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Yemen’s Houthi fighters say missile attack launched at Abu Dhabi nuclear plant

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Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says it has fired a cruise missile at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.

“The missile force announces the launching of a winged cruise missile … towards the al-Barakah nuclear reactor in Abu Dhabi,” the Houthis’ al-Masirah news website reported on Sunday, without providing further details.

Yemeni media reported that the cruise missile had successfully hit the Barakah nuclear reactor in Abu Dhabi.

Colonel Aziz Rashid, a spokesman for the Yemeni army, has told Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV channel that the missile attack was a political and military response to the UAE’s role in the destruction of Yemen. He insisted that the missile had hit the intended target.

The United Arab Emirates’ state-run news agency has, however, denied reports of a Yemeni missile striking the under-construction nuclear plant. WAM said the UAE has air-defense systems that can protect it against such threats.

Yemeni forces regularly fire ballistic missiles at positions inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Back in September, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned that the UAE is no longer a safe country as missiles manufactured by the Yemeni group can now hit anywhere in the Arab country.

The UAE has been a key ally of Saudi Arabia in its military campaign against Yemen, which has killed over 12,000 people since March 2015.

The Emirati air force has played a significant part in the aerial assaults against Yemen. In addition to deploying its own troops on Yemeni soil, Abu Dhabi has been training pro-Saudi militants fighting on the ground against the Yemeni army and its allied forces.

The country has also come under scrutiny for running secret prisons in Yemen, where hundreds of inmates suffer mistreatment and torture.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the war in a bid to crush the Houthis and reinstate the former Riyadh-friendly regime, but the kingdom has achieved neither of its goals.

The protracted Saudi war, which has been accompanied by a land, naval, and aerial blockade, has left over 17 million Yemenis in need of food and caused a cholera epidemic.

Source: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/12/03/544321/Yemen-Houthi-UAE-Abu-Dhabi

First Armenian church opens in Abu Dhabi

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By Sami Zaatari, Special to Gulf News

250442270Abu Dhabi: The first Armenian church opened in Abu Dhabi on Friday with hundreds of Armenian Christians in attendance.

Previously, Armenians in Abu Dhabi would worship in other churches such as St Andrews Church, or go to Sharjah which has an Armenian church.

Speaking to Gulf News about the opening, Father Mesrob, the church priest, said the community was very thankful to the UAE leadership.

“Shaikh Zayed gave us land to build our churches and Shaikh Khalifa has continued to help us. We are very grateful to the Abu Dhabi Government for the freedom to conduct our church services. Such actions will encourage stronger relations between the UAE and Armenian community.”

Pakrad Balabanian, an Armenian who attended the church opening, told Gulf News that “we have up to 1,000 Armenians living in Abu Dhabi so we needed a church to hold our gatherings. We have quite a few buildings on the site, one of which will be used as Sunday school for the children. We will be able to hold other ceremonies here as well. Previously, we had to rent different churches for our ceremonies. We want to thank the government for the land and its generosity.”

Another Armenian resident, who did not want to be named, said that the church will keep the Armenian community in Abu Dhabi together.

“We also have a school here for Armenian children for them to come weekly, with 5-6 teachers. There is also a building for the priests so whoever is in need of help can come and talk to a priest. Armenian Christians can also get married here instead of travelling to their countries such as Lebanon, Syria, or Iran.”

He added that Muslims being free to visit and see the church. “They can come inside and see pictures and photographs. They are more than free to come and take a look.”