The missile struck a residential complex in Najran. SPA
The missile struck a residential complex in Najran. SPA
The missile struck a residential complex in Najran. SPA
The missile struck a residential complex in Najran. SPA

Houthi rebels fire missile at Saudi Arabia, striking civilian area


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Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at a village in Saudi Arabia on Friday morning, said a Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting the rebels in support of the internationally-recognised Yemeni government of Adrabu Mansur Hadi.

Coalition spokesman Col Turki Al Maliki said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that the rebels were targeting civilian areas.

“The missile was fired at around 1.17am towards a border village in the Najran region, where it hit a residential complex inhabited by a number of workers,” he said.

He said that one of the workers sustained minor injuries after a fire erupted in the complex, which sustained much damage.

Col Al Maliki said the “hostile act” by the Houthi rebels was a result of “the continuous smuggling of arms and missiles” from other groups in the region.

“Their goal is to threaten the security of Saudi Arabia and to target civilians,” he said, noting that the firing of ballistic missiles towards populated cities and villages violated international law.

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Saudi Arabia is leading a regional military coalition that entered the war in March 2015 to restore Mr Hadi's internationally recognised government after Iran-backed Houthi rebels allied with former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh seized the capital, Sanaa.

Iran has been supporting Yemen’s rebel Houthi movement by sending weapons and military advisers.

A top US general in the Middle East has said that Tehran is smuggling an increasingly potent arsenal of weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen not seen in the country before the conflict.

In an interview with The New York Times, Vice Admiral Kevin M Donegan said that Iran was supplying the rebels with anti-ship and ballistic missiles, deadly sea mines and explosive boats — weapons that have attack allied ships in the Red Sea and Saudi territory across Yemen's northeastern border.

RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE

Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1

US PGA Championship in numbers

Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

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