Schools and many offices were closed across the United Arab Emirates on Thursday as heavy rains returned to the desert country just two weeks after record downpours that experts linked to climate change.

A lightning storm with high winds swept across the oil-rich monarchy overnight, with more than 50 millimetres (two inches) of rain falling before 8:00 am in some areas, the National Center of Meteorology said.

Flooding was seen in some parts of financial hub Dubai, and the city’s airport, the world’s busiest by international passenger traffic, cancelled 13 flights and diverted five, a spokesperson said.

State-owned, Dubai-based Emirates and sister airline flydubai both warned passengers of delays, as schools switched to remote learning and public-sector offices closed.

But the rains were not on the scale of April 16, when a record 259.5 mm of rain left four people dead, blocked major roads for days and forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights.

On Thursday, little traffic was seen on Dubai’s normally heaving, six-lane highways, and cars were abandoned on flooded roads near the sprawling Ibn Battuta mall.

Trucks pumping water were stationed in several flooded areas, as Dubai’s drainage is often unable to cope with large-scale rainfall.

Last month’s downpour, which also killed 21 people in neighbouring Oman, was the heaviest in the UAE, a majority-expatriate federation of seven sheikhdoms, since records began in 1949.

World Weather Attribution, a network of scientists that assesses the role of climate change in extreme weather events, found the deluge was “most likely” exacerbated by global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

AFp

A 36-year-old man has been charged with murder after a 14-year-old boy was killed in a sword rampage in east London.

Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo, of Newham, has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article, the Metropolitan Police said.

The dual Spanish-Brazilian national will appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Daniel Anjorin, 14, died on Tuesday as he walked to school in Hainault.

Staff and pupils at Bancroft’s, an independent school, said they have been left in “profound shock and sorrow” at his death.

Monzo is accused of crashing a van into a fence in Laing Close just before 7am on Tuesday and then attacking two members of the public with a sword.

It is alleged he then killed Daniel before seriously injuring two police officers as they tried to stop him, one of whom nearly lost her hand.

Monzo was initially taken to hospital after he was injured crashing the van.

Jaswant Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London North, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Marcus Arduini Monzo with the murder of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin, who was fatally stabbed in Hainault on Tuesday April 30.

“A further four people – including two police officers – were seriously injured and Monzo has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.

“Our thoughts remain firmly with the family of the Daniel and all those who have been impacted by this horrific incident.

“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that they have a right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

The boy’s family told Sky News he was “a wonderful child” who was “well loved” and “hard working”, adding that his death “leaves a gaping wound in the family”.

“No family should have to go through what we are experiencing today,” they told the broadcaster.

“Any family will understand it’s an absolute tragedy.”

A statement from Bancroft’s said: “We are devastated by the heartbreaking news of the death of Daniel Anjorin, who attended our school. This has left us in profound shock and sorrow.

“Daniel joined Bancroft’s at seven years old and quickly became a core member of our community.

“He was a true scholar, demonstrating commendable dedication to his academic pursuits.

“His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us.”

Spain’s Pedro Sanchez on Monday said he would stay on as prime minister after threatening to stand down over what he has denounced as a campaign of political harassment by the right.

“I have decided to stay,” he said in a highly-anticipated public address that drew a line under days of political uncertainty that had gripped the country for the past five days.

In office since 2018, the 52-year-old Socialist leader had on Wednesday written a letter to the public saying he was taking time out to mull his possible resignation after a Madrid court confirmed a preliminary probe into his wife Begona Gomez for suspected influence peddling and corruption.

Denying the move was a “political calculation”, Sanchez said he needed “to stop and reflect” on the growing polarisation within politics which he said was increasingly being driven by “deliberate disinformation”.

“For too long we’ve let this filth corrupt our political and public life with toxic methods that were unimaginable just a few years ago… Do we really want this for Spain?” he asked.

“I have acted out of a clear conviction: either we say ‘enough is enough’ or this degradation of public life will define our future and condemn us as a country.”

He said his decision to stay on had been “decisively influenced” by the mass show of support outside the Madrid headquarters of his Socialist party, where thousands of emotional supporters had chanted: “Pedro, stay!”

The public prosecutor’s office on Thursday asked that the investigation into Begona Gomez be closed but Sanchez, an expert in political survival who has made a career out of taking political gambles, held his silence.

He had been due to launch his party’s campaign on Thursday for the May 12 Catalonia regional elections in which his Socialists are hoping to oust the pro-independence forces from power.

The court opened its investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint by anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

Shortly after Sanchez’s bombshell letter went out on X, the group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said it had based its complaint on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it was related to her ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.

Sanchez has been vilified by right-wing opponents and media because his minority government relies on the support of the hard left and Catalan and Basque separatist parties to pass laws.

They have been especially angered by his decision to grant an amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists facing legal action over their roles in the northeastern region’s failed push for independence in 2017.

That amnesty, in exchange for the support of Catalan separatist parties, still needs final approval in parliament.

The opposition has since Wednesday mocked Sanchez’s decision to withdraw from his public duties as an attempt to rally his supporters.

“A head of government can’t make a show of himself like a teenager and have everyone running after him, begging him not to leave and not to get angry,” said right-wing opposition leader and Popular Party head Alberto Nunez Feijoo on Thursday.