were followed and assess the structural safety of nearby facilities. Authorities have not yet confirmed the extent of material damage or an official casualty toll.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business Recorder, Gulf News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.