Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen's Houthis after Jiddah attack
Sanaa, Mar 26: A Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the capital and a strategic Red Sea city, officials said Saturday. At least seven people were killed.
The overnight airstrikes on Sanaa and Hodeida both held by the Houthis came a day after the rebels attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah, their highest-profile assault yet on the kingdom.
Brig. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the strikes targeted sources of threat to Saudi Arabia, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
He said the coalition intercepted and destroyed two explosives-laden drones early Saturday. He said the drones were launched from Houthi-held civilian oil facilities in Hodeida, urging civilians to stay away from oil facilities in the city.
Footage circulated online showed flames and plumes of smoke over Sanaa and Hodeida. Associated Press journalists in the Yemeni capital heard loud explosions that rattled residential buildings there.
The Houthis said the coalition airstrikes hit a power plant, a fuel supply station and the state-run social insurance office in the capital.
A Houthi media office claimed an airstrike hit houses for guards of the social insurance office, killing at least seven people and wounding three others, including women and children.
The office shared images it said showed the aftermath of the airstrike. It showed wreckage in the courtyard of a social insurance office with the shattered windows of a nearby multiple-story building.
In Hodeida, the Houthi media office said the coalition hit oil facilities in violation of a 2018 cease-fire deal that ended months of fighting in Hodeida, which handles about 70% of Yemen's commercial and humanitarian imports. The strikes also hit the nearby Port Salif, also on the Red Sea.
Al-Malki, the coalition spokesperson, was not immediately available for comment on the Houthi claims.
The escalation is likely to complicate efforts by the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to reach a humanitarian truce during the holy month of Ramadan in early April.
It comes as the Gulf Cooperation Council plans to host the warring sides for talks late this month. The Houthis however have rejected Riyadh the Saudi capital where the GCC is headquartered as a venue for talks, which are expected to include an array of Yemeni factions.
Yemen's brutal war erupted in 2014 after the Houthis seized Sanaa. Months later, Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating air campaign to dislodge the Houthis and restore the internationally recognized government.
The conflict has in recent years become a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14.500 civilians. It also created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The Houthis' Friday attack came ahead of a Formula One race in the kingdom on Sunday, raising concerns about Saudi Arabia's ability to defend itself against the Iranian-backed rebels.
Friday's attack targeted the same fuel depot that the Houthis had attacked in recent days the North Jiddah Bulk Plant that sits just southeast of the city's international airport and is a crucial hub for Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca.
In Egypt, hundreds of passengers were stranded at Cairo International Airport after their Jiddah-bound flights were canceled because of the Houthi attack, according to airport officials.
The kingdom's flagship carrier Saudia announced the cancelation of two flights on its website. The two had 456 passengers booked. A third canceled flight with 146 passengers was operated by the low-cost Saudi airline Flynas.
Some passengers found seats on other Saudi Arabia-bound flights and others were booked into hotels close to the Cairo airport, according to Egyptian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because there were not authorized to brief media.
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Karnataka Union of Working Journalists' (KUWJ) announces 2024 annual awards
VB scribes Yogesh Malur, Abdul Rahiman Talapady among awardees
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has announced its annual awards for the year 2024, recognising journalists across various categories.
Vartha Bharati journalists Yogesh Mallur and Abdul Rahiman Talapady are among the awardees. Yogesh Mallur has been selected for the G. Narayanaswamy Award for Best Rural Reporting, while Abdul Rahiman Talapady has been honoured under the Tagadoor Kamalamma Veeregowda Award for reporting on farmers’ livelihoods and distress.
The awards will be presented at the 40th State Journalists’ Conference to be held in Bidar on April 11 and 12, KUWJ state president Shivanand Tagadur and general secretary G.C. Lokesh said in a release.
Details of the awards:
1. G. Narayanaswamy Award (Best Rural Report)
Yogesh Mallur, Vartha Bharati, Bengaluru
K.A. Ismail, Shakti, Kodagu
2. Patel Bhairahanumayya Award (Best Humanitarian Report)
Mallaiah Polampally, Kannada Prabha, Shahpur, Yadgir
Ravikumar Kaggannavara, Kannamma, Dharwad
3. Giridhar Award (Best Crime Report)
Basavaraja Kattimani, Kannada Prabha, Hunasagi, Yadgiri
P.K. Ravikumar, Vijayavani, Mysuru
4. B.S. Venkataram Award (Best Scoop Report)
Odesh Sakleshpur, Prajavani, Ramanagara
Mahesh Munnayyanvara Math, Prajavani, Mahalingapur, Bagalkot
5. K.A. Nettakalappa Award (Best Sports Report)
Narayanarao Deshpande, Samyukta Karnataka, Hubballi
Prasad Shettigar, Vijayavani, Bengaluru
6. Khadri Shamanna Award (Best Political Criticism)
Dayashankar Maili, Sudi Mula, Mysuru
Shankar Pagoji, Udayakala
7. Mangala M.C. Varghese Award (Weekly Newspaper Article)
M.G. Nayak, Sudha (Prajavani), Kumta, Uttara Kannada
Venkatesh S. Sampa, Editor, Sampada Saalu
8. Tagadoor Kamalamma Veeregowda Award (Farmers’ Life and Suffering)
Jayaramu, Samyukta Karnataka, Channarayapatna
Abdul Rahiman Talapady, Vartha Bharati, Mangaluru
Indira, Hospet Times, Hospet
9. R.L. Vasudevarao Award (Forest Report)
P. Paramesh, Sudi Mula, Manvi, Raichur
Koushalya D. Falanakar, Gumbaz Express, Vijayapura
10. R.L. Vasudevarao Award (Wildlife Report)
Nagaraj Navimane, Vijaya Karnataka, Mysuru
M. Narasimha Murthy, Kannada Prabha, Bengaluru South
11. B.G. Thimmappaiah Award (Economically Weaker Section Report)
12.
