UK Halts Direct Yemen Flights

The British government on Friday suspended all direct flights between the United Kingdom and Yemen following the discovery of packages which apparently held explosives and originated in the Middle Eastern country, according to published reports.

Terror alert news from JOC:
Apparent Explosives Prompt Air Cargo Terror Alert
FedEx Finds Suspect Package, Halts Yemen Shipments.

Video: President Obama warns of credible terrorist threat

UK Home Secretary Theresa May announced the suspension, according to the British newspaper The Telegraph, saying the authorities were “urgently considering what steps need to be put in place regarding security of freight originating from Yemen.”

The action is the most severe yet on air services after authorities found two packages, one in the East Midlands area of the UK and the other in Dubai, which the White House said contained apparent explosives meant to attack the United States.

Security officials around the world searched for the packages after what President Obama called “a credible terror threat” and found them in separate air express networks that would have carried them into the United States.

FedEx on Friday put an embargo on shipments out of Yemen after the carrier said authorities confiscated a suspicious package in its facility in Dubai.