Egyptian Sandstorm Closes Roads, Airport

A cloud of dust blanketed Egypt on Thursday as a suffocating sandstorm forced the Cairo international airport to divert planes, closed highways and delayed a convoy in the Suez Canal. Four deaths were blamed on the storm.

In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the storm shut down the port and hampered traffic on the main highway to Cairo.

Main highways in southern Egypt were closed temporarily after car accidents killed four people and injured 13.