Rajesh Shetty Dota, Vijayavani, Mangaluru
Sharat Kumar S., Udayavani, Shivamogga
12. Mandibele Shamanna Memorial Award (Rural People’s Life Report)
Shankar Katte Malalawadi, Janamitra, Hunsur
Shivaraj Sunkada, Mudgal, Lingasugur, Raichur
Prashant Pade, Udayavani, Kundapura, Udupi
13. Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Memorial Award (Bengaluru Urban and Rural)
H.P. Praveen
Prashanth Rippanpet
V.S. Honnachar, Leaders Weekly
Zukriya, Times of Karnataka
14. Yajaman T. Narayanappa Memorial Award (Best Agricultural Report at District Level)
Venkatesh Gudeppanavara, Vijayavani, Mudhol, Bagalkot
Manjunath N., Bellary, Kavithal, Raichur
15. Nadigera Krishna Raya Award
Sathish Babu, Udayavani, Bengaluru
A. Akshara, Senior Journalist
16. Sunnuvanda Srinivas Changappa Award (Report on Soldiers)
A. Appaji Gowda, Mulbagal, Kolar
17. K.N. Subramanya Award (English Newspaper Report)
Apyan Yasmin, The Hindu
Vikar Ahmed, Frontline, Bengaluru
18. T.K. Malagonda Award (Investigative Report)
Sivananda Hiremath, Vijayavani, Gadag
Tiptur Krishna, Adityavani, Tiptur
19. Actor-Director Dwarakish Memorial Award (Film Category)
S. Jagadish Kumar, Cine Suddi
20. Abhimani Prakashan Award
Mahesh Hegde, Samyukta Karnataka, Sagar, Shivamogga
Ravindra Talagade, Vijaya Karnataka, Ballari
21. Best Page Designers
Sandesh, Pratinidhi, Mysuru
22. Best Desk Management
Vijayakumar, Vijayavani
23. Newsreel (Report with Photograph)
K.V. Balaram, Kikkeri, Mandya
M.R. Manjunath, Senior Photographer
24. Photography / Cameramen
Ganesh, Vijaya Karnataka
Babu Mia, Kalaburagi
25. Ganesh G. Award
M.P. Arun Kumar, City Highlights, Shivamogga
Mahantesh, Andolana, Mysuru
26. K. Prahladrao (Mandya) Award
K.S. Janardhanachari, E Sanje
Ramesh K., Kannada Prabha, Bangarapet, Kolar
K.V. Nagaraj, Prajavani, N.R. Pura, Chikkamagaluru
27. Garudanagiri Nagaraj Award
B. Shivarudrappa, Kannada Prabha, Holalkere, Chitradurga
Ramesh Kumar Naik, Vishwavani
Ramakrishna, Samyukta Karnataka, Mangaluru
28. Gurulingaswamy Holimath Award
Devaraja Kappasogi, Kannada Prabha, Chamarajanagar
Navyajyoti, Hosa Diganta
29. Prajapragati Award
Rabindra Talagade, Vijaya Karnataka, Ballari
Brahmananda Hadagali, Kannada Prabha, Belagavi
30. B.A. Nandikolumath Award
H.K. Nataraj, Udayavani, Davanagere
Ramachandraiah, Kunigal, Samajvani, Tumakur
Electronic Media (TV) Section:
Best Political Analysis
Prashanth Natu, Suvarna TV
Pramod, TV9
Best Anchor
Arun C. Badiger, Public TV
Kiran Kumar D.K.
Development / Social / Humanitarian Report
P.D. Veeranna, Chandana TV, Tumakuru
Thimme Gowda, News18, Bengaluru
Maruti Pavagada, Guarantee News
Raju B.R., News 1st, Koppal
Vithala Caravada, Republic Kannada, Davanagere
Mohanakrishna, Akashvani / Doordarshan, Hassan
KUWJ Special Awards:
Vijaya Biradar, Jamkhandi
Sridhara Uchila, Mumbai
Srikanth, Kasaragod
Sanjeevarao Kulkarni
