18 killed as Typhoon Lekima hits China
Beijing: At least 18 people were killed and 14 others missing after a typhoon-triggered barrier lake burst in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, official media here said. With a maximum wind force of 187 km/h, Lekima, the ninth typhoon to hit China this year, made landfall at about 1:45 am local time in Wenling city in Zhejiang, with Yongjia County the worst hit.
S separatists overrun barracks in Yemen
Aden: Southern separatists gained ground across Yemen’s second city Aden on Saturday and surrounded the presidential palace as they fought fierce battles with loyalist forces, military and security sources said. Deadly fighting raging in Aden since Wednesday is pitting unionist forces loyal to the internationally recognised government against a force that supports it but is dominated by fighters seeking renewed independence for the south.
2 mn haj pilgrims scale Mount Arafat
Mount Arafat: Two million Muslim pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat outside Mecca Saturday marshalled by tens of thousands of stewards in a bid to prevent any repetition of previous years’ deadly stampedes. Movable crowd control barriers were erected all around the foot of the rocky hill, also known as Jabal al-Rahma, or Mount of Mercy, where the faithful arrived on foot or in a seemingly endless line of buses.
5 died in missile test explosion: Russia
Moscow: Russia’s nuclear agency on Saturday said an explosion at an Arctic missile testing site had killed five of its staff after the military had put the toll at two. The accident happened during testing of a liquid propellant rocket engine at a missile test site in the far northern Arkhangelsk region. In a statement, Rosatom said the accident killed five of its staff and injured three, who suffered burns and other injuries.