Fact Check: Houthi rebels attack Israel’s Ashkelon power plant? No, video is from Saudi Arabia
Claim: The video shows a massive fire at Israel’s Ashkelon power plant after an attack.
Fact: The claim is false. The video shows a fire at the Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following a Houthi attack in March 2022.
Hyderabad: A video is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it shows a massive fire at Israel’s Ashkelon power plant due to a planned attack.
An X user shared the video with the caption: “The most powerful scene: The burning of the Ashkelon station reminds us of the days of Aramco. Israel turns off its lights.” ( Archive )
The 11-second clip shows massive flames rising from a structure resembling a power plant.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim was false. The video was old and showed a fire at the Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
A reverse image search led us to a video uploaded on YouTube in a video report by Al Arabiya on March 26, 2022. The text on the video read: ‘Scenes of fire breaking out at the Aramco station in Jeddah after it was attacked’ (translated from Arabic).
The viral video closely matched visuals from the Al Arabiya report, which confirmed that the fire occurred at Saudi Aramco’s oil depot in Jeddah after a Houthi attack.
Further keyword search led us to a Guardian report titled ‘Fire breaks out at Jeddah oil depot before Saudi Arabia Grand Prix’, dated March 25, 2002
The article reported that the fire erupted at the depot days before the Saudi Grand Prix, following an attack claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Similar images were included in this report, confirming the location.
A report from Reuters and CNBC confirmed that the visuals were from the Aramco facility in Jeddah, not Israel’s Ashkelon power plant.
Therefore, the viral claim that the video shows an attack on Israel's Ashkelon power plant is false. The video is from March 2022 and shows a fire at Saudi Aramco’s oil depot in Jeddah after a Houthi missile strike.
(This story was originally published by newsmeter, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
