Saudi warship hit by Houthi suicide attack returns to base

February 6, 2017

Jeddah, Feb 6: A Saudi warship targeted last month by Houthi suicide attackers returned to base on Sunday after completing its mission.

Southi

The Al-Madinah warship of the Royal Saudi Navy was in late January hit by a terrorist boat attack off the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, killing two crew members.

It returned early Sunday to the King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah, after completing its duties according to the scheduled timeframe, without any delay as a result of the attack by the Iran-backed insurgents.

Senior officers welcomed the warship back to the naval base.

They included Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan, chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, Gen. Abdullah bin Sultan Al-Sultan, commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, and Western Fleet Commander Saeed bin Mohammed Al-Zahrani.

The chief of staff met with the ship’s crew and officers and conveyed to them the greetings of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second premier and minister of defense, who praised the crew’s courage in dealing with the attack.

Al-Bunyan listened to a briefing by the captain of the warship regarding the terrorist attack, how it was countered, and how a resulting fire was swiftly tackled.

He expressed pride in the members of the Royal Saudi Navy for participating in military operations carried out by the alliance to support legitimacy in Yemen.

Two Saudi crew members were killed and three others were injured in the suicide attack on the Saudi patrol frigate, the Arab coalition headquarters said last week.

The Saudi navy warship reacted to the attack as required, but one of the Houthi boats rear-ended the vessel, resulting in an explosion and fire at the rear of the Saudi ship, which was extinguished by the crew.

The frigate was patrolling the coast of Yemen when the attack by three suicide boats took pace, the coalition in support of the legitimate Yemeni government said earlier.

The warship’s mission involved protecting the territorial waters of the Kingdom and Yemen, in addition to ensuring the safety of international navigation lines in the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

Al-Bunyan stressed that the damage to the warship was limited to a small area at the back of the vessel, due to the collision with the terrorist’s boat.

He added that the incident will not prevent the coalition forces from continuing their military operations, until they achieve their key target of helping the Yemeni people and the legitimate government in restoring the state and protecting it from Houthi militias.

Retired Gen. Shami Al-Zahiri, who was the first captain of the frigate in 1985, recalled memories during his more than six years as commander of the ship.

“After spending all this time, it was painful for me to hear that this ship came under attack by Houthi militias,” he told Arab News.

The retired general defended the warship’s technical abilities and its ability to counter a terror attack of this nature.

“I heard how some media outlets have been criticizing the ship’s technical abilities and its leadership after the terrorist attack. I think they need to read more about the circumstances of the incident such as the weather condition and how the terrorist’s boat approached the ship before they make pre-judgmental accusations,” he said.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Dubai, Apr 29: Dubai on April 23 was a suicide, Dubai Police confirmed to Gulf News on Wednesday.

According to Dubai Police, he committed suicide by jumping from a building in Business Bay.

“We received a report about a man plunging to his death from the 14th floor of a friend's building on Thursday. The businessman committed suicide over financial problems,” Brigadier Abdullah Khadim Bin Sorour, director of Bur Dubai Police Station, told Gulf News.

Joy Arakkal receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

The police ruled out any criminal suspicion behind the suicide and said they are coordinating with the businessman’s family for the repatriation of his body.

A UAE Gold Card visa recipient, Arakkal was the managing director of Dubai-headquartered Innova Group of Companies which had diverse businesses, with major focus in the oil sector. He is survived by his wife Celine and children, Arun and Ashly, who live in Jumeirah.

Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul confirmed to Gulf News that Arakkal’s family is set to fly home with his body after Indian authorities gives them special permission to travel in a chartered air ambulance.

“They have received the NOCs (No Objection Certificates) from India. We have taken it up with the UAE MoFAIC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) for necessary permits from the UAE side,” Vipul said.

Once the approval is received, a chartered air ambulance will fly in from Bangalore to carry the family and the mortal remains of Arakkal.

Quiet embalming service

A few social workers and community leaders, who were coordinating with Arakkal’s family for the repatriation procedures, attended the embalming service was on Tuesday.

“Only the family members and a few of his employees were present apart from us,” said advocate Hashik T.K.

He said M.K. Raghavan, a member of Indian parliament from Kerala, and R. Harikumar of Elite Group in the UAE, offered great support for securing approvals from Indian authorities.

“We have been requesting the central and state governments to consider the emotional aspect of traditional funeral process in the case of expats who die abroad.”

He said almost two dozen bodies have been flown to India in the past few weeks on cargo flights. But, no family member was allowed to accompany the bodies so far.

Besides Arakkal’s family, the Indian government also issued immigration clearance for the family of a cancer patient from Nottingham, who is seeking treatment, to fly down to Calicut International Airport in Kerala.

Quarantine and funeral
On reaching Kerala, the family members would follow the quarantine procedures as per the government rules, Hashik said.

Arakkal’s’s funeral will be held in his hometown in Mananthavady in Wayanad district where he had built a 45,000sqfit mansion, one of the biggest houses in Kerala, last year.

“It is sad that he could stay in that house for a month or so only,” said a community member.

He said Arakkal had built houses for the poor and also funded the weddings of several young couples back home.

His companies include oil refineries, petrochemical trading, ISO tank cleaning services, shipping services and a telecom company working for infrastructure projects in the UAE.

He had received many awards including a lifetime achievement award from the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan during his visit to Dubai.

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News Network
May 19,2020

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates today reported 873 new coronavirus cases, pushing the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country to 25,063.

Three more people have died from the virus, bringing the total death toll to 227, the ministry revealed, adding that a total of 1,214 COVID-19 patients have made full recovery, which takes the overall number of patients recovered to 10,791.

The latest coronavirus patients, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care, were identified after conducting more than 38,000 additional COVID-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents over the past few days, the ministry said.

It expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

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Agencies
May 1,2020

Saudi Arabia has initiated refund of work visa fee to foreigners unable to travel to the Kingdom due to the suspension of international flights in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.

Several work visas were cancelled, following which the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the refund. The cancellation and refunding of the stamped visas will be considered effective from the date of issuance of the royal decree on March 18, reported Saudi Gazette.

As a precautionary measure to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Kingdom suspended all international flight. The ministry of health in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced 1,325 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases and 169 recoveries. With this, the total number of cases in the Kingdom now stands at 21,402, while recoveries stand at 2,953, as on Wednesday reported KT.

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